House Speaker Dade Phelan has stuck to the tradition of appointing chairs from the opposing party, drawing fierce pushback from the GOP’s right wing.
House Speaker Dade Phelan , R-Beaumont, gavels the House into session on the House floor during session at the state Capitol in Austin on April 11, 2023.A group of 46 Republican House members and nominees pledged Friday to only back a speaker next session who commits to ending the tradition of appointing Democratic committee chairs — a move that narrows the path to the gavel for House SpeakerTo be elected speaker, a House member must secure 76 votes, a majority of the 150-seat chamber.
Another House Republican nominee, Brent Money, argued that GOP speakers have relied on Democratic support ever since — and that putting members on record will only make it harder to win the gavel through the usual route of backroom talks and deal-making. The debate over Democratic chairs has intensified over the last year or so, becoming a major point of contention for Phelan’s critics and emerging as a surprisingly prominent issue in the speaker’s own primary,earlier this week. Last February, already facing a push from the right to reduce Democratic influence in the GOP-led chamber, Phelan selected Democrats to chair eight of the 34 standing committees, down from the 13 he appointed at the start of the prior legislative session.
“Last session I gave too much benefit of the doubt to leadership’s power sharing with Democrats and then spent many frustrating hours trying to overcome the obstacles created by their empowering minority members at the expense of the majority,” Slawson wrote., one of Phelan’s main political rivals, praised the letter of anti-Democratic chair pledges and said it meant the only way Phelan could only be reelected “is by a handful of a small minority of Republicans and a huge majority of Democrats.
Politics Texas House Of Representatives Republican Party Of Texas Republicans Speaker Of The Texas House Dade Phelan Texas Legislature
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