From Preemption To Pandemonium: Texas GOP's Plan For 2025

The Speaker’s race drama is all about the GOP’s blueprint for authoritarian legislation.

Although I recently deleted my Twitter account, I held on to my alt-account, which I made years ago to spy on the Republican legislators who blocked me (there are dozens). I hopped on last night to see what the Republicans in the Texas House were up to, and there is a lot of drama around the House Speaker race.

Technically, the House Speaker vote won’t occur until January 14th, the first day of the 89th Session. Anything that Republicans are doing or trying to do at this moment is subject to change. Speaker Dade Phelan (R-HD21) is out, and last night, Dustin Burrows (R-HD83) was tossing around the idea of replacing him against David Cook (R-HD96).

Dustin Burrows met with House Democrats last night, presumably to try to negotiate a deal. Newly elected Reps Shelley Luther (R-HD62) and Andy Hopper (R-HD64) took to Twitter to complain about Burrows speaking with the Democrats, saying that’s why Burrows will never get their vote.

To be clear, the newly elected Republicans are saying they won’t vote for any Republican Speaker who talks to the Democrats. The most obvious and hilarious thing Democrats could do right now is to call a meeting with David Cook—then he’d be out, too.

This morning, the Texas House Democratic Caucus released a statement basically saying: We don’t have time for the Republicans’ political theater. We’re focused on the people of Texas. I’m paraphrasing. It was much more diplomatic. ⬇️

This is the right attitude for Democrats to have right now. This upcoming Session is going to be full of drama and political theater. Democrats should be sending the message that while Republicans are playing games, they are trying to solve the real problems that Texans face.

As far as Democrats supporting Dustin Burrows, don’t count on it. Burrows, a millionaire Lubbock attorney, was the Death Star Bill’s author in the 88th Legislative Session. The Death Star Bill was a preemption bill that removed almost all local control. It was deemed unconstitutional and has been embroiled in legal battles since.

Over the last decade, we’ve seen Republicans erode local control, from not allowing a city minimum wage to prohibiting counties from banning fracking. The GOP is against local control. It should be noted that 84% of Texans live in urban counties, often blue. This is why this bill was crafted: to prevent environmental protections and fair wages from even being proposed in the first place.

Key characteristics of fascism:

• Centralizing power to reduce democratic control.

• Intolerance toward dissenting views or ways of governance.

• Close alignment between government and private economic interest.

• Disenfranchisement of those whose values differ from our state government.

The Death Star Bill, and all of the bills just like it, undermine local democracy and conflict with federalist principles.

But again, the first day of the Session is still a month away. Anything could happen before then. Until a Republican has 76 pledged votes, anybody could be Speaker. Ultimately, the GOP’s goal in 2025 in Austin will be to bulldoze Democrats, pass sweeping authoritarian laws, and harm as many marginalized groups as possible.

Braddock says Burrows is offering Democrats a deal.

Scott Braddock, the editor of the Quorum Report, says that Burrows is offering them a deal that does not include vouchers or a ban on “taxpayer-funded lobbying,” but he would eliminate Democratic chairs.

The “taxpayer-funded lobbying” refers to teachers’ unions. Teachers’ unions have lobbied over school funding, teacher pay, and vouchers. They’re a thorn in Republicans’ sides.

Do Democrats make a deal with Burrows to block vouchers this Session?

The far-right, now the majority in the Republican Caucus, is unwilling to compromise on any GOP member who acts in a bipartisan way. This newly-elected slate of Republicans sees the Democrats as enemies, not adversaries—which is going to lead us to one hell of a Legislative Session.

It’s vital that whoever becomes Speaker is someone who follows the rules.

For each legislative Session, the Texas House votes on the rules that lead them. Here are the rules for the 88th Session. One of Republicans’ reasons for calling Dade Phelan a secret Democrat was because when Democrats were able to kill multiple bills last Session, they broke House rules. They killed them by calling “points of order,” sometimes referred to as “POO,” which Dade Phelan sustained.

Even though they broke their rules, the far right wanted the bills to pass and was mad at Phelan for not pushing them through.

Many Republicans are gunning for a rule breaker as Speaker who will pass their bills, no matter the cost. Of course, this would be unconstitutional, and once it became law, courts would overturn it. Bills passed under questionable procedures often have weaker legal foundations and are more likely to be overturned in litigation.

If Republicans elect a Speaker who prioritizes partisan objectives over institutional integrity, the legislative process would be irreparably damaged. It would be total chaos. But it’s what the far right wants, and if you haven’t noticed, they haven’t cared about the Constitution in years.

That’s why the House Administration Committee meeting next week is so important. It’s a members-only meeting (closed to the public), and House members will discuss and debate the rules for the 89th Session. I’m willing to bet that the far right will be there, trying to add or subtract rules that will make it easier for them to pass unconstitutional legislation. I will be watching that online. You can watch it live at this link at 9 am on Monday. I’ll have a full rundown for you after the committee meets.

Ultimately, the Speaker’s race is just another episode of Republican drama that will shift daily between now and January 14th.

There’s no point in obsessing over it when the outcome is still in the air. Instead, we’ll focus on what matters: the rules being set for this legislative Session and the actual issues that will impact Texans’ lives.

There’s plenty more to keep our eyes on, like Dan Patrick’s bizarre new war on weed and the chaos brewing in Washington DC, as the countdown to Trump ending America looms (half-joking… sort of). But let’s not get distracted. Texas is where the real action is, and this upcoming legislative Session is shaping up to be the most ridiculous and brutal we’ve seen in years. Stay tuned because it’s about to get wild.

• December 9: House Administration Committee meets to debate rules.

• January 14: The 89th Legislative Session begins.

• March 14: The last day Legislators can file bills.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

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