AUSTIN – Shortly after Lubbock Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows was elected Texas House speaker, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick questioned the legitimacy of his victory and issued a legislative challenge. Perhaps it was a threat.
Pass conservative measures or else, Patrick suggested in a social media post and news release.
That approach is similar to the disdain he showed Beaumont Republican Dade Phelan, who declined to seek a third term as speaker after clashing with Patrick and grassroots Republican activists who accused Phelan of giving Democrats too much influence.
It’s Groundhog Day in the Texas Legislature.
Patrick, who presides over the Senate, is miffed because Burrows needed crucial support from Democrats to best Mansfield Republican Rep. David Cook, who was endorsed by the House Republican Caucus.
Needing help from Democrats in the Republican-dominated House, Patrick said, makes Burrows a “counterfeit speaker.”
The Patrick-Burrows relationship, already off to a rocky start, will determine if the House and Senate can smoothly pass conservative priorities, or if some sought-after conservative legislation is lost through acrimony. Policy disagreements used to be an accepted part of the American political discourse, but this era stresses allegiance by party members and discourages fraternization with the other side.
Based on Patrick’s social media to-do list for Burrows, there’s a strong chance for the House and Senate to be on the same page. The priorities he outlined for Burrows include school choice, a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying, bail reform, posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms, banning critical race theory and “multiple election integrity bills.”
“Each of these bills will be passed again by the Texas Senate,” Patrick said in the statement. “The voters will hold our new speaker accountable to keep his promise of being the most conservative speaker in Texas history.”
Many House Republicans share the same priorities. They want to fortify the state’s power grid, make sure the state meets the demand for water and deliver another property tax cut. Most Republican lawmakers are also on the same page with other issues, including curbing illegal immigration and making sure Texas has the nation’s toughest anti-abortion laws.
Patrick could not be reached for comment and his spokesperson did not answer questions left in a text message.
His early view of Burrows, however, is clear.
“Patrick’s theme is Democrats elected this guy and that’s not acceptable to him,” said Austin-based lobbyist and political consultant Bill Miller. “He’s going to send over things that are challenging to Burrows with the next constituency. He’s basically saying if you’re a Republican, you’re going to act like one.”
Miller said he didn’t think Burrows would “kowtow to Patrick.”
“Burrows has to decide what kind of speaker he’s going to be,” Miller said. “He’s going to be his own guy. Patrick may not like it, he may criticize it, but ultimately it’s what works in the House, not what works in the Senate, that’s going to keep Burrows as speaker.”
The House has historically guarded its independence, watering down or rejecting some Senate proposals. When that happens this year, much of Patrick’s response will rely on the role played by Democrats. If his bills are killed in a committee chaired by a Democrat, it will resuscitate concerns that the minority party has too much influence in the House.
House members meet this week to approve their rules and procedures. A fight is expected over whether Democrats can hold leadership positions. Later, Burrows will make committee assignments that can be pivotal to the success or failure of legislation.
“All of us have a role to play in addressing some clear and pressing challenges,” Burrows said last week after being elected speaker. “Property tax payers need relief. Our public schools need support. Our water infrastructure needs investment. These aren’t Republican issues or Democrat issues.”
He added that “every district will have a seat at the table.”
“Committee assignments will be made in keeping with your House rules, reflecting the diversity of experience and expertise of this chamber,” he said.
A phone call and text message to Burrows’ communication director was not returned, and he did not comment for this column.
Miller, the consultant-lobbyist, said committee assignments could play an acrimonious role in legislative politics.
“If bills die in a committee chaired by a Democrat, well, you know what Patrick’s going to do,” Miller said. “We can already write that press release.”
Still, the narrative of Democrats flexing muscle in the House is overblown.
Republicans, entrenched in the majority since 2003, can pass nearly anything they want without input from Democrats. Since 2003, there have been multiple quorum breaks by Democrats, one to stall a redistricting bill and another to block election law changes they deemed as discriminatory. Republicans were able to pass the legislation despite the disruption and drama.
In 2022, when Phelan was asked why he wouldn’t support a GOP platform plank to bar Democrats from leading committees, he said none of the Democrats he appointed as chairs had blocked necessary conservative legislation.
Republicans could accomplish what they want, Phelan argued.
Burrows will oversee a changed House thanks to two events in the 2023 session.
That’s when a group of Republicans teamed with Democrats to block a bill that would allow public money for private schools. Voucher-style plans have historically been defeated in the House by a coalition of rural Republicans and Democrats, prompting Abbott to spend at least $9 million in GOP primary contests to oust Republicans who blocked his plan.
The other catalyst was the 2023 House impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton. After the Senate acquitted Paxton on corruption charges, Patrick launched a tirade against Phelan and the House, calling the impeachment process secretive, rushed and wasteful. That became a rallying cry in some GOP primary contests.
With Abbott and Paxton on the warpath, 15 Republican House incumbents were defeated last year.
Most Texas Republicans are solid conservatives, so Burrows and the House are likely to approve most if not all of the legislation on Patrick’s wish list. Abbott says he has enough votes in the House to pass a school choice proposal. All sides are expected to get together on property tax reduction and infrastructure fixes, including the power grid.
If that’s not enough, it will be because Patrick won’t accept that a faction of House Republicans like their traditional role as a check against the Senate and governor’s office, and don’t mind a process that — at the bare minimum — includes Democrats.
Last week Patrick appointed Republicans to lead all of the Senate committees. His doctrine is to not allow significant legislation onto the Senate floor that isn’t supported by a healthy majority of Republicans.
Like previous legislative sessions, Patrick and the Senate will finish their business, including red-meat conservative issues, in short order and wait for the House to comply.
How Burrows handles Patrick — and to some degree Abbott — will set the tone of the session.
“You will see some really critical leadership moves over the next several weeks, with committee appointments, with priorities being laid out,” said GOP political consultant Matthew Langston. “The type of reset between the Big Three — the speaker, lieutenant governor and the governor — will determine much of the course of the session.”
No matter the relationship between the state’s megapowers, expect some friction between the House and the Senate. After all, it’s the Texas Legislature, and bickering is part of the tradition.