Conservative activists have pushed for legislative leaders to ban Democrats from leading committees.
, arguing that they would hold up the passage of conservative legislation. Earlier this month, hundreds of activists streamed into the House and Senate galleries wearing bright red shirts that read, “Ban Democrat Chairs.
”, a former state representative. Banning Democratic committee chairs is among the party’s eight legislative priorities. The debate has largely been focused on the House, which has a long-standing tradition of appointing committee chairs from the minority party. Phelan, like speakers before him, has argued that it contributes to a sense of unity in the chamber and sets the Texas Legislature apart from Congress’ rank divisions. He has pushed back on claims that Democrats tank GOP legislation by saying conservative priorities that have the support of a majority of the chamber have been enacted into law. But the issue has been less contentious in the Senate. Patrick’s governing philosophy is that the majority party should control leadership positions. Under his tenure as the Senate boss, Democrats in leadership positions have dwindled. And Patrick has said publicly that once Whitmire, of Houston, leaves the Senate, he will no longer appoint any Democrats to lead committees. Whitmire, who has served in the Senate since 1983 and long led the panel that oversees criminal justice legislation,Rinaldi seemed to approve of Patrick’s committee assignments and called on Phelan to “announce a similar plan to reduce and eventually eliminate Democrat chairmen in the House, rather than continuing to defend the practice.” “The Lieutenant Governor’s committee appointments position the Senate well to pass every Republican legislative priority this session,” Rinaldi said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “We are also grateful for the Lt. Gov. being responsive to the party’s concerns regarding Democrat chairmen and reducing the number from 32% of committees before he took office to one during his tenure.” Fourteen of the 15 standing Senate committees announced Monday will be led by Republican lawmakers. A sixteenth special committee on redistricting also will be run by a Republican.
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