National Republicans are going at it over their leadership heading into 2025, and the Texas legislature is also facing its own infighting. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) is nearing the end of his speakership, and both state Reps. David Cook (R) and Dustin Burrows (R) are vying for the spot. However, disagreements between both of their political stances has created a divide in the Texas legislature. In response to the divide, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has announced a statewide tour in support of state Rep. Cook.
State Rep. Cook has been voted as the state’s House Republican nominee for speaker, but state Rep. Burrows is contesting his candidacy, claiming that he has enough support to become the next Texas House speaker.
In a statement, Paxton announced that he would be embarking on “a statewide tour on January 6th and January 7th visiting individual state representative districts with incumbents who “continue to undermine the Republican Party by cutting deals with Democrats to obstruct a Speaker elected by a majority of Republicans ahead of the 2025 legislative session.”
🚨BREAKING: I just announced a statewide tour next week. I’ll be visiting individual state representative districts with incumbents who continue to obstruct a Speaker elected by a majority of Republicans. Texans expect a Republican-led majority to elect a Speaker by a majority of… pic.twitter.com/t0rcRY0J87
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) December 31, 2024
“Texans deserve leadership that reflects their values,” he commented, adding that “there is still time for these incumbents to make the right decision.”
State Rep. Brian Harrison (R) has taken issue with the direction that the Lone Star state is heading to, taking to social media to claim that the state isn’t as conservative as its leadership would have you believe.
In a recent social media post, the Texas lawmaker shared that as of 2023, Texas has 274,469 total regulation restrictions, which places the state among the most regulated states in the U.S.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has hinted that he supports state Rep. Cook for the speakership, writing in a social media post that “we need a Texas House Speaker chosen by a majority of Republicans in accordance with the Republican Caucus Rules.”
