Tag Archives: Greg Abbott

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas businesses that require customers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be denied state contracts and could lose their licenses or operating permits under legislation Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Monday. “Texas is open 100%, and we want to make sure you have the freedom to go where you want without limits,” Abbott said before …

Dallas’s NBC News affiliate reports: Escalating his showdown with President Joe Biden, Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered state child-care regulators to yank licenses from facilities that house minors who crossed the state’s southern border without papers and were detained. Currently, 52 state-licensed general residential operations and child placing agencies in Texas have contracts with the federal Office of Refugee …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he would veto the section of the state budget that funds the Legislature hours after a Democratic walkout killed his priority elections bill. “No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities,” Abbott said in a tweet. “Stay tuned.” Late Sunday night, enough Democrats left the House to break a quorum and …

Ars Technica reports: Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office knew of looming natural gas shortages on February 10, days before a deep freeze plunged much of the state into blackouts, according to documents obtained by E&E News and reviewed by Ars. Abbott’s office first learned of the likely shortfall in a phone call from then-chair of the Public Utility Commission of …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott signed into a law Wednesday a measure that would prohibit in Texas abortions as early as six weeks — before some women know they are pregnant — and open the door for almost any private citizen to sue abortion providers and others. The signing of the bill opens a new frontier in the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that public schools can no longer require masks on their campuses starting June 5. The decision was part of a new executive order that bans governmental entities in Texas — like cities and counties — from mandating masks in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Starting Friday, any government entity that …

Politico reports: Matthew McConaughey has publicly said a run for Texas governor in 2022 is a “true consideration.” But the Academy Award-winning actor’s interest goes a step further than musings in interviews. McConaughey has been quietly making calls to influential people in Texas political circles, including a deep-pocketed moderate Republican and energy CEO, to take their temperature on the race …

The Washington Post reports: This past weekend, a cadre of Republican critics raised the alarm that President Biden would take hamburgers and steaks off the menu as part of his new plan to combat climate change. But Biden’s plan doesn’t include any call to limit meat-eating. Instead, conservative ire was sparked by a Daily Mail article that baselessly speculated about …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Matthew McConaughey commands more support to be Texas’ next governor than incumbent Greg Abbott, according to a poll released Sunday by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler. If he were to take the plunge and run for governor, the poll found, 45% of Texas registered voters would vote for McConaughey, …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday banned state agencies, political subdivisions or organizations receiving public funds from creating “vaccine passports” or otherwise requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to receive services. “Texans are returning to normal life as more people get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. But as I’ve said all along, these vaccines …

The Texas Tribune reports: Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott blasted the actions of Facebook as “un-American [and] un-Texan,” accusing it and other social media giants of spearheading a “dangerous movement to silence conservative voices.” At the same time, his office was working quietly with the company with the hope that it will soon build a second data center in the …

USA Today reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that he would not be participating in the first pitch ceremony during the Texas Rangers’ home opener at Globe Life Field because of the MLB’s decision to move its All-Star Game from Atlanta over recent voting legislation that passed in Georgia. Abbott made the announcement in an open letter to Neil …

The Texas Tribune reports: Earlier Friday, The Dallas Morning News published remarks O’Rourke made that roused the Texas political class and suggested he no longer was interested in running for governor. “I’ve got no plans to run, and I’m very focused on the things that I’m lucky enough to do right now — organizing, registering voters and teaching,” O’Rourke said …

The Associated Press reports: Texas officials on Thursday raised the death toll from February’s winter storm and blackouts to at least 111 people — nearly doubling the state’s initial tally following one of the worst power outages in U.S. history. The majority of the deaths are associated with hypothermia, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The number …

Reuters reports: The third and last remaining commissioner of the Texas utilities regulator resigned under pressure on Tuesday after the release of comments to investors vowing to protect utility profits and dismissing financial hits from a cold snap on municipal power companies. The resignation came soon after the disclosure of inflammatory comments by the Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea …

The Texas Tribune reports: A fight has broken out among Texas Republicans over Gab, the embattled social network favored by the far right. The state GOP made clear Thursday it would not delete its Gab account after vice chair Cat Parks called on it to do so two days earlier — and got backup from Gov. Greg Abbott, who said …

Mediaite reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, somewhat out of the blue on Wednesday, laid fire down on alternative social media service Gab, calling it an “Anti-Semitic platform” that does not “represent Texas values.” But his own state party is a big, if recent, Gab user. The clip of Gov. Abbott slapping down Gab hit Twitter by Abbott’s own hand on …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott appeared this week to rebuff help from the federal government to give coronavirus testing to migrants before they are released from federal custody, saying it’s a federal responsibility to screen immigrants coming into Texas. The announcement came after Abbott, a Republican, repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden of “releasing immigrants …

The Texas Tribune reports: Decrying “a dangerous movement” to “silence conservative ideas [and] religious beliefs,” Gov. Greg Abbott touted a bill Friday that aims to crack down on the perceived censorship of conservative voices by social media companies. “They are controlling the flow of information — and sometimes denying the flow of information,” the Republican governor said at a press …

Dallas’s NBC News affiliate reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) are set to discuss a bill that aims to “help prohibit social media companies from censoring Texans based on the viewpoints they express,” the governor’s office says. According to the Texas Legislature, Senate Bill 12 would give Texans a way to get back online if …