After calling out specific members of the legislature for failure to pass conservative priorities, State Rep. Brian Harrison of Midlothian has been the subject of social media attacks from members of House leadership.
During an interview with Chris Salcedo last week, Harrison pointed fingers at Speaker Dade Phelan, State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock), and State Rep. Todd Hunter (R–Corpus Christi) for their roles in killing certain pieces of conservative legislation, including a ban on Chinese ownership of Texas land and ending COVID vaccine mandates.
In the days since, Harrison has amplified his calls for an end to COVID vaccine mandates as the Biden administration has teased a new wave of vaccinations. During the most recent legislative session, a ban on COVID vaccine mandates was killed in the House Calendars Committee—which Burrows chairs.
Additionally, legislation to reform executive overreach was put on a calendar but given no chance to succeed, as it was the last bill on the calendar on the last day.
Rather than address Harrison’s charges head-on, however, Burrows has taken to attacking Harrison’s background as the former chief of staff to the United States Department of Health and Human Services during the Trump administration.
Burrows has been joined in his attacks by State Rep. Jeff Leach (R–Plano), who decided to highlight Harrison’s background as a former dog breeder.
Other members like State Reps. Jared Patterson (R–Frisco) and Cole Hefner (R–Mt. Pleasant) have also engaged with the social media posts going after Harrison.
For his part, however, Harrison says he doesn’t mind the heat.
“My constituents— 200,000 Texans that I’m honored to support—not only do they deserve, but they are demanding bold, conservative leadership from their elected officials who are not too afraid to tell them the truth. They want to know what’s going on behind their backs in Austin,” Harrison told Texas Scorecard.
Members of the Texas Freedom Caucus—of which Harrison is currently a member—have largely been silent on the leadership’s barrage.
Only two of the caucus’ 12 members returned a request for comment for this story. State Rep. Steve Toth (R–The Woodlands) shared a post on X replying to Leach’s attack, stating, “Democrats are locking arms with each other to bring down our constitutional Republic. Meanwhile, weak men in the Republican Party are attacking strong men who are fighting. Shame on you Jeff. You once were one of us.”
State Rep. Nate Schatzline (R–Ft. Worth), meanwhile, said the fact that the House failed to pass the COVID Vaccine Freedom Act was “unacceptable.”
“This discussion should not be focused on Twitter drama, but should be focused on getting the Governor to add this vitally important bill to the call for a special session. I fully support Representative Harrison’s push for medical freedom, and I hope the rest of my Republican colleagues do as well because COVID Vaccine Mandates are still legal in Texas,” said Schatzline.
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