Watch live: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s inauguration festivities

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Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick might be sworn in to workplace and celebrated in a collection of occasions for Inauguration Day on Tuesday.

Abbott defeated Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke by an 11-point margin in November on a platform of tightening border safety and attacking Democrats over inflation and a slowing financial system. He kicks off his third four-year time period in workplace with a legislative session through which a virtually $33 billion budget surplus looms giant. Abbott has promised to make use of half of the excess funds to cut back the property tax burden for householders. However, he faces headwinds within the type of constitutional restrictions to a few of the spending and competing pursuits from different lawmakers.

Patrick, who serves as chief of the state Senate, the place he exerts great affect over laws, additionally defeated his Democratic opponent in November by double digits and is getting into his third four-year time period. Texas doesn’t have time period limits for state officers.

The inauguration day festivities kicked off Monday afternoon with a Catholic Mass at Saint Mary Cathedral in downtown Austin.

On Tuesday, there’s a prayer service at 9 a.m. on the University Avenue Church of Christ.

Abbott might be sworn in and take the oath of workplace at 11 a.m. on the Texas Capitol’s north steps, which might be adopted by “A Taste of Texas” —a luncheon that includes eating places from throughout the state serving meals on the south grounds of the Capitol. The evening will end with a “Celebration of Texas” ball at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater.

Spending on every of the final two inaugurations for the 2 Republicans has eclipsed that of every other in Texas for no less than 40 years, The Texas Tribune reported in 2019. The final inauguration value $5.3 million; the governor’s workplace mentioned no state {dollars} had been spent on the festivities that 12 months.

Check out a few of our earlier reporting on Abbott’s time in workplace:

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