Texas Take

Latino Democrats in the Texas House felt like they were told to "sit down and shut up" as they tried to push back on a sweeping state immigration crackdown that will impact people in their communities, whether documented or not. Plus, GOP infighting may lead to the end of a legacy project of former President George W. Bush: The fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Join the conversation with Scott Bra...

The running feud between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan exploded this week with Phelan asking Patrick to give up millions of dollars now tied to an anti-Semitic white nationalist and Patrick saying Phelan should resign. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace.  Learn more about your ad c...

Under pressure from Fox News hosts and GOP activists, Gov. Abbott is making some changes to his plans for an upcoming special session that was going to be exclusively focused on school vouchers. Now he's adding immigration to the mix. Plus, Jeremy has a report on living conditions for our military that should make you sick. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, an...

Now that the smoke is starting to clear from the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott is already promising to summon lawmakers to Austin again for another special session. This time, his pet project of school vouchers is the topic. Plus, Paxton's revenge tour has begun. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle polit...

The end of the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton seems to be the beginning of a new chapter in the Texas GOP's civil war. Plus, Gov. Abbott blasts the Castro brothers over the border and DC Republicans fight each other about a possible government shutdown. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace. ...

The historic impeachment trial of Texas AG Ken Paxton is, well frankly, putting some senators to sleep. But that doesn't make the allegations against Paxton less serious. We'll get into that plus an update on the floating border wall and a legendary Mexican rock band pays tribute to one of the victims of the Uvalde massacre. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, a...

With the impeachment trial of AG Ken Paxton starting next week while court battles play out in Texas over hot issues like the border and LGBTQ rights, Jeremy says we should just call this episode "Law and Order." Done. Plus, has Sen. Ted Cruz gotten any better at just acting like a normal person? We'll check on that for you. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, a...

Steve Bannon is promising to make some Texas GOP State Senators "famous" and go to war with them in primaries if they vote to remove Attorney General Ken Paxton. But does Bannon know Texas GOP voters better than former Gov. Rick Perry, who's now defending the impeachment? Plus: An update on the floating border wall and a tribute to a Texas politics legend who we lost recently. Join the conversatio...

The prosecutors in the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are starting to reveal some of what they hope to present in the trial, including evidence of Paxton using burner phones and an Uber account using a fake name as ways to conceal his alleged extramarital affair. Plus, a Texas congressman is wrestled to the ground at a rodeo by police in Amarillo. Join the conversation with Scott...

With so much unsettled at the Texas Capitol, including the impeachment of AG Paxton and the fight over school funding and school vouchers, the politics of the state are reaching a boiling point. Meanwhile, Jeremy headed down to Eagle Pass, where Democrats confronted state police over "border security" tactics on the Rio Grande. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report...

The fight over Texas "border security" operations intensifies this week with Vice President Kamala Harris saying the Abbott Administration is acting in an "un-American" way. Abbott meanwhile is saying he'll happily see the DOJ in court after the feds moved forward with a federal lawsuit. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer...

Following reporting by the Houston Chronicle on the treatment of migrants at the Texas-Mexico border, the Department of Justice on Friday said they'll sue the Abbott Administration over the state's "security" measures along the Rio Grande. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace.  Learn more about your ad choices...

After a 7 month standoff, Republican leadership in Austin finally settled on their plan to offer property tax relief to Texans. Plus, Jeremy reports from the border on the fact that Texas' security efforts are often actually just getting in the way of Border Patrol. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace.  Learn...

Increasingly, GOP candidates for the White House have a crucial first stop on their way to the nomination and it isn't the Iowa State Fair. It's Eagle Pass, Texas. Plus, there could be some light at the end of the tunnel in the property tax stalemate in Austin. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace. Learn more...

Amid a stalemate on property taxes, Gov. Abbott clashes with Lt. Gov. Patrick in a way that we've never seen before. Plus, Sen. Angela Paxton is not allowed to vote on the impeachment of her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton but she will be there for the trial in the Senate. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jere...

Texas House impeachment managers are turning to legendary Houston defense attorneys to prosecute the case against Attorney General Ken Paxton. But how will the trial in the Senate be handled? Plus, it takes a special level of incompetence for Republicans to have a record budget surplus and fail to come up with a tax cut plan. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report,...

It's history in the making this week as the GOP-led Texas House moves toward impeaching Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for multiple alleged crimes and abuse of office over the better part of a decade. Plus, we reflect on the lives lost and the still unanswered questions one year after the massacre in Uvalde. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Housto...

The elder statesman of the Texas GOP, Sen. John Cornyn, this week said former President Donald Trump's "time has passed," and it's time for Republicans to find someone else to run for the White House. Meantime at the Texas Capitol: Fights about transgender athletes, DEI, guns, and more as time runs out in the session. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Hous...

With a mass shooting each week in Texas, leaders are largely now skipping right past "thoughts and prayers" and talking about other stuff like the border. Plus, Latino Democrats in the Texas House beat back a proposal to form a "civilian border protection unit." Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace. Learn more...

While the Texas Legislature takes aim at "gender modification" of children, which Republican officeholders say is "genital mutilation" and "slaughter," lawmakers are largely turning a blind eye toward the actual slaughter of children. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

In a week of pushing back on the majority at the Texas Capitol in Austin, there were those who ran into brick walls and others who found some success. From gun legislation to a proposal to ban certain people from legally purchasing Texas real estate, the results of the dissenters were mixed. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political wri...

Lt. Gov. Patrick, waving cash at the TV camera like Mattress Mack in Houston, is promising Texans that his tax plan will save them more money than Speaker Dade Phelan's blueprint. Plus Gov. Greg Abbott is now saying teachers in Texas public schools are teaching kids to hate America. What? Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer...

With Gov. Greg Abbott once again being jerked around by Fox News Host Tucker Carlson, even some Republicans this week are privately asking "who really runs Texas?" Plus, an immigration debate gets hot at the Capitol and school vouchers hit a brick wall in the Texas House of Representatives. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writ...

With an indictment looming over his head, former President Donald Trump rallied the faithful in Waco on the anniversary of the 1993 siege that's been an organizing principle for conspiracy theorists for decades. Jeremy was on the scene and gives us a sense of what it was really like. Plus, veteran Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee shakes up the race for Mayor of Houston. Join the conversation with...

Gov. Greg Abbott is finally acknowledging that rural Texans are concerned that his push for school vouchers threatens a big part of their way of life: High school football. Plus, what's the consequence of trying to ban certain books in school libraries and criminalize librarians? Then Jeremy takes us on a trip back to the 1980s. Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Repor...