BREAKING: SCOTUS has *temporarily* restored Texas Republicans’ new congressional map after a lower court struck them down. Justice Alito asks for plaintiffs to file a response on Monday by 5; full decision coming after that #txlege Background: www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

NEW: The ruling against Texas' redistricting map cited quotes from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the House speaker, and 3 other lawmakers as proof that the Texas GOP adopted the racial framing of the DOJ letter. A look at the judges' reasoning, which will be appealed: www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

BREAKING: A Trump-appointed federal judge just ruled that Texas *CANNOT* use its new redistricting map in the 2026 Congressional election. They have to use the 2021 map instead, he ruled. If this is upheld on appeal, it would crater Trump's plan to win 5 new Republican seats in the House. #txlege

NEW: As Texas school districts scramble to comply with a new state law banning "indecent" and "profane" library books, one startup is cashing in. I dug into tens of thousands of dollars in contracts between the company and Texas public schools. Here's what I learned: 🧵

Breaking: Texas National Guard troops will soon head home from the Chicago area, weeks after President Donald Trump ordered them there to guard an ICE facility, per @nytimes.com & @cnn.com www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

Big follow-up to this story coming Monday. Watch this space 👀📚

NEW: Democratic deadlock over the Texas U.S. Senate race kept Rep. @joaquincastrotx.bsky.social from running for AG, he said Castro wanted to divide statewide races up with Colin Allred, James Talarico and Beto O'Rourke for a "strong, well-funded" Dem ticket expressnews.com/politics/art...

New: Nearly one in five Texas Latinos who voted for Trump regret their choice, new @UnidosUS bipartisan-run poll finds The survey also found that 64% blame Republicans for the government shutdown, versus 21% who blame Democrats. www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

NEW: The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily greenlit Texas' enforcement of a ban on drag shows and "sexually oriented performances" in front of minors while a lawsuit plays out, vacating a lower court's block of the law #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

A federal appeals court next year will hear Texas’ arguments against a ruling that blocked nearly a dozen school districts from displaying posters of the Ten Commandments.

1/ The Trump admin has targeted the president's perceived enemies with allegations of mortgage fraud. Letitia James. Adam Schiff. Lisa Cook But recently one Texas Republican tapped the tactic to allege a statewide official here may also be guilty: Ken Paxton. www.kut.org/crime-justic... #txlege

The U.S. is on track to have the fewest foreign food inspections since 2011, except during the Covid pandemic. 65% of the staff in the FDA divisions responsible for coordinating travel and budgets left or were fired in the name of government efficiency. www.propublica.org/article/fore...

NEW: The Texas National Guard is still in Illinois despite a court order blocking their deployment, I confirmed. Between the TX & IL National Guards, the Chicago mission could cost from $8-$12 mil by next month. A judge allowed them to remain under fed control. www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

NEW: Millions of poor Americans could see $0 in SNAP benefits because of the way the Trump administration has implemented a court order, which required it to preserve the program during the shutdown. Others may get about $12 in partial payments. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/u...

Inbox: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's campaign is hoping to fundraise on Zohran Mamdani's victory "The Left is coming for our state," their email reads. "Texas is the first line of defense. If we allow socialism to spread here, it can take root anywhere." #txlege

Tune into @TexasStandard now to hear about how Texas schools are using AI to screen library books for content banned under a new state law, SB 13. Talked with them about my recent story: www.statesman.com/politics/art...

New: Family ties run deep among unauthorized immigrants in the San Antonio area. Per recent estimates: -nearly half of Bexar County's 101k unauthorized immigrants have lived there for 20+ years -38,000 live with minor children -24% are married to U.S. citizens www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

The Nebraska DHHS website features a banner blaming Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown. The move by Gov. Jim Pillen follows the trend of gov websites being used in the messaging battle over the shutdown. My latest @nebraskaexaminer.com nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/30/n...

The program, signed into law by former Gov. George W. Bush, has become a Republican target amid the party's broader DEI crackdown.

NEW FROM ME: Texas school boards are increasingly turning to ChatGPT & other AI programs to comply with SB 13, a new state law that requires them to vet school library purchase lists for "indecent" or "profane" content. #txlege www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/art...

‘Quiet as a whisper’: German firm launches campaign after lift was used in Louvre heist

JUST IN: 11 9th Circuit judges dissent* as appeals court declines en banc rehearing of ruling letting Trump use National Guard in L.A. Some judges may keep powder dry for Oregon case w/weaker facts for Trump admin. Doc: cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op... Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

BREAKING: A Waco federal judge has ruled Texas’ HB 900/READER Act unconstitutional & blocked the state from enforcing its requirement that schools remove books labeled “sexually explicit” by vendors. This makes permanent a temp block that the 5th Circuit upheld. #txlege

BREAKING: Trump can deploy the Oregon National Guard to protect an ICE facility in Portland while a lawsuit plays out, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled. The Texas National Guard wasn't part of the appeal, so they remain blocked from going to OR.

