Texas House Republicans appear poised to ban Democratic committee chairs on Thursday in an epic act of fear and capitulation that could make a conservative agenda far more difficult to pass than it would have been a chamber where the opposing party's members had been relatively pacified by the illusion of power sharing.
Instead of giving Democratic colleagues incentive to play along like the first four Texas speakers under GOP rule made it a point to do, House Republicans will be putting the fight back into the minority party members with a chairmanship prohibition that gives them ample cause for disruption and sabotage at a level never seen in Austin. The Republicans have nothing to gain with a new rule that disempowers Democrats beyond potential absolution in the vengeful eyes of a wildly misinformed base.
Texas GOP Chairman Abraham George will be in position to say that he and the far right brought new Speaker Dustin Burrows' team to its knees eight days after the candidate the party supported lost the leadership election last week by 30 votes. The outlawing of Democratic chairs in the House rules would mark the first time that the winners in a Texas speaker's race have rolled over to outside forces after standing up to them for weeks of intimidate and threats.
George, who'd served as the Collin County GOP chair before his elevation to the state post in May, sounded the battle cry again in an email on Wednesday.
“Texans elected a strong Republican majority in the Texas House because they pledged to deliver on its promises of limited government, secure borders, and fiscal responsibility,” George said. “Allowing Democrats to serve as committee chairs undermines the mandate given by voters and weakens the ability to advance the conservative agenda. It is past time for this practice to end.”
The Burrows Republicans who understand the House's unique dynamics know that the state party boss' claims aren't true at all. All for Republican speakers before Burrows used committee chairs like a pacifier for Democrats who were less likely to get in the way when they had some plums dished their way. But the assignments were token strokes that gave Democrats bullet points for campaign resumes. The speakers stacked committees to produce desires results regardless of which party controlled the chairmanship.
Democratic committee chairs have never carried major legislation. No Democratic chair in the House has ever killed a bill that GOP leaders wanted to pass. The Democrats - with only a few exceptions - have been assigned to lead the least prestigious and influential committees while Republicans are in charge of the truly major standing panels in the House.
The Republicans have passed record sums of conservative legislation at the Capitol in Austin in recent years. The only major majority party priority that failed during that time - Governor Greg Abbott's prized school choice plan - died as a direct consequence of division within the GOP. The presence of Democratic chairs has had zero effect on the final product.
Burrows' credibility could be harmed irreparably if he fails to honor the central promise to his campaign for speaker with some Democratic committee chairs on the new leadership roster. But Burrows has been telling Democrats that he underestimated the votes for the ban and has no way now to stop Republicans from approving it in the rules fight.
Former Speaker Dennis Bonnen - a key Burrows ally and field general - has been trying to negotiate a fragile peace with key Democrats in apparent anticipation of a potential revolt by Democratic members who will feel like they'd been conned after being in position to pick the GOP winner of the leadership competition.
The Democrats shut down an entire special session in 2021 while boycotting an elections security bill. While Democrats can't stop the Republicans from passing priorities eventually, they can throw up countless obstacles with the proven ability to block votes simply by not showing up.
The House Republicans are about to make life considerably harder for themselves - and the newcomers in their midst appear to be clueless about the repercussions they can expect from their collective actions.
The Republicans are creating a problem in a frenzied quest to conquer one that didn't exist until now. It took 10 full years for Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to make good on a pledge to do away with Democratic chairmanships completely. The four GOP speakers before Burrows had Democrats chairing some committees for the same simple reason. The most dangerous adversaries are always those who have little or nothing to lose.
