After the 88th Legislative Session failed to see several conservative priorities passed, Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi is calling out House Republicans who sided with Democrats this session.
On this week’s episode of the Salcedo Storm Podcast, Rinaldi told Chris Salcedo the House failed to act in accordance with the Senate’s priorities, instead watering down conservative bills and refusing to vote the party’s principles.
“They completely watered down the border bill. And a lot of it has to do with the Senate priorities just being completely decimated when they came over the House,” said Rinaldi. “I mean, like look at DEI for example, right? Diversity, equity, [and] inclusion in colleges shouldn’t have been an issue. The Senate passed the bill. Sen. Brandon Creighton had a bill. It was an absolutely fantastic bill. It goes over to the House. They add an amendment that requires all of the diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucrats that are fired when you close the department to be rehired by other departments with the same salary. They added another amendment requiring every student at a university to get a questionnaire on their gender identity.”
Rinaldi, a former state representative, also shared his thoughts on Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for multiple sessions, saying he views multiple special sessions in the future as House Republicans needing to be “spoon-fed.”
“I see a series of special sessions. What I got from the governor’s statement was [that] this is the first special session, and … it’s almost like spoon-feeding … a child. He’s like, ‘Okay, the first special session should be property taxes and the border. Okay, so once you get that done, then we’ll deal with school choice.’”
As Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial looms overhead, Rinaldi said primary voters need to take careful note of who voted for “this sham of an impeachment.”
“It was absolutely a disgrace. It was done with zero [due] process. They didn’t allow witnesses, they didn’t take any direct evidence whatsoever. They didn’t allow anybody to interview or cross-examine witnesses. They didn’t place witnesses under oath. They didn’t even allow members to talk to the investigators that did talk to him,” Rinaldi said. “It was entirely political. It was a political hit job on the attorney general. And it was an absolute disgrace, and voters need to take note.”
With the 60 Republicans voting alongside 61 Democrats to impeach Paxton and 22 Republicans voting against school choice, Rinaldi says that the Republican Party of Texas’ goal is to educate Texans for the next primary election in March.
“What we’re trying to do is educate the voters so that they know who’s voting for our priorities … so that when March comes, they can make informed choices,” said Rinaldi. “We want to let them know who those 20 or 23-odd Republicans who stood against leadership are … Republicans like Brian Harrison, Tony Tinderholt, and Mike Schofield—those guys who are willing to stand up for them when the speaker was whipping votes in the House.”
“March is going to be very important here in Texas,” concluded Rinaldi.
The Texas Republican primary will be held March 5, 2024.
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