What it means for conservative-fiscal policy

On Saturday, the Texas House Republican Caucus convened in the capitol building to cast their votes for a new Speaker, following Dade Phelan’s withdrawal from the contentious race the day before. As reported by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, the Establishment Wing of the House GOP put forward a new member to challenge the reform-favorite, Rep. David Cook. On the other side, Rep. Dustin Burrows, a long-time Phelan acolyte, is working hard on behalf of career members to retain their powerful grasp on House proceedings, and maintain the status quo of ignoring the will of voters. 

With David Cook firmly in the lead following two votes by caucus members, Dustin Burrows, along with his accompanying Phelan loyalists, decided to walk out and refused to participate in the third round of voting. 

Later in the day, the Caucus confirmed Cook as the official and legitimate GOP nominee for House Speaker with 48 of 62 votes. 

Immediately following the Caucus vote, Burrows and his supporters held extensive discussions with Democrat members of the House. He allegedly struck a deal with the Democrats, which reportedly includes the protection of Democrat committee chairs, taxpayer-funded lobbying, and a refusal to pursue meaningful school choice. If elected as speaker, this deal by the Lubbock representative would preemptively kill three major Republican Legislative Priorities while consolidating further power in the hands of big-government politicians. 

After striking this deal, Burrows claimed total victory in the Speaker race, releasing a list of 76 supposedly professed supporters. The list included 38 Republicans along with 38 Democrats. In his premature victory statement, Burrows acclaimed “I am deeply honored to have received the written support of a majority of the members of the Texas House of Representatives in the race for Speaker. With the Speaker’s race now behind us, it is time for the House to come together and focus on delivering results for the people of Texas.” 

Embarrassingly for Burrows, it turns out that many of the members on his list never pledged support for his Speakership. One such Republican member, Don McLaughlin, denounced Burrows, affirming that he had never given permission for his name to be on the list, and that he is fully committed to David Cook. Several Democrat representatives, including Josey Garcia, also announced that their loyalty was not toward Dustin Burrows. It appears as though the list and the accompanying victory announcement by Burrows was more of a ploy to pressure other Republican members to join the “majority.”

In all reality, Dustin Burrows’ run for House Speaker is more than likely doomed to fail. 

For one, he has violated the GOP Caucus rules, which he himself assisted in writing, by soliciting the approval of Democrats in his race for Speaker. These same rules can also prompt the censuring and removal from the Caucus of members who refuse to vote for the official nominee.

The decline of Dustin Burrows has been an unfortunate one to witness. When he entered the Texas House in 2015, he acted as a strong conservative champion, garnering a respectable A- rating on TFR’s Fiscal Responsibility Index. Sadly, as he became further entrenched by establishmentarians in the Austin Swamp, he increasingly turned his back on the voters of Texas and fell further down the Index every year, siding with lobbyists and their interests over 84% of the time. 

Grassroots conservatives worked hard on behalf of the people of Texas to bring reform to the State House, not simply replace leadership with a clone of Dade Phelan. If elected to the Speakership through alignment with big-government Democrats, he will single-handedly destroy all of the hard work put in by voters to create fiscally-conservative policy in Texas.

We encourage each and every one of our readers to contact their representatives and make their voice heard before the battle for House Speaker is finally decided on January 14th.

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility relies on the support of private donors across the Lone Star State in order to promote fiscal responsibility and pro-taxpayer government in Texas. Please consider supporting our efforts! Thank you!

Get The Fiscal Note, our free weekly roll-up on all the current events that could impact your wallet. Subscribe today!