Lauren McGaughy
@lmcgaughy
Investigative reporter + editor for The Texas Newsroom @KUT @NPR | Covering Texas politics + Elon Musk | FOIA nerd | Signal: lmcgaughy.40 | [email protected]
Seems like a good time to reintroduce myself. I'm an investigative reporter and editor for The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration of public radio stations across the state. This year, I've focused on Elon Musk. Got a tip? DMs open. Email [email protected]. Signal is lmcgaughy.40.
It's official: After SCOTUS declined to take up @Tesla's suit over direct sales in Louisiana, the case has now been dismissed. @elonmusk's EV company sued over not being able to sell his cars directly to consumers in the state. Texas has laws. #txlege #lalege
The Texas House has set its hearings on redistricting: 7/24 @ the capitol, 2pm (or upon adjournment) 7/26 @ Univ. of Houston, 11am 7/28 @ UT-Arlington, 5pm Public comment limited to five hours at each hearing
Soooo much good original reporting comes out of @kut and the Texas Newsroom, a collaboration of NPR and local stations.
🧵NEW: For years, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he did not need to disclose more about his real estate interests to state ethics regulators. Of the 10 properties he or his blind trust own — most purchased in the last five years — he'd only ever listed four. #txlege
Just 7% Texas homeowners have federal flood insurance. But the state also saw one of the biggest drops in people with this coverage in the past year. The July 4 floods, like other disasters before it, are forcing people to rethink that. By @AKMcGlinchy: kut.org/housing/2025-0…
Elon Musk donated another $1 million to Texans for Lawsuit Reform's PAC on June 30, the last day of the latest reporting period. He also gave $1M to TLR in September last year, the same month he gave $2M to a PAC supporting GOP court of appeals candidates around Texas. #txlege
Good get from @HoustonChron's @benwermund: Joe Gebbia is behind a recent $1M contribution to Gov. Greg Abbott's campaign. Abbott's folks pledged to fix his report after the Chron pointed out it did not have the necessary info regarding the contribution. Gebbia, who co-founded…
Me reading #txlege campaign finance reports: Wait, how did I not know there's really an Acme Brick Company??
ICYMI: The @dallasnews reports that GOP candidate for Texas attorney general Aaron Reitz took a $100K donation from a doctor who was accused of millions in fraud and fled to Dubai before the indictment. Story by @PhilJankowski. dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege
How could the rescission affect Austin's @NPR station? @KUTnews GM Debbie Hiott sent out an email this morning that says, her best guess is about $1.2M lost annually if CPB funding is eliminated. NPR coverage: npr.org/2025/07/17/nx-…
