Table Of Content
- Lawmakers to Focus on School Safety and Property Tax Relief as 88th Texas Legislature Begins Today
- Speaker Dade Phelan forcefully defends Ken Paxton impeachment in campaign ad
- Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan says he has a path to victory in primary runoff battle
- Latest from our reporters
- WFAA would like to send you push notifications about the latest news and weather.
- Pressure mounts on House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign as third special session looms
Phelan retains the support of local establishment Republicans, including the Jefferson and Orange party chairs and Beaumont Mayor Roy West, and also is endorsed by former Gov. Rick Perry. Jefferson County Republican Party Chair Joe Evans praised Phelan’s commitment to protecting the oil and gas industry and funding local colleges like Lamar University. Last year, with Republican voters citing border security as their top issue, the Phelan-led House approved $1.5 billion for walls and fencing along the Rio Grande and made illegally crossing the boundary a state crime.
Lawmakers to Focus on School Safety and Property Tax Relief as 88th Texas Legislature Begins Today
“At some point, we need to realize we’re settling for just enough wins to get reelected,” Slaton said. He defeated state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, who was nominated by ultraconservative members who say Phelan is unreasonably accommodating of Democrats in the chamber. Tinderholt cast a ballot for himself, as did two Republican members who nominated him, Nate Schatzline of Tarrant County and Bryan Slaton of Royce City. Phelan advanced to the runoff with rival David Covey, a former chairman of the Orange County Republican Party who has been endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and former President Donald Trump. Phelan was neck and neck with GOP challenger David Covey with votes still being counted.
Speaker Dade Phelan forcefully defends Ken Paxton impeachment in campaign ad
Phelan’s opponents have coalesced around Covey, an oil and gas consultant and former chairman of the Orange County Republican Party. Daniel Whitton, vice president of the Jasper County Republican Club, said the sheer volume of anti-Phelan messaging from his opponents, especially about the Paxton impeachment, threatens to drown out the facts. For months, Phelan opponents have bombarded voters in District 21 with attack ads via television, radio and mailers. If Phelan comes out ahead in the runoff, he'll likely face a separate challenge to his speakership from Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, who announced last monththat he would seek the House's top spot in 2025. "He simply cannot defend his liberal record to the people of Southeast Texas."
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan says he has a path to victory in primary runoff battle
Last session, in 2021, Phelan appointed 14 Democrats and 21 Republicans as committee chairs. In the final weeks he enjoyed the support of former Gov. Rick Perry, who boasted to supporters that Phelan gave his district a seat at the table in every major decision the Legislature makes. Phelan, who declined to be interviewed for this story, is described among colleagues and other Capitol observers as a straight-shooter who knows the legislative process inside and out and who has a track record of being hardworking and accommodating.
More from CBS News
Phelan has not budged on the issue, indicating he once again plans to allow some Democratic chairs and arguing that the Texas House operates better on a bipartisan basis and eschewing the divisiveness seen in Washington, D.C. Phelan began the 2023 legislative session batting away criticism from a small but vocal faction of Republicans who routinely nag him for appointing Democrats to committee leadership positions, which they feel is a slap in the face to voters who elected a conservative majority. It was easy enough to ignore, as Phelan still overwhelmingly had the confidence of his House membership. Phelan guided the House through the 2021 legislative sessions, which some observers called “the most conservative” in state history. Lawmakers passed new laws banning almost all abortions and allowing permitless carry of handguns. Although the Legislature eventually passed a bill addressing property taxes and introduced into law a sweeping border security package, Patrick and Phelan have remained on bad terms as the Senate's boss has actively campaigned against Phelan and his allies.
Patrick signaled his intentions on first day in Senate
Texas GOP censures House Speaker Dade Phelan - Axios
Texas GOP censures House Speaker Dade Phelan.
Posted: Sun, 11 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
His wife, Kim, is a solo practitioner attorney and together they have four sons, Ford, Mack, Hank and Luke. He and his family reside together in Southeast Texas, where Speaker Phelan was born and raised. He received his bachelor’s degree in government and business from The University of Texas at Austin. The Texas House selected him to lead the chamber in 2021 and again this year, both times with near-unanimous votes.
Republican Party of Texas Censures Speaker Dade Phelan - Republican Party of Texas
Republican Party of Texas Censures Speaker Dade Phelan.
Posted: Sat, 10 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The Texas House on Tuesday re-elected State Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) to a second term as House Speaker. “The barrage aimed at our campaign over the past year was meant to be my undoing, and yet here I am, emerging from the most contentious and expensive primary in state history still fighting and more determined than ever,” Phelan said. Covey, Phelan believes, is an opportunist willing to do the bidding of Paxton and out-of-district donors who don’t like the speaker.