NEW: A national Republican group whose biggest individual donor is Elon Musk is spending millions to counter California's redistricting ballot initiative. If passed, CA's Prop 50 would neutralize TX's addition of 5 U.S. House seats favoring the GOP. #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

Gov. Greg Abbott will again deploy state troopers and the National Guard to Austin ahead of an anti-Trump "No Kings" protest, claiming the demonstration is linked to antifa #txlege

Central Texas' New Braunfels ISD temporarily closes high school libraries to "ensure compliance" with SB 13, a new state law banning content deemed to be indecent or profane. via @expressnews.com #txlege www.expressnews.com/hill-country...

EXCLUSIVE: Per a Texas National Guard source, the rushed nature of the deployment led the state military department to include 3-4 members who weren't up to fitness standards, my colleague and I report in an update #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

A conservative Christian group helped end the constitutional right to an abortion in the U.S. Now, it has taken its playbook to Britain. Here's how the Alliance Defending Freedom became an unlikely conduit between MAGA Republicans and the Reform U.K. party. nyti.ms/3KLqGol

NEW: Some Texas National Guard soldiers deployed to Chicago have been sent home for failing to meet fitness standards after an ABC News photo of heavyset troops went viral. Comes after Defense Sec & former Fox host Pete Hegseth said he was tired of “fat troops” giving the military a “bad look.”

BREAKING: 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago has allowed the Texas National Guard to remain federalized, saying troops "do not need to return to their home states" unless further ordered by a court. But they denied Trump's request to let active deployment continue. #txlege

TX National Guard deployment: Chicago judge's 51-page written ruling is out "Not even the Founding Father most ardently in favor of a strong federal government believed that one state’s militia could be sent to another state for the purposes of political retribution," she writes #txlege

Chaya Raichik, better known as Libs of TikTok, was dutifully bemoaning the fact that the city of Houston repainted a Montrose neighborhood crosswalk decked on in LGBTQ+ rainbow colors. Raichik wrote that the crosswalk “must be removed immediately.” And our governor dutifully complied.

For those following the Illinois v. Trump appeal in the Texas National Guard deployment case, the 7th Circuit docket is now up on CourtListener: www.courtlistener.com/docket/71608...

UPDATE: The Pentagon just told me that "the federalized National Guard personnel will remain in a federalized status," suggesting Texas National Guard members are still activated in Chicago. #txlege

In Republican-dominated Texas, the state’s leaders are largely chosen in the GOP primary. Now, the party is weighing a move to make the group of deciders even smaller. The intra-party fight over a bid to remove some Republicans from primary ballots: #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

This is a doozy: A Chicago federal judge blocked all defendants *EXCEPT PRESIDENT TRUMP* from federalizing & deploying the National Guard in Illinois in written order just issued. I have no idea how this would be implemented. More TK. #txlege bsky.app/profile/did:...

BREAKING: A Chicago federal judge has partially blocked President Donald Trump’s deployment of Texas troops in Illinois More details forthcoming. #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

Fascinating history lesson from @austin-statesman.com: www.statesman.com/news/article...

New: What's the Texas National Guard doing in Chicago? What federal law has Trump invoked to call them there, and what are officials on both sides arguing in the court case over the deployment? Also, who pays? An explainer: www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

Breaking: Texas Attorney General & U.S. Senate candidate @KenPaxtonTX says his office will begin "undercover operations to infiltrate and uproot leftist terror cells" in the state. "There can be no compromise with those who want us dead," he says #txlege

👀 Marjorie Taylor Greene breaks with Republicans on Obamacare funding, saying she’s not a fan of the law but demands action to prevent a premium hike. “I’m absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year.” She says GOP leaders don’t have a plan.

New: What Texas Congress members, senators and state officials say about Trump's plan to send the Texas National Guard to Chicago & Portland www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/pol...

New: The Texas National Guard is headed to Chicago, lawyers say, after an Illinois federal judge declined to block Trump's deployment. A hearing in the case is set for Thursday #txlege www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/art...

UPDATE: Illinois and Chicago have sued the Trump administration over the impending deployment of National Guard troops into the state, including from Texas. A federal judge also blocked Trump from sending the TX Natl Guard into Portland for now. #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

NEW: A federal judge has blocked Trump from sending TX National Guard & other troops into Portland for now. The hearing comes just hours after Abbott confirmed the deployment. Troops may still be sent to Chicago against @govpritzker.illinois.gov's wishes #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

New: GOP advocates including Texas Right to Life & Houston Crime Stoppers invoke parental rights in new push to block Robert Roberson execution #txlege www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison's successful pressure campaign against Texas A&M catapulted him into national news. Yet he passed no bills this year & is reviled by his GOP colleagues. What is the former Trump official's end game? A #txlege profile: www.expressnews.com/politics/art...

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

In 1981, a Harris County, Texas constable's clerk was fired for this quip about the failed attempt to assassinate Pres. Reagan: “Shoot, if they go for him again, I hope they get him.” The SCOTUS ruling in that case is a key precedent for cases on public servants' private speech.🧵