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Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker, in blow to insurgent GOP movement
In Texas, one can never sleep soundly while the Texas legislature is in session. Texas Democrats supported this person because he is less crazy than the other republican who was part of the RWNJ fringe of the GOP. I am sad that the new speaker supports vouchers but this new speaker is better than the alternative.
Link to tweet
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/dustin-burrows-david-cook-texas-house-speaker-vote/
Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, was voted speaker of the Texas House on Tuesday, elevating him to one of the most powerful positions in state government.
Burrows’ win marks a disappointing defeat for the insurgent wing of the party who have been working since the last legislative session to push establishment Republicans out of power. Those insurgent Republicans, who wish to push the chamber further to the right, picked up more than a dozen seats in the most recent election cycle and saw this speaker race as their best chance in years to oust the current House leadership......
Burrows’ support from Democrats will likely become major ammunition for his Republican critics aligned with the party’s right wing who warned that the new speaker should be chosen by a majority of GOP votes.
It’s unlikely that Republicans will completely unite behind Burrows despite his win. Many of his critics have promised to go after Republicans who supported Burrows in the primary, and the Republican Party of Texas has vowed to censure those members who broke from Cook.
The House speaker position is a crucial legislative role. They appoint committee leaders and manage the flow of legislation through the chamber. Along with the governor and lieutenant governor, the speaker makes up a part of the “Big Three” state government leaders, who each have considerable sway in shaping and passing laws. If relationships among that group are good, legislative sessions can go fairly smoothly. But if the bonds are strained, major pieces of legislation can grind to a halt.
Burrows’ win marks a disappointing defeat for the insurgent wing of the party who have been working since the last legislative session to push establishment Republicans out of power. Those insurgent Republicans, who wish to push the chamber further to the right, picked up more than a dozen seats in the most recent election cycle and saw this speaker race as their best chance in years to oust the current House leadership......
Burrows’ support from Democrats will likely become major ammunition for his Republican critics aligned with the party’s right wing who warned that the new speaker should be chosen by a majority of GOP votes.
It’s unlikely that Republicans will completely unite behind Burrows despite his win. Many of his critics have promised to go after Republicans who supported Burrows in the primary, and the Republican Party of Texas has vowed to censure those members who broke from Cook.
The House speaker position is a crucial legislative role. They appoint committee leaders and manage the flow of legislation through the chamber. Along with the governor and lieutenant governor, the speaker makes up a part of the “Big Three” state government leaders, who each have considerable sway in shaping and passing laws. If relationships among that group are good, legislative sessions can go fairly smoothly. But if the bonds are strained, major pieces of legislation can grind to a halt.
There will be some fights next session.