WFAA would like to send you push notifications about the latest news and weather.
His great-grandfather, John Henry Phelan, made a fortune at Spindletop and spent it on philanthropy and land; Dade Phelan works for the now fourth-generation real estate business. But a tumultuous 2023 exposed deep fissures within the Republican Party, exacerbated by the House’s impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and refusal to pass a school voucher program favored by Gov. Greg Abbott. Regardless of the outcomes in the upcoming runoff election and potential speakership battle, Phelan has already made a reluctant piece of House history in being forced into a runoff. Nick Maddux, a general consultant for Covey, in a statement Thursday reiterated the campaign's frustration with Phelan over the debate and took issue with the arrangements for the April 1 offer from the news stations and over its potential moderator.
Pressure mounts on House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign as third special session looms
"While David Covey and Dade Phelan are headed to a runoff, it's clear that our fight against the liberal forces in Austin must continue unabated." Since the end of the 88th legislative session, Phelan has frequently drawn the ire of the state's Republican apparatus. The party said the censure comes as Phelan violated Rule 44 of its bylaws, which allows the party to censure elected officials who violate the party's principles and priorities three or more times over a two-year period. Towards the end of the week, Speaker Phelan limited questions Tinderholt could bring to the floor, arguing he consistently breaks House rules. This week, some responded to Speaker Phelan's call, including Representative Jared Patterson, R - Frisco. He told NBC 5 he donated the $2,500 he's received from the group to a pro-Israel charity, saying he wants to wash his campaign from the "stain of this organization. He challenged his colleagues to do the same.
Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, at a press conference at the Capitol on Nov. 4, 2020. Phelan was the first sitting Texas House speaker forced into a runoff for his House seat in more than 50 years. The Beaumont Republican’s foes are trying to paint him as soft on the border, even after last year’s passage of far-reaching laws and record border funding.
That dynamic, in a chamber where the parties are relatively closely balanced, encourages candidates for the position to seek support from members of both parties. But even if the proposed rule had been in effect in 2021 or 2023, Phelan would still have been the Speaker. In 2021, the body voted for the Beaumont representative by a margin of 143–2, with 4 members not casting ballots. (Slaton and fellow Republican Jeff Cason, of Bedford, voted in opposition.) Last year Republicans held a closed-door caucus ballot before the vote of the full chamber, and Phelan won 80–6, according to the chairman I spoke with. Phelan later won approval from the 150-member body 145–3 over representative Tony Tinderholt, a right-winger from Arlington who now has signed the Contract With Texas.
” Phelan said, alluding to the details of Paxton’s extramarital affair, which became public during the trial. Despite the calls on Phelan to vacate the speakership, Torres said it would be somewhat challenging for lawmakers to force him out. This friction culminated in May when Paxton called on Phelan to resign, accusing him of being drunk at work.
Senators lauded him as a “man of faith” and a workhorse legislator with expertise in various subjects, including veterans affairs, energy and business. Patrick embraced Hancock in a hug after he took the oath as president pro tem. In a speech, Hancock thanked his son-in-law, Greg Cox, for donating his kidney to him. Kelly Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican who appeared to be on the outs with Patrick last session after refusing to go along with his push to claw back billions of dollars made by energy providers during the 2021 winter freeze, was elected president pro tem of the Senate.
It remains unclear whether the two candidates will participate in a public debate ahead of the election. While Phelan has accused Covey of "ducking" the debate, Covey has returned fire in kind, saying Phelan is "dodging" an opportunity to address voters' concerns ahead of the May 28 runoff election. "Another day, another completely unsubstantiated lie from David Covey," Cait Wittman, Phelan's communications director, told the American-Statesman. "Covey’s lies are as baseless as they are tiresome, and about the only thing voters can reliably expect from him if elected."
With Democrats vastly outnumbered and few procedural rules to slow the GOP agenda, Republican lawmakers will have relatively easy glide paths for their legislation during the session. Patrick has given a rough outline of his legislative priorities that include reducing property taxes, securing the border and increasing the resiliency of the electric grid by increasing the production of natural gas in the state. But conservative grassroots activists said the House had not gone far enough on conservative priorities like banning gender-affirming care for transgender children and have often butted heads with Phelan. Critics attacked him for appointing Democrats to leadership positions in the chamber, following a long-held chamber tradition to appoint members of the minority party as committee chairs.
No comments:
Post a Comment