Donald Trump has built close ties to many Texas Republicans, from judges to elected officials to policy experts.

Farmers say they want the water, but not if it goes against the allotment they need for the spring planting season.

Rio Grande Valley farmers' concerns about a lack of water are being addressed in a new executive order issued by state agriculture commissioner Sid Miller’s office.

Todd Smith’s plea comes days before he was set to go to trial, where Miller was subpoenaed to testify.

Todd Smith was indicted in 2022 on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for hemp licenses that are issued by Miller’s office.

Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller was at a rally for former President Donald Trump last night when an assassination attempt injured Trump, left 1 dead and 2 critically injured.

Get the latest election results for the Texas Primary runoff on May 28, 2024.

Federal officials said the nation’s milk supply should be not at risk after a bird flu outbreak hits dairies in Texas, New Mexico and Kansas.

The USDA estimates the families of 3.8 million children could have received $120 per child to cover summer lunches if the state participated in the new $2.5 billion program launching this summer. Texas is one of 15 states opting out.

Big spending and anger surround reelection bids for state House members like Glenn Rogers, who’s facing heat for votes on vouchers and Ken Paxton’s impeachment.

While polls once showed Trump and DeSantis tied in Texas, they now suggest the primary is all but over here. Trump leads Nikki Haley by a landslide.

Woodfill has been endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton despite his connection to Paul Pressler, a prominent religious figure accused of rape.

After 70 years on the farm, Jimmy Drake retired from the cotton business. With no family stepping up to take over the farm, he turned to a young neighbor.

The Texas Department of Agriculture’s elected leader, Sid Miller, has fought protections for trans workers.

The amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries.

The policy comes as LGBTQ advocates are fighting a wave of hostile legislation at the Capitol, including proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender children.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst filed a bill that would ban citizens, governments and entities from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing land in the state, part of what she and other Republicans have said will help stem foreign influence in Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who Trump endorsed for his reelection, has not commented about the former president’s announcement to run for the White House a third time.

Securing a third term with strong support across rural Texas, the Republican pledged to expand medical use of cannabis and funding for rural health care.

Election results for Texas Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Agriculture Commissioner, Land Commissioner, Railroad Commissioner

The state’s agriculture commissioner oversees a vast portfolio including farming and ranching, rural health care and the scales you use at grocery store checkout.

Watchdog groups fear the film will fuel chaos in the upcoming midterm elections and could be a pretext for more restrictive voting laws in the future.

For example, members of the Railroad Commission don’t deal with railroads. Here’s what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them.

Experts said the plan, announced at the state GOP convention on Saturday, is not realistic and possibly not legal.

The Texas Hill Country is one of the most popular wine regions in the U.S. Here is a list of local vineyards and wineries you can check out this summer.

After heavy bipartisan backlash, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday ended a Texas DPS checkpoint for commercial trucks coming in from Nuveo León after striking a deal with Gov. Samuel Alejandro Garcia Sepulveda.

Abbott’s new policy has resulted in hourslong delays and protester blockades at border crossings. The state’s agriculture commissioner criticized the measure as an “economy killing action.”

Find the latest, updated election results for the 2022 primary election in Texas on March 1, 2022.

Find the latest, updated election results for the 2022 primary election in Texas on March 1, 2022.

Find the latest, updated election results for the 2022 primary election in Texas on March 1, 2022.

Find the latest, updated election results for the 2022 primary election in Texas on March 1, 2022.

The incumbent avoided a runoff. State Rep. James White had tried to unseat Miller with criticisms centered on controversies under Miller’s leadership.

Patrick urged former Gov. Rick Perry to mount a challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a third term. He’s taken the already considerable power concentrated in the state’s No. 2 job to another level, forcing opponents from races and tightening his grip on the Senate.

The statewide races on the March primary ballots are sprinkled with the names of state and federal legislators from Texas. You might think they have the upper hand in those contests. Maybe, and maybe not.

