Speaker Dustin Burrows confirmed on Monday that the newly adopted Texas House rules, which grant increased power to Democrats, were authored by Democrat lawyer Hugh Brady.
Brady, a consistent Democrat voter according to election records, was first appointed as parliamentarian by former Speaker Dennis Bonnen in 2019, sparking concerns about his partisan background at the time. His resume includes serving as general counsel for the White House Office of Administration under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017 and as parliamentarian for the Travis County Democrat Party.
Brady later served as parliamentarian under House Speaker Dade Phelan, maintaining his role in shaping legislative rules.
The controversial rules, passed last week without debate or opportunities for amendments, mandate that all House committee vice-chairs be Democrats and expand their authority, drawing criticism from Republican lawmakers.
During Monday’s House proceedings, State Rep. Steve Toth questioned Burrows about the origin of the rules draft, pointing out the initials “HLB” on the document. Burrows confirmed that the initials referred to Hugh Brady.
Although Brady has not been seen in the House chamber since the session began, Burrows declined to clarify whether Brady remains employed as parliamentarian and stated only that an announcement would be made later this week.
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