![Former legislative leaders from both parties oppose Abbott veto of legislative funding as state defends him](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/GtZNYZYrDr1Xu41FjQIFTM_Q4yo=/800x536/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/FVEA26VRP5HJLCZGOM64VSGN3Q.jpg)
Former legislative leaders from both parties oppose Abbott veto of legislative funding as state defends him
In a new court filing, the attorney general's office said the governor properly used his veto power when he nixed funding for the Legislature in response to House Democrats walkout over a Republican priority bill on elections.
![Point of Order: Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus explains why he voted for Joe Biden last year](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/r2kfJypLVKXCWvAjp7Yf1MAsMZA=/640x360/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/DIAL6SXWJFBH5M5MI63NQ6KRCE.jpg)
Point of Order: Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus explains why he voted for Joe Biden last year
Dan Patrick and the far-right wing of the Texas GOP over issues including a bill that sought to regulate which bathrooms transgender Texans could use. In Tuesdayโs podcast, he continued his vocal opposition to โculture warโ issues that have dominated political discourse in recent years. He said that he โcontinues to be concerned about the state of the current Republican party,โ though Straus stopped short of saying heโd switch party affiliation. โFor the moment, Iโm a stay-and-fight Republican,โ Straus said. This story about Tribune CEO Evan Smithโs interview with Joe Straus was written by Shawn Mulcahy.
![โIt was a sad day for our countryโ: Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus condemns violence at US Capitol](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/ZhKYjL14fUeOAsyfqRCGpQHLMz4=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/01-07-2021/t_c53ed67ec90d4777b13393f03247db3b_name_image.jpg)
โIt was a sad day for our countryโ: Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus condemns violence at US Capitol
On Jan. 3, Straus said on Twitter that โDonald Trump is trying to dismantle our democracy by seeking to invalidate an election he lost. โAll political leaders have a role to play, an obligation, a responsibility, to try and bring people together,โ he said. He wants as many people as possible to get vaccinated and to provide help for people affected mentally by the pandemic. As for whether Straus will run for office in the future...โIโm not done with politics. But the November election is only a couple of months old and itโs been a little bumpy since then.
![Election results 2020: Who is winning control of the Texas House?](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/HXrJfH8wy2qtwk-EnOAh1m6tgX4=/1200x803/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/QQ5UA5UR5ZDIVNK3WCRJ5KLD4I.jpg)
Election results 2020: Who is winning control of the Texas House?
While the top of the ballot has received the most attention, the balance of the Texas House of Representatives is also at stake. For the first time in years, Democrats have a chance to flip the 150-member Texas House, which has been controlled by Republicans for more than a decade. The stakes couldnโt be higher, since next legislative session will include redistricting, the once-in-a-decade process by which the Texas Legislature draws district maps for Congress and state legislative seats. To gain control of the House, Democrats would need to pick up nine seats. There are 18 to 22 state House races that Democrats are targeting.
![Judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127,000 Houston votes](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/oAjDkVKvmGpRErgPJ8UpZJTe9qk=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/7AAN5Q7L6BDLPHF53SZTPFCZK4.jpg)
Judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127,000 Houston votes
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)HOUSTON โ A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic. Another 20,000 or more voters had been expected to use drive-thru polling locations Tuesday, Hollins said earlier Monday. โI cannot in good faith encourage voters to cast their votes in tents if that puts their votes at risk,โ he said. Harris County offered 10 drive-thru locations as an option for its nearly 5 million residents amid worries of spreading the coronavirus. More than 40% of Harris County residents are Latino, and about one in five residents are Black.