Abbott Private School Plan Bombs Again
as Patrick Says GOP Speaker Must Go

Capitol Inside
December 5, 2023

The Texas Legislature's fourth special session ended on Tuesday as a dumpster fire for school teachers and private education advocates, a pair of border security bills as consolation prizes and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick hurling invectives at Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan.

As a record-crushing count of incumbent Republicans with primary opposition climbed to 43, the House adjourned session four with grumbling on the floor among Republicans about being abandoned after a failed impeachment effort that has Attorney General Ken Paxton coming after them now.

But Phelan portrayed the latest session as a successful endeavor that will help make Texans safer in the future due to a migrant arrest measure and $1.5 billion infusion for border wall construction. Phelan also released a long list of bullet items for achievements in regular and special session this year.

"The TX House concludes the session today having passed strong border security measures including an addl $1.5b for the wall (on top of the $5b in border $$ from earlier) & cracking down on illegal entry," Phelan said in a post on X. "I’m proud of what we’ve done in 2023."

Governor Greg Abbott left lawmakers in limbo on the possibility of a fifth special session for school choice to get under way this month. An Abbott aide said the governor would not rest until the Legislature passed education savings accounts. The prevailing sentiment at the Capitol today was that Abbott would postpone another day of judgment on vouchers until an election year special session before the primary vote in March. There's no guarantee that the Legislature will take up ESAs again until the regular session in 2025.

Patrick issued his harshest assessment of Phelan yet at a press conference after the Senate gave up on the House and called it quits for the fourth special gathering of 2023. The lieutenant governor said he'd found it impossible to work with Phelan. Patrick contended that a school choice bill would have no chance to pass as long as Phelan is leading the House.  

“This is dysfunctional - whether it’s negligence, stupidity, not thinking clearly or just trying to save his seat," Patrick said of his second-term House counterpart.

Phelan spokesperson Kim Carmichael fired back - accusing the Senate of killing school safety and teacher pay proposals. "The House remains focused on conducting business to the will of the people—not manipulating the legislative process for the sake of press conferences and cheap political talking points," Carmichael said in response to Patrick's charges.

House leaders were determined to package a major funding boost for public education with ESAs as a proposal that was designed to overcome stringent opposition to vouchers among some rural Republicans. Patrick and Senate Republican insisted on keeping ESAs and public school money in separate proposals.

Neither Abbott or Patrick appeared to make sincere efforts to negotiate a compromise like governors and legislative leaders before them considered the key to success for governing at the state level. Abbott relied solely on threats and other bully tactics with daily announcements on challengers he was backing in primary fights with House Republicans who teamed with Democrats to bury school vouchers.

Phelan had promised to protect the Republican colleagues who Abbott is targeting as a result of votes that they cast on impeachment, gambling and other controversial issues. But there's been no apparent resistance from the House leadership team despite the assurances that the speaker would have their backs.

more to come ...

DISTRICT CANDIDATES   1 SD 30 Cody Clark (R) Carrie de Moor (R)   SD 30 Brent Hagenbush (R) Matthew McGhee (D) 2 SD 15 Molly Cook (D) Todd Litton (D)   SD 15 Joseph Trahan (R)