Texas Dems’ quorum break is pivotal moment for House speaker

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Without support from Democratic lawmakers, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows would not have secured the gavel earlier this year.

Soon, the Lubbock Republican may no longer need them. Or he might need them more than ever.

Texas Democrats’ departure from the state to deny the lower chamber enough members to conduct business is creating the latest pivotal moment for the first-term speaker, imperiling — or at least dragging out — his party’s push at the behest of President Donald Trump to redraw congressional district lines to net more GOP seats.

But it is not just Trump’s approval or wrath that could hinge on how Burrows meets the moment. As news broke Sunday that Democrats were leaving the state, some of the speaker’s fellow Republicans — inside the Capitol and out — urged him to mete out harsh penalties, including stripping absent members of committee vice-chair titles and seniority benefits, or even redrawing state House maps to take aim at Democratic seats.

The explosive response from GOP lawmakers and activists, some of whom had opposed Burrows’ bid for the gavel, underscored the opportunity for the speaker to bolster his credibility with the right by proving that Democrats do not, in fact, control the House as some of those members claim. At least one Republican also pointed to the effect of uniting the fractious GOP caucus around a common enemy instead of each other.

“If this is handled correctly, there won’t be a next speaker’s race,” said Rep. Mitch Little, a freshman Republican from Lewisville who backed Burrows’ rival in the speaker’s race. “And when I say correctly, I mean Republicans are united behind Republican principles and requiring Democrats to show up and do their jobs, and it sounds like we’re heading in that direction with this speaker.”

But the escalating calls for action — and immediate skepticism from critics who feared Burrows would capitulate to Democrats — also showed the GOP backlash that could be in store if a prolonged quorum break unfolds, something that Burrows has limited tools to combat. He exercised one of them Monday when the House voted to arrest the absconded members and Burrows signed civil arrest warrants.

The response earned Burrows praise from some of those who were drawing attention to him earlier in the week, even though the signing of warrants was not decidedly more aggressive than his predecessor’s actions in 2021, when Democrats also broke quorum over GOP voting legislation. Then-Speaker Dade Phelan of Beaumont also signed warrants, though Burrows did so a bit sooner.

Now it appears that Burrows could be inching toward getting buy-in from his own caucus, factions of which have questioned his conservative purity and worked against his ascent to the speakership. If he wins over enough doubters, Burrows could face a scenario where he seeks reelection without having to rely on the minority party, who made up the bulk of his winning coalition.

For his own part, Burrows struck a stern tone from the dais Monday during a House floor session that lasted fewer than 10 minutes before he signed the warrants. On Tuesday, he said state police troopers were working on bringing members back in the hopes of restoring a quorum Friday. Lawmakers have just under two weeks left in their ongoing special session, during which Gov. Greg Abbott has also called for legislation responding to the deadly July 4 floods in Central Texas, along with a wishlist of socially conservative priorities.

“They’ve left the state, abandoned their posts, and turned their backs on the constituents they swore to represent,” Burrows said. “To be absolutely clear, leaving the state does not stop this House from doing its work. It only delays it. And every day this chamber is unable to act, the cost grows.”

Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Deer Park Republican who opposed Burrows’ speaker run, has been among the lawmakers calling for harsh and swift actions against the absconded legislators. On Monday, he said he was “excited about the direction of the House.”

“The minority party really kind of committed political suicide,” Cain said. “The Republican Caucus is diverse, right? There’s moderates to conservatives and right now I am seeing us all be unified on one thing, which is that the Democrats have not only just disrespected and insulted the people of Texas, but they’re not serious.”

Little also expressed confidence in Burrows after Monday’s floor session, saying that it was “how we expect a Republican speaker to perform.”

This week’s situation might have seemed unimaginable in January, when the Legislature kicked off its 140-day session. The House began with the speaker vote, finally deciding a contest that had been gridlocked for months in a bitter Republican power struggle.

Riding backlash against the 2023 impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, the GOP’s insurgent wing last year swept out more than a dozen establishment Republicans from the lower chamber. The ascendant right-wing faction, whose members ran in part on upending the system of power-sharing that allowed Democrats to chair some committees, wanted to ensure that Phelan — who was reelected to the House but dropped his reelection bid for speaker — was not replaced by an ally. That left them staunchly opposed to Burrows, a member of the outgoing speaker’s inner circle and his pick to chair the powerful House committee in charge of which bills reach the floor for a vote.

The hardliners lined up behind Rep. David Cook of Mansfield for speaker, but Burrows held onto enough of Phelan’s establishment GOP supporters to join with most of the chamber’s Democrats to secure a majority.

The criticism was immediate. Cook supporters accused Burrows of being a Republican in Name Only, or even a liberal, who would enable Democrats to block GOP priorities.

But when the regular session ended in early June, Burrows emerged with a list of conservative victories, quashing some of the criticism.

But not all of it. Among Burrows’ critics outside the Pink Dome is Wade Miller, executive director of Citizens for Renewing America. Miller, former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, called on Burrows to sign arrest warrants a day before he actually did, saying on social media, “Anything shy of arrest warrants TODAY … is a sign of complicity in the act of denying quorum by Democrats.”

On Tuesday, Miller followed up by calling for Burrows’ removal as speaker.

Other critics see an opportunity for Burrows.

“If Burrows plays hardball with the quorum busters, it will do a lot to mend fences with conservatives and bring the party together,” said Rolando Garcia, a member of the State Republican Executive Committee.

Inside the chamber, Rep. Shelley Luther, freshman Republican from Tom Bean who blasted Burrows’ victory of the speakership, similarly said the situation presented “great opportunity for (Burrows) to earn the Republican Caucus Speaker vote.” Luther was not immediately available for an interview to elaborate, her chief of staff said.

Of course, some remain unconvinced.

Rep. Brian Harrison, a Midlothian anti-establishment Republican who’s been a persistent thorn in Burrows’ side, blamed the speaker in an interview for not locking the doors last week, when the House still had a quorum, to prevent Democrats from fleeing. Other hardline Republicans, including Paxton, have echoed that same argument.

Harrison insisted that Burrows should be ousted from the speakership. He laughed when asked how the Lubbock Republican could court his support.

“Start acting Republican, that would be one,” Harrison said. “People are framing the story all wrong. It’s not about the Democrats fleeing. It’s that the Republican leadership in Texas assisted with this quorum break.”

Burrows’ punishment options may be limited. In signing the civil arrest warrants Monday, the speaker directed the sergeant-at-arms and the Department of Public Safety to find and bring members to the chamber. But those warrants are only enforceable within state lines.

And while he’s received credit from some for signing the warrants, statewide leaders have upped the ante, with Abbott asking the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday to remove Houston Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, from office. Paxton threatened earlier in the day to file similar legal actions for anyone not back in the House by Friday.

At a press conference after the House adjourned, Burrows declined to comment on whether he agreed that removal was a viable option.

“As a lawyer, I try not to give legal answers without actually studying and knowing all of the facts and the law,” he said.

If enough of Burrows’ Republican colleagues perceive that he is “not demonstrating essentially enough willingness to punish Democrats for their actions,” that could invite a speaker challenge for the 2027 session, “if not before,” said Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

“He was kind of put in an untenable position,” Taylor said. “What will be interesting is to see if he will go the next step, go the extra mile.”

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