Miller’s top challenger is state Rep. James White, a Hillister rancher, who is running a hard-charging campaign calling out the incumbent for creating a scandal-prone culture at the commission.

Early voting starts on Monday, and the primaries are on March 1. But some recent polling foreshadows May runoffs for some offices high on the Texas ballot.

The rally in the Houston suburbs put on full display how much of a grip former President Donald Trump still has on Texas Republican leaders.

Former President Donald Trump invited Texas’ top Republicans on stage at this weekend’s “Save America” rally in the Houston area.

For three of the state’s most experienced politicians, bad news comes with the territory. But bad news in the critical stages of an election is another, more serious, kind of trouble.

Sid Miller is challenging a debt relief program that the U.S. Department of Agriculture saw as a way to correct historic discrimination. An advocate for Black Texas farmers says the challenge “pushes us back even further.”

Todd Smith will no longer work for Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller following Smith’s indictment on charges of felony theft and commercial bribery.

Attorneys for Smith said he has not broken any laws. Miller, who is seeking reelection and facing a competitive primary, said Tuesday evening he's "not ready to throw [Smith] under the bus" and believes the indictment was politically motivated.

Miller is running for a third term.

Miller was seen as a potential challenger to Abbott because of his vocal criticism of the governor's restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 last year.

Texas GOP Chairman Allen West, Republican U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller each delivered remarks at the event. Marketing for the event included a logo featuring a cowboy hat with the letters “WWG1WGA” around its band, a QAnon motto.

The endorsement comes as Abbott faces a primary challenge from former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas and as other fellow Republicans eye the race.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for reelection, giving a top ally in Texas an early boost in his bid for a third term next year.

Maybe the latest announcement from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was just the sound of a political gnat hitting the windshield. Miller was unveiling his response to the blackouts that knocked Texas off its feet last month. Miller hasn’t said what he’ll do in 2022, but it was notable when he joined Texas GOP Chair Allen West in a demonstration outside the Governor’s Mansion before last year’s elections. (That assessment goes double for West, a one-term congressman from Florida who has never run for government office in Texas.) Ad“Mandating masks was associated with a decrease in daily COVID-19 case and death growth rates within 20 days of implementation,” they wrote.

ST. HEDWIG, Texas – Farmers across Texas were hit hard by the recent winter storm and rotating blackouts that knocked out power in many communities. Consumers can expect to feel the effects at the grocery store, with empty shelves and higher prices for some products. But the Scotts could not make it through the 2021 winter storm that left much of Texas without power. State relief for farmers is not available, and federal funds are slow to trickle in, according to the agriculture commissioner. The Texas Department of Agriculture has the STAR Fund, which is made up of private donations that help farmers during a disaster.

A Fiesta grocery store in South Austin saw a shortage of some goods as customers stocked up early in the week. From farm to table, freezing temperatures and power outages are crippling the supply chain that people rely on for food every day. Some are storing their remaining rations in coolers outside, and trips to the grocery store often do little to replenish pantries. Several food banks affiliated with Feeding Texas have also started providing food supplies to emergency warming shelters in the state’s major cities. AdFor Texas residents, disruptions to the food supply chain, often combined with continued power outages, mean eating non-perishable canned goods or leftover items like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Boxes of food and hygiene products from the Central Texas Food Bank at LBJ Early College High School. (Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune)With only two weeks before the funding expires, Texas’ state government still hasn’t spent about a quarter of the $8 billion it received from the federal coronavirus relief bill. In March, the U.S. Department of the Treasury assigned $11.24 billion to local and state governments in Texas. The state distributed $1.85 billion to smaller jurisdictions and has been distributing the remaining $8 billion through its health, education and emergency agencies, among others. On Monday, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said the remaining funds should be used to help rural hospitals and food banks.

