The Republicans could have elected a new Texas House leader on Tuesday without the need for any Democrats if David Cook and his allies would he realized that he had no realistic shot as the GOP caucus nominee and deferred to Dustin Burrows as the most experienced and qualified candidate in a race he won by 30 votes.
But a united front in the ruling party played second fiddle to the new grassroots obsession of banning Democratic committee chairs as the only real priority for the far right in a speaker's fight that Burrows knew no Republican could do and have any hope to win as long as the GOP's members were hopelessly divided like they've been for years.
In a chamber where the GOP has less than 59 percent of the seats, the vow to have the GOP in control of every committee was manna from heaven for Democrats who will expect to have record clout based on promises Burrows made to them behind the scenes. Forty-nine Democrats accounted for almost 58 percent of Burrows' votes in a election that he won 85-55 with three dozen GOP votes.
Some of the Republicans on the losing side are refusing to surrender in the push for monopoly control with plans to try to amend a housekeeping resolution on Thursday with the Democratic chairmanship prohibition. After a long break for Donald Trump's inauguration, they will attempt to force another vote on the issue when the House rules for the 2025 regular session are up for debate on Wednesday.
The Democrats only need 14 Republicans to preserve the long-standing tradition of fair representation in the Legislature's lower chamber for both parties. Burrows can't afford to let that happen if he hopes to keep the gavel beyond an initial term. But the new speaker can get to work on a debut leadership team with a plethora of openings and possibilities for promotions for supporters who will share in the spoils.
The Capitol Inside crystal ball will venture out on the limb alone again with some wild guesswork on the Burrows roster for committee chairs that he will unveil in the coming weeks. The Democrats who were chairing eight House standing panels before the new session began would have nine chairmanships on the list below compared to 25 for the GOP. Committee chairs that are listed as open were either being led by representatives who did not return or by Republicans who turned against the leadership team with votes for Cook.
Some of the more intriguing choices on this list would have GOP State Rep. Cody Harris of Palestine replacing Burrows as the head of the powerful Calendars Committee that controls the flow of legislation to the floor. Harris emerged as a fearless and aggressive defender who gave Burrows allies cover in the face of monstrous criticism and threats from the state GOP and the hard right.
The crystal ball sees Republican State Rep. Carl Tepper of Lubbock as a possible contender for the top job on the Higher Education Committee. When many Burrows supporters were hunkered down and watching the clock, Tepper took to the airwaves to defend the Republicans who were under attack. Texas Tech University would be ecstatic to have the speaker and higher education committee boss as the local representatives in the same regular session.
One of the more imposing questions that Burrows faces is where Phelan will end up when the plums are dished around. The wild guess here is the now-former speaker could be the chair of the Culture, Recreation & Tourism Committee
with the Natural Resources Committee or the Energy Resources Committee as potential landing spots as well. Natural resources and energy both have openings for chair while the lead role on the tourism panel will be soon as well after its current leader Trent Ashby turned against Burrows in favor of Cook.
The list of House members who will expect demotions from chairmanships after votes for Cook includes Republicans Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, James Frank of Wichita Falls, J.M. Lozano of Kingsville and Tom Oliverson of Cypress.
After chairing the Elections Committee and the Agriculture & Livestock Committee for two terms under Phelan, Cain gave the appearance on Wednesday that he's on the verge of being busted for his disloyalty with an astute observation on X.
"I guess I’m not going to be the Chairman of the House Committee on Calendars this session," Cain said complete with a crying emoji.
The purging of Cook backers from the chairmanship lineup will create leadership team opportunities for Burrows Republicans who haven't served as standing panel chairs in the House. State Rep. Lacey Hull of Houston could be a candidate for the top job on the Human Services Committee as a current member of the panel that Frank chaired throughout Phelan's stint as speaker. State Rep. Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant could be a contender for the chairman's role on the Land & Resource Management Committee that was led by Republican who was unseated in the primary election last year. GOP State Reps. Jay Dean of Longview, Stan Lambert of Abilene and Gary VanDeaver of New Boston could be in line for promotions as well. VanDeaver has been a major player on public school funding in the Appropriations Committee and could want to keep the focus there.
State Reps. Stan Gerdes of Smithville, Stan Kitzman of Brookshire and Angelia Orr of Itasca could land leadership posts as Republicans who backed Burrows throughout the competition and held their ground amid historically intense pressure. All three are beginning third terms.
The list below is unsubstantiated speculation without any information or even clues on the eventual committee chair chart. But he are some guesses for the sake of entertainment and sport.
Agriculture & Livestock: Jay Dean, R-Longview (open)
Appropriations: Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood (current)
Business & Industry: Democrat
Calendars: Cody Harris, R-Palestine (open)
Corrections: Democrat
County Affairs: Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville (open)
Criminal Jurisprudence: Democrat
Culture, Recreation & Tourism: Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont (open)
Defense & Veterans Affairs: : Democrat
Elections: Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown (open)
Energy Resources: Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth (open)
Environmental Regulation: Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa (current)
General Investigating: Jared Patterson, R-Frisco (open)
Higher Education: Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock (open)
Homeland Security & Publlic Safety: Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown (open)
House Administration: Will Metcalf, R-Conroe (current)
Human Services: Lacey Hull, R-Houston (open)
Insurance: Democrat
International Relations & Economic Development: Angie Chen Button, R-Garland (current)
Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence: Jeff Leach, R-Allen (current)
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues: Democrat
Land & Resource Management: Cole Hefner, R-Mount Plesant (open)
Licensing & Administrative Procedures: Ken King, R-Canadian (open)
Local & Consent Calendars: Keith Bell, R-Forney (open)
Natural Resources: Stan Lambert, R-Abilene (open)
Pensions, Investments & Financial Services: Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake (current)
Public Education: Brad Buckley, R-Salado (current)
Public Health: Democrat
Redistricting: Drew Darby, R-San Angelo (current)
Resolutions Calendars: Stan Kitzman, R-Brookshire (current Democrat)
State Affairs: Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi (current)
Transportation: Democrat
Urban Affairs: Democrat
(current Republican - open)
Ways & Means: Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas (current)
