Texas officials react to Rep. Dustin Burrows’ election as state House speaker

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas officials are reacting after state Rep. Dustin Burrows was elected as the House speaker following two rounds of voting Tuesday. 

Burrows (R-Lubbock) received 85 votes compared to state Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield), who received 55 votes. Nine representatives abstained from voting in the second round. This concludes a contentious fight over the speakership after Dade Phelan chose not to seek for the speaker position again. 

“The removal of the disgraced and corrupt Dade Phelan as speaker of the House is a positive step for Texas. His close ally, Dustin Burrows, was elected with the support of most Democrats after he refused to honor the rules of the Republican Caucus. 

Texas Republican made it clear they want conservative legislation to pass this session. It is now important that Speaker Burrows and his leadership team pass every conservative legislative priority in a timely manner to make our state more secure and more prosperous. This is what Texas Republicans expect. 

I’ve been fighting to reform the Texas House for over two decades and will not stop. We have made incredible progress in the past two years and must remain steadfast and hold our representatives responsible for their actions.”

“After a long and contested speaker race, the Texas House of Representatives has now spoken and elected Dustin Burrows to lead us forward during the 89th Legislative Session. Congratulations, Speaker Burrows!

I look forward to working with you and our colleagues to settle on a reformed House rules package and then quickly get to work passing strong conservative legislation. Together with the Senate, we can accomplish a strong conservative agenda during the 89th. 

I came here to fight for East Texas values and conservative legislation that will make Texas stronger and more free. We’re on the clock. Let’s get to work.”

“Well, I think it’s going to be great for Texas. Absolutely wonderful. I was part of the reform group that supported David Cook. The majority of Republicans supported David Cook and Dustin Burrows, our new speaker is the one that prevailed. And so as far as my priorities are concerned, for East Texas, nothing has changed. I ran on these priorities, and we’re getting ready to pass some school choice as well as closing our borders, so the priorities haven’t changed. So we’re looking forward to it.”

“Dustin Burrows was elected speaker of the house today defeating David Cook 85-55.  The story behind the story is that of David Cook’s 55 votes, 54 of them were from Republican members. Dustin Burrows’ 85 votes consisted of 34 Republicans and 51 Democrats. This will cause many challenges during the session and in the upcoming primary season. My hope is somehow as Republicans will agree on and pass strong conservative legislation, which the voters elected them to do.  If that does not happen, I suspect the primary election in March 2026 will be a difficult day for those 34 Republican incumbents. “

As more statements come in, this article will be updated.