Ken Paxton, Texas’ election denier-in-chief, closes in on third term
That Paxton is so close to securing his reelection this November as the state’s chief legal officer is raising alarms from election experts about the impact he could have on future contested elections, particularly if Donald Trump runs for president again in 2024.
Rochelle Garza is the Democrats’ best chance of winning statewide office in Texas, but she still faces an uphill battle
Garza remains the underdog, battling her own low name recognition and a fundraising disadvantage in an expensive statewide race that is already demanding considerable resources for travel and TV ads.
Texas AG says counties can spend COVID relief funds on extra pay for elected officials without public notice
The nonbinding legal opinion states local elected and appointed officials can receive up to $25,000 for work done during the COVID-19 pandemic on top of their regular salaries. Unlike other pay raises, these “premium pay” bonuses don’t need to be declared to the public ahead of time.
Texas suing USDA over requirement to add LGBTQ protections to nutrition programs’ nondiscrimination policies
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service announced in May that it would expand its definition of sexual discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Paxton and other attorneys general are suing in response.
Rochelle Garza secures Democratic nomination for Texas attorney general race in November
Garza, a civil rights attorney from Brownsville, beat former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski during Tuesday’s primary runoff and will face the Republican nominee in the general election. A Democrat has not led the Texas attorney general’s office since 1994.
With renewed attention on abortion, Democrats in attorney general runoff vow to defend reproductive rights
Rochelle Garza sued the Trump administration in 2017, seeking access to an abortion for an undocumented teenager. Joe Jaworski, a former Galveston mayor and a trial attorney for over three decades, presents himself as the more experienced candidate.
George P. Bush’s family name proves to be key obstacle in his race against Ken Paxton for attorney general
George P. Bush is running for attorney general as a Trump-supporting, hard-right social conservative. But voters associate his family name with the party’s moderate wing. That could hurt him in the Republican primary runoff.
Texas is quietly using redistricting lawsuits to launch a broader war against federal voting rights law
As Texas defends against accusations that its new political maps are discriminatory, it’s laying the groundwork to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out longstanding Voting Rights Act protections.
Cartel leader deported to US after Nuevo Laredo incidents of violence
The man who was arrested which reportedly sparked violence and explosions in Nuevo Laredo is now in the United States. Juan Gerardo Treviño Chavez, also known as “El Huevo,” has been deported. He is also the brother of Juan Francisco Kiko Treviño Chavez, who the Mexican government says is linked to drug trafficking. Following Chavez's arrest, Nuevo Laredo suddenly became an area described by many on social media as "a scene from Ukraine," as the country currently is being invaded by Russia. The Tamaulipas Public Security Secretariat confirmed that shots were fired against military installations and the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo.
lmtonline.comJudge temporarily blocks Texas investigations into families of trans kids
District Judge Amy Clark Meachum said the governor’s directive for the state child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children was “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional.” The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July.
Fighting care for transgender kids shifts from a fringe issue to a litmus test for Texas Republicans
The issue is no longer contained to just the party’s fringes — and it is unlikely to go away any time soon as the national fervor grows, Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive faces legal challenges and it factors prominently into a slew of GOP primary runoffs.
George P. Bush, Ken Paxton prepare for a bitter primary runoff battle for Texas attorney general
Bush is the underdog in the race. He had fewer votes than Paxton in the primary, and Paxton carries the coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump. But the incumbent is still battling his felony indictment and a newer FBI investigation.
Pushing falsehoods about Biden’s election is a plus for Republicans vying to be Texas’ top lawyer
Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, one of his challengers, have embraced disproven claims of 2020 election fraud. It’s a sentiment shared with most Texas Republicans, according to political experts.
Texas Republicans pressure court to reverse decision blocking attorney general from prosecuting election cases
Republicans from Gov. Greg Abbott on down are pressuring the all-GOP Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse a December ruling that gutted the attorney general’s power to go after election cases on his own.
Federal appeals court to hear narrow challenge to Texas abortion law on Friday
In December, the U.S. Supreme Court left the law largely intact, allowing only a challenge against medical licensing officials to proceed. An appeals court will now consider whether to send the case to the Texas Supreme Court.
Watch: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks amid sexual harassment claims, impeachment inquiry
The New York Assembly Judiciary Committee announced Monday that it expects to finish reviewing evidence for impeachment within the next few weeks. The governor is expected to address the 165-page report, which includes interviews with 179 witnesses and a review of thousands of documents. The monthslong probe found that Cuomo "sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law," Attonery General Letitia James said at a press conference last week. There were no specific penalties tied to the report, James noted. Cuomo strongly denied the claims of the report last week.
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