Rules Of Engagement: The Texas GOP’s Push To Sideline Democrats

Secret meetings, power plays, and the battle over Texas House rules.

This morning, the Texas House Administration Committee held a hearing to discuss the rules for the 89th Legislative Session. Over 40 rules were proposed. As the hearing began, many of the rule proposals weren’t at all political. Some of those rules included allowing second district offices for districts longer/wider than 200 miles, handling travel expenses for interim hearings, allowing capped drinking water on the House floor, and adding more timestamps in the journals and committee reports.

All was going well until Representative Cody Vasut (R-HD25) was allowed to present his rule proposals.

Vasut’s list of rule proposals included 15, which came directly from the House Republican Caucus, which held a subcommittee (in secret) to discuss House rules.

Vasut introduced the first rule, banning minority party (Democrats) chairmanships, majority committees, and Speaker Pro Tem.

We expected one of the Republicans to introduce this rule, as it’s the only thing the GOP seems to be focused on this year. While several Democrats were on the committee this morning, none pushed back. And while this rule was being introduced, Representative Rafael Anchia (D-HD103) was not at the dais. Anchia is the member who pushed back on this rule during the last session.

From 2021, regarding banning Democratic chairs:

While the House Administration Committee did not vote on the rules today, we should expect to see them schedule a vote at a subsequent meeting. Once the committee approves the proposed rules, they are presented to the full House for consideration and a final vote. We’ll talk about this more in a minute.

Vasut moved on to his other rule proposals.

The second rule proposal was term limits for the House Speaker (two terms).

The third was allowing the public to film House proceedings on their phones. I agree with this rule change. It is a First Amendment issue, and for the general public, this allows us to see other issues that some might think important, like what the members were talking about when their mics were off or which lobbyists were sitting in the audience.

Representative Joe Moody stated that the “no other recordings, except the official recordings” rule has existed since 1969.

Vasut’s fourth rule change would change the rule for vacating the Chair—removing the Houser Speaker. The rule currently allows the Chair to be vacated by a majority vote (76). Vasut’s proposal would mandate that the majority of the majority vote (39 of 76) must be the majority party.

This is another attempt to limit Democratic power and influence in the Texas House.

Vasut’s fifth proposed rule change was to politicize the Congratulatory and Memorial Calendar and allow a congratulatory or memorial resolution to be taken down with 20 votes.

Both Erin Zwiener (D-HD45) and Joe Moody (D-HD78) resisted the proposed rule change, and Moody even appeared to be angered by it. Zwiener brought up a memorial resolution from the last session, which the Republicans were unhappy about and tried to take down.

I don’t remember the details from the last session. Still, a memorial resolution is a statement recognizing a person who died in a member’s district and commending them for their lives and achievements.

If a Democratic House member wants to pass a memorial resolution for an LGBTQ or civil rights activist, after they pass—this rule change would allow the Republicans to stop them.

The last rules Vasut proposes worth discussing are the rule changes that would limit the way “Points of Orders” are called.

We briefly discussed “Points of Orders” the other day. This tool allows House Democrats to kill bills after they reach the House floor. Vasut proposed limiting “hyper-technical points of order.”

In the last session, one of the GOP bills was killed by Republicans because they got the name of a key witness wrong. The witness was “Something Alliance for Children,” and the witness list cited them as “Something Children’s Alliance.” (Sorry, I don’t remember their exact name.) But that’s what Vasut is referring to as “hyper-technical.”

Almost everything Vasut proposed would limit Democrats’ power in the Texas House. It was 100% about bulldozing the minority party.

You can read all of the rule proposals by all members here.

For the record, Cody Vasut was wearing his wedding ring.

There have been a lot of rumors going around about Vasut ever since he filed a bill that would prohibit women from getting an annulment on the grounds of impotence.

So, for all of you gossipers and rumor-spreaders, Vasut was wearing his wedding ring today. Although, the conditions of his marriage are currently unknown.

What happens next with the rule change proposals?

As mentioned, the House Administration Committee will schedule a committee vote on these rules. When? We don’t know, but it will be before the House gavels in on January 14.

The House Administration Committee currently has 7 Republicans and 6 Democrats. One of those Republicans is John Kuempel (R-HD44), who will remain in office until January 14, when his successor, Alan Schoolcraft, is sworn in. Kuempel was ousted after a very dirty, very ugly primary. Is he resentful of it?

If he is resentful, he may side with the Democrats on the rules. You know, go out in a blaze of glory.

It should also be noted that if Burrows is promising Democrats chairmanships, Will Metcalf (R-HD16), Sam Harless (R-HD126), Cody Harris (R-HD08), Brooks Landgraf (R-HD81), and Angelia Orr (R-HD13) were all on Dustin Burrows’ (R-HD83) list of supporters—they also happen to be the rest of the Republicans in the House Administration Committee.

If this is somehow part of a Burrows/Democrats deal, they may very well vote against the rules that aim to reduce Democratic political power. We’ll have to wait and see.

The first order of business on January 14 is to elect a Speaker of the House, and the second is to adopt the rules. When the entire body is voting on the rules, members will have an opportunity to propose amendments. So, even if the House Administration Committee votes against the rules that harm Democrats, Republicans can add them back when it’s time to adopt the rules in the full House.

I will say this: If the unwanted proposed rules do not make it out of committee, Democrats will likely have the Republican numbers on their side to block them in the House. And they would if it’s somehow part of the Burrows/Democrats deal.

Representative Vasut’s proposed rule changes are a clear power play designed to sideline the Democratic party and consolidate Republican dominance in the House.

However, the dynamics within the House Administration Committee and the broader Republican Civil War suggest this might not be a straightforward victory for the GOP hardliners.

With whispers of deals between Speaker Burrows and Democrats, the potential for a rogue vote from an outgoing member like Kuempel, and the opportunity for amendments on the House floor, the fate of these rules remains uncertain. One thing we do know: the Democrats will need to leverage every tool at their disposal to resist rules that seek to diminish their influence further.

As always in Texas politics, the personalities, grudges, and alliances behind the scenes are just as critical as the policies on paper. Stay tuned because January 14 will set the tone for what promises to be a contentious and politically charged session.

• 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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