Some members of the House seeking to keep the Democrat power-sharing structure in place are pushing for a redo of the House Republican Caucus speaker nomination after losing the vote to State Rep. David Cook last weekend.
After current House Speaker Dade Phelan dropped out of the race, Cook bested State Rep. Dustin Burrows during the caucus meeting on Saturday. Following the vote, all Republican members were expected to pledge their support to the nominee ahead of the official vote in January.
Minutes later, however, Burrows announced he was still running—with support from a large swath of Democrats and a minority of Republicans.
The Republican Party of Texas has stated it will seek to censure and potentially remove from the primary ballot any Republican lawmaker who does not support the Republican candidate for speaker, David Cook. Cook has pledged to end Democrat chairmanships and prioritize Republican initiatives.
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Donald Trump Jr. have all voiced their support for backing the Republican speaker nominee.
With Burrows’ supporter count dwindling over the past week, some Republicans opposed to reform and eager to maintain Democrat influence are attempting a do-over of the caucus vote with yet another candidate.
Sources say the three names most often mentioned as potential replacement candidates for Burrows are State Reps. Ryan Guillen, Greg Bonnen, and Todd Hunter. According to Capitol sources, all three members are refusing to support the Republican nominee for speaker and are seeking Democrat backing for their potential bids.
While opponents of reform in the House are floating the idea of another caucus vote, the chairman of the caucus, State Rep. Tom Oliverson, says there is no provision in the rules for such a move.
“Any Republican who wishes to follow our party platform, our caucus bylaws, and the will of seemingly the entire Republican electorate needs to stop the coup and help David be the Speaker we all need him to be,” Oliverson wrote on X.
The official speaker vote will take place on January 14, the first day of the session.
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