The divisions within the GOP are so strong that even the Speaker of the Texas House is now facing pressure for not being conservative enough because he had the temerity to follow the evidence and impeach the state’s Attorney General, Ken Paxton. This shows how far to the right the party has moved when purity tests like this one (where the suspect appears overwhelmingly to be actually guilty of the crime accused) are enough to knock party leaders from their perch.
Phelan is where he is because a majority of the Texas House voted him in. The Texas House is not nearly as balls-to-the-wall MAGA conservative as the Senate, and all of these critics said the same thing last legislative session too, yet Phelan persists. There are too many rural Republican legislators in Texas who have an interest in the success of public education for school vouchers to pass. My bet is this special session ends with nothing accomplished
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A Phelan spokeswoman quickly shot back at that time that Paxton’s request was a last-ditch effort to save face as a House ethics panel revealed they were investigating the attorney general.
After that op-ed ran, Patrick called Phelan’s essay “disgusting” in a social media post and went even further, saying the editorial “proves he is unworthy of his leadership position.”
The resolution cited Paxton’s impeachment, the death of several bills prioritized by the state’s Republican party and appointing Democrats as chairs of legislative committees.
Soon, lawmakers will return for what could be multiple special sessions for Abbott’s push to sign a bill that would allow for public funds to be used for private school tuition.
A bill that established education savings accounts, and also included pay raises for teachers and increased money for public schools, died in the House during the regular session following opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans.
GOP Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth thinks that the calls for Phelan’s ouster are wrong and ignoring proposals that have become law during the speaker’s tenure, such as Texas 6-week restriction on abortions and bans on gender-affirming care, which were conservative priority bills.
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