In a dramatic twist to the already contentious Texas House speaker race, accusations of unethical behavior are being levied against State Rep. Dustin Burrows and his campaign.
In a series of social media posts, State Rep. J.M. Lozano (R–Kingsville) alleged that a registered lobbyist aligned with Burrows (R-Lubbock) had secretly spied on private Democrat caucus meetings with the assistance of a Democrat chairman. Lozano called the actions an “unprecedented and unethical” breach of trust as Burrows vies for the speaker’s gavel.
Burrows lost the race for the House GOP caucus nomination to David Cook (R-Mansfield).
According to Lozano, the lobbyist in question—described as a “puppet master” and “former member who got Phelan and Burrows to run for speaker”—gained access to emergency Democrat caucus meetings. These meetings are typically closed-door sessions where lawmakers discuss strategy and internal matters. Lozano claims that the lobbyist’s actions were orchestrated to benefit Burrows in his campaign for speaker, a move he described as a “massive ethical violation.”
Sources have confirmed that the lobbyist in question is former House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. Bonnen served one term as speaker of the House in 2019 before being forced to step down following his own ethics scandal, which also involved Burrows.
Over the last several weeks, Bonnen and the unnamed Democrat were acting with the direct knowledge and approval of Burrows, according to a source with direct knowledge of the activity.
“I pray that Burrows apologizes to the Republican Caucus and the Democrat Chairman who allowed a registered lobbyist to surreptitiously watch every emergency Democrat Caucus meeting,” wrote Lozano. “This is a desperate, unprecedented, and unethical action taken by Team Burrows The House must take action.”
Lozano emphasized the gravity of the situation, calling it an “egregious breach of trust” and demanding accountability.
“Do you know how utterly ignorant Burrows is and his foolish lobbyist supporters are?” he wrote. “People so stupid to think we would never find out about such an egregious breach of trust and not to mention the ethical implications.”
The speaker race pits Burrows against State Rep. David Cook, who has secured the backing of the Republican caucus as their nominee. Burrows has since attempted to build a coalition with Democrats to thwart the Republican majority.
As of publishing, no response has been received from Burrows, Bonnen, or House Democrat Caucus Chair Gene Wu.
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