This week, a court case against Attorney General Ken Paxton moved forward, the governor sent migrants to Chicago by plane, and could the relationship between Texas cities and the state be thawing, thanks to connections between state officials and some new mayors? Matthew Watkins, managing editor for news and politics at The Texas Tribune, takes a look at Texas’ biggest political stories this week:
– A judge ruled this week that Paxton and some of his top aides can be compelled to testify in the three-year-old whistleblower case filed by former staffers. The staffers alleged they were fired after reporting concerns about Paxton to the FBI.
– Gov. Greg Abbott sent a plane carrying asylum-seekers to Chicago as part of his ongoing attempt to shift the burden of dealing with migrants onto Democratic-run cities and away from Texas border communities. Previously, migrants have been transported out of Texas by bus.
– A Texas Tribune feature article took a look at how former Democratic state senators’ campaigns for mayor in Austin and Houston have been greeted warmly by Republicans. Kirk Watson and John Whitmire both served in the state Senate before becoming mayor in Austin and Houston, respectively. State officials have feuded with those cities’ leaders in the past, and passed laws the cities found burdensome.
Listen to an interview with Watkins in the audio player above.
