Four Republican members of Texas’ congressional delegation have sided with Democrats in voting against an effort to remove the Federal Department of Education from controlling elementary and secondary education.
The amendment, brought by Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R) would have terminated the department’s authority on or before December 31, 2023. Massie explained that “removing federal red tape and unfunded mandates would empower parents, teachers, states, and school boards.”
The proposal was killed, however, when 60 Republicans joined with 205 Democrats in voting no on the amendment.
That group included Texas Republican U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzales (San Antonio), John Carter (Round Rock), Michael McCaul (Austin), and Kay Granger (Fort Worth).
Plank 118 of the Republican Party of Texas platform specifically calls for abolishing the Department of Education:
Since education is not an enumerated power of the federal government, we believe the Department of Education should be abolished, and the transfer of any of its functions to any other federal agency should be prohibited.
Gonzales, meanwhile, has already been censured by the Texas GOP for showing a lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities.
The censure means Gonzales will be subject to the full penalties prescribed by the rules of the Texas GOP, which include a prohibition on spending by the party in his race as well as authorization to spend up to 12 percent of the party’s general fund to educate voters in his district about the censure.
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