If approved, shots could begin within days for health care workers and people in nursing homes. Shots would then begin for health care workers and nursing home residents. ___CANBERRA, Australia — Australian researchers say they have abandoned development of a potential coronavirus vaccine because it produced false positive results on HIV tests. A health ministry statement says the government will first vaccinate health care workers, particularly those who deal with COVID-19 cases. ___HONOLULU — Hawaii expects to receive 80,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine in December for health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.

It is unclear how Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller contracted the coronavirus or whether he has received medical attention. Credit: Juan Figueroa for The Texas TribuneTexas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said Wednesday evening that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He is the second known statewide elected official to test positive for the coronavirus. "Friends, I just got news that I have tested positive for COVID-19, and as a result, will be quarantining at my ranch,” Miller said in a written statement. The first statewide elected official to publicly confirm a positive coronavirus test was Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann in May.

India’s health ministry says some coronavirus vaccines are likely to receive licenses in the next few weeks. ___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:About 50% of Americans will take the new coronavirus vaccine, according to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. — EU drug regulator hacked, data on COVID-19 vaccine accessed— UK probing if 2 allergic reactions linked to vaccine— Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf tests positive for coronavirus___Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak___HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas state official who has been critical of measures ordered by Gov. According to the state’s coronavirus dashboard, COVID-19-related hospitalizations on Tuesday reached 3,287, up 130 from Monday.

Texas Republican Party Chair Allen West speaks to a crowd gathered at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday to protest business closures and mask mandates. The "Free Texas" rally featured speeches from Texas GOP Chair Allen West and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, both of whom invoked the governor critically. "And if the governor did not get this resolution, I'm gonna leave it right here, at the gates of the Governor's Mansion." Alt text: Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller speaks to a crowd gathered in front of the Governor’s Mansion to protest statewide business closures and mask mandates. "I told him that true leaders don't pick and choose when they do what is right," West said.

In July, Abbott added six days to the early voting period, moving the start date up to Oct. 13 from Oct. 19, citing the coronavirus pandemic. West said in the same statement that he opposes the "extension of early voting through the decree of a single executive instead of through the legislative process." Using the same rationale, he previously extended early voting for the July primary runoffs. Abbott's expanded that option to the entire early voting period. Because the 17th day before this year's November election is a Saturday, the early voting period had been slated to commence the following Monday, Oct. 19.

After touring a state-licensed Austin-area marijuana facility last week, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller indicated he would like to see the program expanded. “I would certainly expand medical marijuana. Critics say Texans with ailments like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or glaucoma should be allowed access to medical marijuana. While Miller expressed the need to expand medical access to marijuana in Texas, he stopped short of advocating for legalizing the drug recreationally. While Miller doesn’t have a vote in the Legislature, his agency does oversee the licensing of medical marijuana cultivators in Texas.

At least 187 Texans have reported receiving mystery packets of seeds in the mail from China. An invasive plant species might not sound threatening, but these small invaders could destroy Texas agriculture. Intentionally keeping or planting the seeds would be illegal, Miller said., because they are an illegal product. First, it was a China virus, then it was murder hornets. The phrase "China virus," used by President Donald Trump and defended by politicians including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, has been criticized as racist and anti-Chinese.

The posts from those local officials have prompted calls for resignation from the states top GOP officials. One post from Miller on Sunday included an image of Soros with accompanying text that read, Climate change didnt work. The Anti-Defamation League has reported that hundreds of thousands of social media posts in recent days have falsely suggested that he is behind the recent protests. Fact-checkers have debunked multiple fake flyers circulating on social media purported to be from organizations linked to Soros that were offering people money to protest. Miller has a history of posting incendiary and false statements on his social media channels, including on a Facebook page that has more than 800,000 followers.

After a marathon 17-plus hour debate that started just after noon last Tuesday, the House finally gave its preliminary nod to its version of the state budget, so we start this week's playlist of the week’s news with “For the Love of Money” by The O’Jays.