Nikki Haley PAC off to solid start with $5 5 million in first six months washingtonexaminer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonexaminer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Frozen natural-gas equipment led to the state s deadly power outages
March 2, 2021 8:00PM (UTC)
A view of high voltage transmission towers on February 21, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Millions of Texans lost their power when winter storm Uri hit the state and knocked out coal, natural gas and nuclear plants that were unprepared for the freezing temperatures brought on by the storm. Wind turbines that provide an estimated 24 percent of energy to the state became inoperable when they froze. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
$1.7M for George Strait, six-figure bonuses: Months later, a lawsuit forced Texas to release details on inaugural spending
Source: Texas Tribune
and last updated 2020-12-21 11:46:27-05 By Shannon Najmabadi, The Texas Tribune, and Jay Root, Houston Chronicle
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
To celebrate Gov. Greg Abbottâs reelection last year, his inaugural committee paid a whopping $1.7 million to hire country crooner George Strait and his band. A coterie of top political aides and staff got more than $1 million, some of it paid out in six-figure bonuses. And a handful of lucky charities received $800,000 in unspent money.
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
To celebrate Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection last year, his inaugural committee paid a whopping $1.7 million to hire country crooner George Strait and his band. A coterie of top political aides and staff got more than $1 million, some of it paid out in six-figure bonuses. And a handful of lucky charities received $800,000 in unspent money.
Left out of that tally: the $116,000 taxpayers spent to keep all those inaugural expenditures secret.
Abbott and the 2019 Texas Inaugural Committee spent months fighting the disclosure of documents detailing how they spent a record-setting $5.3 million that event organizers raised mostly from corporations and wealthy donors.
1of11
Gov. Greg Abbott arrives with his wife Cecilia and daughter Audrey at the oath of office ceremony on Inauguration Day at the Capitol on Tuesday Jan. 15, 2019.Jay Janner, MBR / TNSShow MoreShow Less
2of11
Susan Patrick shows her boots as Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick ccelebrate at the Texas Inaugural Ball at the Palmer Event in Austin on January 15, 2019.Tom Reel, Staff / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
3of11
Barbecue is served up at the Inaugural Family after the Inauguration Ceremony in Austin, on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019.Bob Owen, STAFF-photographer / San Antonio Express-NewsShow MoreShow Less
4of11
Another tray of barbecue arrives at the Inaugural Family Barbecue on the South Grounds of the Texas Capitol after the Inauguration Ceremony in Austin, on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019.Bob Owen, STAFF-photographer / San Antonio Express-NewsShow MoreShow Less