AUSTIN, Texas — There’s been a shift in Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s attitude toward House Speaker Dustin Burrows, whom he once called “a counterfeit Speaker.”
“Dustin is the smartest guy over there,” said Patrick.
The change can also be said about Gov. Greg Abbott.
“I’ve been working with him ever since I’ve been governor,” said Abbott.
Abbott helped Burrows kick off his reelection campaign in 2023, but he supported another candidate in the recent speakership race, Fort Worth Rep. David Cook. Abbott posted on X when he endorsed Cook saying, “we need to a Texas House Speaker chosen by a majority of Republicans under the Republican Caucus Rules.”
But now the relationship between the state’s three most powerful leaders—Burrows, Patrick and Abbott—appears to be a positive one.
“We’ve already had breakfast, which the governor characterizes the best substantial breakfast we’ve ever had to talk about issues,” said Patrick.
Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser attributes this to personalities and politics.
“I think that Speaker Burrows definitely understands that, you know, there’s this movement on the right to get a pretty bold conservative agenda through the Legislature. The governor is on board with that. The lieutenant governor is on board with that,” said Steinhauser.
Patrick and Abbott accused Burrows’ predecessor and ally, Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, of not being on board with their agenda.
“We didn’t talk for two years,” said Patrick about his relationship with Phelan.
Phelan was blamed for the failure of multiple school voucher proposals to use public tax dollars for students to attend private schools. Patrick and Abbott tried to frame him as liberal, calling him “California Dade” online.
Conversely, Burrows, Patrick and Abbott openly share their love of voucher policies. When President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk called on the Texas House and Burrows to pass the Senate’s voucher bill, Burrows responded “WE WILL.” And Patrick let Burrows know they’re counting on him.
“I think that’s kind of an interesting new dynamic injecting to the most powerful and influential people in the country,” said Steinhauser.
Jason Embry is a former aide to then-Speaker Joe Straus and says even with good relations now, there is always institutional tension.
“The presiding officer of the Senate is elected by the people of Texas. The speaker is elected by the members of the House. So, they have different constituencies that they are trying to answer to,” said Embry.
He adds that only time will tell if these signals of a positive relationship will trickle down.
“There’s a lot of focus on that relationship, but ultimately, it’s really much bigger than two people. And it’s about how can chairmen work together? What is the give and take in the legislative process between the House and the Senate? Because ultimately, it takes both chambers to pass a bill. And so there has to be some level of cooperation there,” said Embry.
