Push to Remove House Speaker Backfires
with Huge Vote of Confidence for Burrows
Capitol Inside
April 9, 2025
The Texas House made a mockery of a far-right Republican's attempt to give GOP Speaker Dustin Burrows the boot when a motion to remove him from the leadership post received a grand total of two votes on Wednesday.
The House voted 141-2 to table the speaker extraction proposal that State Rep. Brian Harrison of Midlothian filed on Tuesday in House Resolution 823 after trying and failing last week to have Burrows fired without a written instrument as a vehicle to get the job done. Burrows informed Harrison at the time that he would recognize a motion to remove the chair if he submitted it property for consideration.
Rookie Republican State Rep. David Lowe of Fort Worth and Harrison cast the only opposing votes to the motion to table HR 823 that GOP State Rep. Cody Harris of Palestine served up amid the assertion that the resolution was "a terrible idea" that was wasting the members' time.
Four Democrats - State Rep. John Bryant of Dallas, Gina Hinojosa of Austin, Christina Morales of Houston and Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos of Dallas - were recorded as present but not voting along with one Republican in State Rep. Mike Schofield of Katy.
With veteran State Rep. Charlie Geren presiding over the chamber while the resolution was in play on the floor, Harrison pitched the bid to fire Burrows on the grounds that he'd been a lawless, corrupt and unethical leader since claiming the position on opening day of the regular session in January.
Harrison argued that Burrows had effectively allowed Democrats to control the Legislature's lower chamber in a development that "silenced" millions of Texans and put the freedoms and liberty that Texans enjoy in danger.
"Ladies and gentleman, Texas deserves better than this,"
Harrison contended.
Harrison may not have anticipated how badly the push for a different speaker could backfire if he followed through with it. But the overwhelming nature of the tally that sent HR 823 to the House dumpster strengthened Burrows' hold on the gavel as a resounding vote of confidence on his leadership during his first three months on the job.
more to come ...
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