A member of Dade Phelan’s leadership team says Phelan will not be returning as speaker in 2025.
The comment came in an op-ed published by State Reps. J.M. Lozano (R–Kingsville) and Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington) in the Dallas Express in which the pair of lawmakers advocated for ending the practice of awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats—a practice that has been championed by Phelan.
The most notable comment, however, may be in the commentary’s conclusion, in which they wrote, “The voters made clear on March 5th that Speaker Dade Phelan will not return as Speaker of the House. As we work toward defeating Democrats in November, all Texas House Republicans should make clear to our voters the practice of appointing Democrats to chair committees will come to an end as well.”
Lozano is the chair of the House Committee on Urban Affairs, as appointed by Phelan earlier last year.
Phelan finds himself behind in two simultaneous uphill battles—one for his southeast Texas House seat and another for the speakership.
He came in second place in his primary election last week to former Orange County GOP chairman David Covey. Because neither candidate received over 50 percent of the vote, they will compete head-to-head in a runoff election on May 28.
Sources have suggested that many members have moved on from Phelan and are prepared to choose a new speaker regardless of whether he returns to the House.
Phelan did not respond to a request for comment on Lozano’s remarks.
This is not the first time Lozano has broken with the speaker, however. After voting alongside Phelan for the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton last year, he later signed on as a joint author of a resolution to apologize for the chamber’s rushed impeachment.
