Battle for the soul: Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan headed to runoff with Trump-backed challenger

Table Of Content

• Russian Mercenaries Hunt the African Warlord America Couldn’t Catch
• To debate or not debate? Dade Phelan, David Covey trade blame over lack of political forum
• Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan heading to runoff against hardline conservative challenger
• Muslim Public Affairs Council condemns calls for National Guard to be deployed against protesters

The Columbia University Board of Trustees released a statement Wednesday saying they strongly support President Minouche Shafik, who has faced calls for her resignation amid intense pressure to rein in days-long protests. Nick Maddux, a general consultant for Covey, in a statement Thursday reiterated the campaign's frustration with Phelan over the debate and took issue with the arrangements for the April 1 offer from the news stations and over its potential moderator. It remains unclear whether the two candidates will participate in a public debate ahead of the election.

Russian Mercenaries Hunt the African Warlord America Couldn’t Catch

The current state of internal politics among House Republicans is so unsettled that almost anything could happen at almost any time. Roy, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was referencing Gonzales’ vicious live television rant from Sunday. Video from the scene showed protestors not resisting arrest as LAPD handcuffed them with zip ties and escorted them away from the ongoing protest. Campus police announced earlier that anyone who stayed in the area would be subject to criminal trespass laws.

To debate or not debate? Dade Phelan, David Covey trade blame over lack of political forum

As presiding officer, the Speaker maintains order during floor debate,recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.The constitution also requires the Speaker to sign all bills and jointresolutions passed by the legislature. As a member of the House ofRepresentatives, the Speaker may vote on all questions before the House. “I don’t know if you need to call in the National Guard, maybe you just call in the police,” said Senator JD Vance, an Ohio Republican and one of several lawmakers from both parties expressing reservations. Members of the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin have condemned what they call a “militarized response” to pro-Palestine protests on campus Wednesday. When asked this week whether he condemned “the antisemitic protests”, President Joe Biden said he did.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan heading to runoff against hardline conservative challenger

He said the record $32.7 billion budget surplus should allow lawmakers to make a “down payment on the future of Texas,” citing additional needs including roads, clean water, flood mitigation and high-speed internet. Texas House of Representatives members on Tuesday voted to elect state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, to a second term as speaker — the most powerful position in the lower chamber. TheTexas Constitution requires the House of Representatives, each time a newlegislature convenes, to choose one of its own members to serve as Speaker. Phelan had cruised to victory in previous contests, and no incumbent House speaker has lost a primary since Rayford Price in 1972, but this was the most difficult reelection he has faced. Polling by the University of Houston showed last month that Phelan was the most unpopular Republican leader in Texas. Covey’s campaign has been heavily funded by Defend Texas Liberty, the political group mainly bankrolled by Midland oilman Tim Dunn, a Paxton ally and conservative activist.

House Speaker Dade Phelan, enemy of the far-right, faces toughest reelection yet - The Texas Tribune

House Speaker Dade Phelan, enemy of the far-right, faces toughest reelection yet.

Posted: Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

My constituents also talked about the need for quality healthcare at a reasonable price for families and businesses. They appreciate the progress we made last session, tackling the cost of prescription drugs and health plans, pricing transparency, and improving outcomes for women and children - and they need us to do more. So, let us continue our momentum by giving patients greater control over their health care as well as better access.

Tom Oliverson announces he is challenging Dade Phelan for Texas House speakership - KERA News

Tom Oliverson announces he is challenging Dade Phelan for Texas House speakership.

Posted: Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

He also got strong support in the Senate, where even an outright majority of Republicans voted for the aid on Tuesday. Two colleagues had spoken up to say they would join Greene in such a vote, giving her enough to defeat the speaker if all the chamber's Democrats voted to do the same. That's what the Democrats did when a motion to vacate the chair ousted the last Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, last fall. The most recent Texas House speaker to be ousted in his own party's primary was Rayford Price, a conservative Democrat, in 1972. He was defeated by a progressive Democrat, Fred Head, who was a sitting House member who moved to Price's district to challenge the speaker, according to "The House Will Come to Order," a history of the Texas House speakership published in 2010. "Dade Phelan has dodged every debate and public forum since the beginning of this race because he cannot defend his embarrassing record on border security,” Covey said in a statement Thursday.

Abbott targeted nearly two dozen incumbents who helped defeat his plan to spend tax money on private schools, putting some lawmakers in the crosshairs of both men as targets for removal. Besides drawing support for his endorsed candidates from Trump, Paxton’s intensive and broad campaign of political revenge also prompted third-party groups to pour in millions of dollars of donations into the campaign. Paxton-endorsed challengers in more than 30 House races and his candidates had ousted at least five House members and forced at least five more into runoffs.

After Phelan's election, Gov. Greg Abbott addressed the chamber, congratulating the new speaker and emphasizing a line from Phelan's speech about permanently repealing some regulations that the governor suspended during the pandemic. Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, replaced former House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who retired from office after a secret recording scandal that fractured relationships in the 150-member lower chamber. Phelan has billed himself as a figure who has earned the trust of his colleagues and who wants to lead the House by letting members drive the business of it. In a speech to the Senate, Abbott expressed unprecedented anticipation for the session to begin, saying lawmakers had a “once in a generation” opportunity to chart the course for the state because of its budget surplus. Phelan also cited recent reporting by The Texas Tribune about an increase in rural hospitals no longer delivering babies and committed to reversing that trend.

Texas House selects Rep. Dade Phelan as speaker for another legislative session

The northwest Harris County district is reliably conservative, so Oliverson is likely to win. The People’s house doesn’t belong to any one party—it belongs to those who want to make a difference." But even if Phelan does manage to eke out a victory, some Republicans believe he is too weak to continue as the chamber’s leader.

LAPD has arrested at least 15 protesters on the USC campus, according to a Los Angeles Times reporter on the scene. The number of protesters arrested on USC’s campus has surpassed 50, according to a LA Times reporter on the scene. Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, has weighed in on the student campus protests, calling them “antisemitic” and claiming they “incite terrorism”. New York House Republicans have called on Columbia’s president, Minouche Shafik, to resign immediately for failing to end the protests.

He also blasted Phelan’s decision to appoint a small number of Democrats to chair House committees, an issue that has motivated Republican primary voters this cycle. Many of the protesters at the University of Texas have dispersed, but others have returned to the south lawn as the large police presence has waned. The department of public safety confirmed in a public statement that there were 20 arrests as a result of protests today. When yesterday’s demonstration became disruptive to the students, faculty and staff in Meiling Hall, the university issued multiple warnings.

He said as speaker he would be committed to shepherding a voucher bill through the House. David Covey, a little-known but well-funded challenger, forced Phelan into a runoff in House District 21. Worse, Phelan received fewer votes in the first round, and second-place finishers rarely win runoff elections in Texas. He may become the first House Speaker since Rayford Price in 1972 to lose a primary. State Rep. Tom Oliverson on Thursday announced a surprise challenge to Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, condemning his fellow Republican’s “dysfunctional” leadership as he fights for political survival in a May runoff.

His predecessor, Frederick Gillett of Massachusetts, also had the top job for less than five years. But when he left after the 1924 session, his party was still firmly in control and had just elected President Calvin Coolidge to a full term. The next two Republican speakers would be John Boehner, elevated to the job by the GOP recapture of the House in the "Tea Party" election of 2010. Boehner worked hard to fashion budget deals with both a Democratic President Barack Obama and a Democratic Senate. But his efforts alienated some in his own ranks who in 2015 formed an insurgent group known as the House Freedom Caucus.