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December 05, 2023

Another Texas Legislature special session crashes

Plus: Tuberville ends military appointments blockade. 

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Texas Take with Jeremy Wallace

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Another rejection on school vouchers

Gov. Greg Abbott has officially struck out again in his quest to get a school voucher plan passed in the Texas Legislature.

To the surprise of no one, the Texas House officially ended the fourth special session Abbott had called this year without passing his priority item. Many rural Republicans and most Democrats in the House have opposed Abbott's plan to allow parents to use tax dollars to cover part of the tuition for private schools. And they show no signs of budging.

Now the ball is back in Abbott's court. He can call lawmakers back for a fifth special session with little to no prospects of the bill passing or simply wait until the March primary elections where he has vowed to help defeat House Republicans who have refused to pass the school choice package he wants.

Earlier this fall, Abbott said he would keep calling special session after special session until he gets what he wanted. But more recently, he's changed that tone a bit and sounded more like he is preparing for battle in the March Republican primary.

"I will continue advancing school choice in the Texas Legislature and at the ballot box," Abbott said in a statement just over two weeks ago.

Photo of Jeremy Wallace

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter

jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com


Who's up, who's down

Who's up and who's down for Texas Take newsletter.

Up: Tommy Tuberville.

The Republican Senator from Alabama and one-time Texas Tech football coach finally ended his one-man blockade of more than 300 military promotions and appointments. "I am not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer," he said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. Soldiers based in San Antonio and at Fort Cavazos have been among those blocked from accepting appointments or promotions.

Down: Greg Abbott.

There is no way to sugarcoat it. He used his political weight to demand the Texas House pass a school voucher plan, and they said no — again. The Republican governor has mostly gotten what he wants from the Republican-controlled Legislature during his three terms in office. The loss is more glaring given how much public pressure Abbott has applied, even at one point claiming they had a deal and were on the one-yard line of getting the plan passed.

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.


What else is going on in Texas

Pervez Agwan

Photo by: Courtesy Of Campaign

Houston Democrat accused of harassment by former campaign worker

Pervez Agwan, who is campaigning to unseat U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher in the Democratic primary, has called the lawsuit politically motivated.

Republican presidential candidates from left, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, participate in a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NBC News Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami.

Photo by: Rebecca Blackwell, AP

Four Republicans will be on stage for the fourth presidential debate

The Republican National Committee says Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christie have met the qualifications for Wednesday's debate in Alabama.

Mayoral candidates Sheila Jackson Lee, left, and John Whitmire will face a runoff to see who will lead the City of Houston.

Photo by: Kirk Sides Left And Yi-Chin Lee, Staff Photographers

Houston mayoral race: Whitmire outspending Jackson Lee in home stretch

State Sen. John Whitmire spent more money in the last month than Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has spent in the entire race.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., meets with reporters to discuss GOP efforts to investigate President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.

Photo by: J. Scott Applewhite, AP

House will vote next week on formalizing its Biden impeachment inquiry

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson says the chamber will vote next week on authorizing its impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. 

Flares burn at refineries east of the Sam Houston Parkway where a tornado was reported to pass along Mickey Gilley Boulevard near Fairmont Parkway, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Pasadena.

Photo by: Mark Mulligan/Staff Photographer

Mayoral candidates vow environmental fixes: What can they do?

How will environmental justice factor in to the next mayoral tenure in Houston? A look at where the mayor has had a say in the past.


Pick of the day

'It is not a matter of if I will have to say goodbye to my baby, but when. I'm trying to do what is best for my baby and myself, but the state of Texas is making us both suffer,' - Kate Cox, who is suing to get an emergency abortion.

A Texas woman is asking a judge to allow her to get an emergency abortion after learning that her baby has a rare and typically fatal condition. The first-of-its-kind lawsuit, filed Tuesday, is significant because it comes a week after state lawyers suggested before the Texas Supreme Court that only pregnant women in immediate distress could bring claims against the state's abortion ban.


What else I'm reading

The Texas Tribune reports that State Rep. Frederick Frazier, R-McKinney, on Tuesday pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of trying to impersonate a public servant, part of a plea agreement stemming from allegations he targeted his primary runoff opponent's campaign signs over a year ago. Frazier, a Dallas police officer who first ran for the House last year with the backing of former President Donald Trump, has also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.

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