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Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has withdrawn his candidacy for next year’s House leadership position ahead of a key vote scheduled for this weekend.
Phelan is expected to defend his position against the party’s far-right wing, some of whom have rallied behind state Rep. David Cook of Mansfield.
Republicans are expected to meet behind closed doors this weekend to choose candidates for the most prominent positions in state politics. Phelan was first elected as House Minority Leader in 2021. During his two terms, he passed one of the toughest anti-abortion laws, expanded gun rights, cut taxes and helped move the state further to the right.
Despite winning on conservative policies, the East Texas lawmaker remains locked with other top Republican leaders in the state, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the state Senate, and Attorney General Ken Paxton. .
Here’s what you need to know about the House Speaker position and what happens next.
What is the Texas Legislature?
The Texas Legislature is similar to the U.S. Congress, but only for star states. State legislatures help run state governments by enacting laws and setting budget priorities. For example, lawmakers play a key role in determining how much money schools receive. It also enacts a variety of laws, from banning abortion to requiring cars to pass safety inspections.
And just like Congress, there are two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Speaker runs the House of Representatives, and the Lieutenant Governor presides over the Senate.
How will the speaker of the Texas House be chosen?
The lieutenant governor is elected statewide, along with the governor and attorney general, while the speaker of the house is elected by the members of the House of Representatives.
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A formal vote on the House speaker will take place in January, after the new parliament convenes in its entirety. Any member can run for office. The winner needs 76 votes from 150 members to secure their spot.
However, the caucus with the most members usually takes the lead in selecting leaders before the House of Representatives meets. That’s why the internal struggles within the Republican Party over the past few years have become so important.
Many of the state’s most conservative Republicans have publicly said Phelan is too moderate and have expressed support for Cook. Until Friday, both candidates maintained they had the support needed to win the seat in January. But while Mr. Cook touted support from the majority of Republicans in the House, Mr. Phelan’s path to victory would have included support from both Republicans and Democrats.
The Texas House Republican Caucus’s self-imposed rules require members to vote and elect a Republican candidate for Congress by January. The rules were enacted in 2017 after former Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) announced he would not run for re-election.
What does the Speaker of the House do?
The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Commons. The chair maintains order during floor debates, recognizes members who wish to speak, and defines procedural issues. The Speaker also signs all bills and joint resolutions passed by Congress.
“The speaker’s power is important because it controls the flow of legislation,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor at the University of Houston.
In other words, the Speaker has sufficient power to block the passage of a bill if he does not like it. (The same applies to the deputy governor.)
Further powers are granted in the Rules of Procedure at the beginning of each regular session and may include the appointment of committees, the designation of committee chairs and vice-chairs, and the referral of proposed legislation to such committees. .
“Over the past 20 years, we have seen speakers implement highly partisan strategies to achieve their will,” Rottinghaus said.
As Texas becomes more partisan, the speaker’s job becomes more difficult, he said.
Are competitions for this position usually contentious?
“This is the most competitive, public, nonpartisan battle of speakers we’ve seen in history,” Rottinghaus said.
Historically, this position has not been particularly desirable to most lawmakers, Rottinghaus said. They will serve one term and then retire. Rottinghaus said things have changed as partisan politics has transformed what was once a primarily administrative position into one of power. But even back then, contentious races were generally kept in-house and out of public view. The public bid to remove Mr Phelan from his position is unique.
Mr. Phelan faced a fiercely contested primary election for the seat representing Mr. Beaumont, and defeated underdog challenger David Covey in a run-off in May. He has been the region’s representative since 2015.
But Mr. Covey has the support of several major Texas Republican leaders and former President Donald Trump, and he actually received more votes than Mr. Phelan in the March primary.
Why do some Republicans think Phelan isn’t conservative enough?
Rottinghaus said far-right Republicans don’t trust him to guide conservative legislation.
Texas passed some of the most conservative legislation in living memory, banning abortion, restricting unauthorized carry-in, and restricting trans care. But Mr. Phelan’s support for the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton drew him away from the state’s far right. The failure of school choice vouchers exacerbated the problem, with some Republicans arguing that Mr. Phelan wasn’t doing enough to make it pass.
Phelan has also publicly voiced support for moving the bill forward, acknowledging the House’s long-standing tradition of allowing Democrats to lead committees. This directly contradicts the Republican goal of disempowering the Democratic minority in the House by removing them from committee leadership positions.
What happens next?
Other than the fact that Republicans have to nominate leaders, it’s a little murky. The caucus is expected to be held this weekend. However, there is no guarantee that Cook will be the speaker, as another consensus candidate could emerge in Phelan’s absence.
“If that’s the case, and it’s not Mr. Phelan, there’s a very high risk that everything will be delayed legislatively,” Rottinghaus said. “Other candidates for speaker, other candidates for speaker are going to have a hard time unifying the Republican Party, and Democrats are going to see this dysfunction and drag their feet on everything.”
Disclosure: The University of Houston has financially supported the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by contributions from members, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. See the complete list of them here.
