88th Texas Legislative Assembly: Texas Freedom Caucus tries to bounce back from losses

Austin, Texas – The Texas Freedom Caucus wanted a new House rule that would prevent a Democrat from being appointed chairman of any committee.

Several people came to Austin to support the idea and wore red shirts calling for a ban, but arrived a day late. The ban was defeated when the House of Representatives voted on the rules on Wednesday.

Members of the Freedom Caucus were upset at being outmaneuvered, and during a rally on the north side of the Texas Capitol, expressed concern that other priorities could also run into trouble in this session.

“I understand that you’re in pain. I understand why you feel discouraged. I understand why you’re angry. But keep fighting. Do the right thing. Stay, stay on high ground and try to convince them to come over to our side.” . The water is fine, right,” Freedom Coucus member Brian Slaton (R-Hunt County) said.

State Representative Caucuses Leader Tony Tinderholt (R-Tarrant County) also encouraged the crowd to keep participating.

“You have eight priorities, and yesterday we lost one. In the assessment of the House of Representatives there will be a thousand bills on which we vote. There’s no reason we can’t present all seven of these extras, mix them up and make sure we have an R after our name and we made a promise that all seven of these priorities will come true for you,” Tinderholt said.

House Speaker Dade Phelan was condemned in a statement released Thursday by Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi.

“Yesterday, the Speaker of the Texas House showed extreme contempt for Republican voters by refusing to even allow a vote on whether Democrats should be barred from powerful leadership positions. The fact that even 10 Republicans will not sign up to challenge this illegal decision is incredibly insulting to the 81% of GOP primary voters who supported the vote resolution to retain Republican and GOP leadership positions, which made banning the Democratic chairs the party’s top legislative priority. “, said Rinaldi.

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When the speaker met with reporters on Thursday, he called the practice “an old tradition.” It is argued that by offering leadership positions, this will support the participation of minority party members in the legislative process.

The Texas Freedom Caucus is actually 0 out of 2. It started on Tuesday when Phelan defeated the caucus candidate for speaker. After the vote, the re-elected Republican speaker issued a warning, noting another recent internal struggle in Washington involving the Freedom Caucus of Congress on Capitol Hill.

“Words of caution. Please do not confuse this authority with the Washington, DC authority. After watching an attempt at Congress last week, I can’t understand why some would want Texas to be like DC,” Speaker Phelan said.

The Texas House has adopted a tough rule that penalizes members who violate the quorum. This rule is, in essence, payback for the fact that most Democrats in the House of Representatives fled to Washington in 2021 to protest new election laws. So this crashed the session and triggered two special sessions.

Speaker Phelan indicated on Thursday that several far-right bills will get a chance to be debated during the session.