Last-ditch battles for power will unfold across Texas over the next week. The legislative session begins Tuesday, Jan. 14, and whoever wins the contentious battle for the Texas House speaker position will largely shape the state’s government next year.
This fight pits two factions of the Republican Party against each other.
Within the Capitol, the speaker is probably the third most powerful position in the state. These days, he heads a bipartisan coalition led by Republicans but with Democrats, which largely decides which bills get voted on.
A large group of Republican hardcore descended on Tarrant County Republican Party headquarters Monday with the goal of changing the power structure this year.
“Until the Texas House is fixed, everything else is band-aid,” said incoming state Rep. Mitch Little.
The Texas Republican Party, led by Chairman Abraham George, is helping organize more than a dozen bus tours to bring people to Austin next week to pressure Republican lawmakers to support Chairman David Cook, R-Mansfield. There is.
Cook, a member of the Republican caucus, has pledged to eliminate bipartisan coalitions and govern the Texas House of Representatives in a style closer to that seen in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched his own tour to focus on the effort. Cook was among the majority of House Republicans to impeach Paxton in 2023, but the two sides appear to have mended their rift. Mr. Paxton is supporting Mr. Cook in the House leadership race.
“Whatever they do, it’s going to be public and transparent. And it’s up to the voters to decide what happens, not me,” Paxton said at an event in Tarrant County on Monday. He spoke at
The other faction of the Republican Party supports Lubbock Rep. Dustin Burrows and says the 150 members of the Texas House should decide whether to allow Democrats to serve as powerful committee chairs.
“Speaker Burroughs believes that all members of the House are elected representatives of the people and their voices deserve to be heard,” said Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) previously in Lone Star Politics. argued.
Many members of the Burroughs coalition were supporters of incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), who chose not to seek the position after a difficult campaign. They see themselves as defending the state constitution and the Texas House of Representatives, which is a check on other statewide powers across Texas. It’s a check on other statewide powers across Texas, including Mr. Paxton, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Texas Senate majority leader, and several prominent political donors in West Texas. .
“Our founders designed our system so that each chamber is independent of each other. Therefore, if one chamber controls the other, it will not work as intended. ” said Republican Rep. Cody Harris of Palestine.
The speaker’s vote will take place next Tuesday, on the first day of the legislative session in Austin.
