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# Crisis averted, Burrows wins Speaker
- URL: https://bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io/crisis-averted-burrows-wins-speaker/
- Published: 2025-01-14T22:20:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-07T22:48:31.000Z
- Description: MAGA Republicans hate this one trick: the mere existence of Democrats
- Author: Sara Cress
- Tags: Newsletter, #Migrated-1794091451356, #Import 2026-11-07 22:47

Here we go.

Today, the House convened and set about choosing a Speaker. The Speaker of the House is a powerful position, setting the priorities for the session. They’re the traffic cop of this unruly bunch of hotheads.

![Simpsons-angry-mob-pitchfork-torches | Willis Nowell | Flickr](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6d/51/6d51d957-e70d-452f-8661-3823af319edd/content/images/2026/11/3b51675f-7fa2-4b41-9368-50c547cd2a3f_500x368-jpeg-1.jpg)

Live look at Texas Republicans.

You may think that Texan Republicans are a monolith, but they squabble just as much as national Republicans do — one side is trying to maintain order, the other just a clown car full of hair elected to disrupt. They ousted Dade Phelan from the speaker’s role because he wouldn’t play along with school voucher proponents last session, and he allowed Democrats to, I dunno, exist. Far-right Republicans hate this. They think Democrats don’t deserve leadership positions on committees, maybe can’t even see them, and anyone who does is a RINO. It all got incredibly nasty.

The far-right extremists of the party were trying to install David Cook (Mansfield — a DFW suburb) so that MAGA could go balls-out crazy this session. The Phelan wing of the party supported Dustin Burrows (Lubbock). He has promised to work with Democrats, but let’s not pretend that Democrats will have much power even so.  
  
The Texas GOP has vowed to censure members who broke from Cook. The billionaires who run our government will no doubt primary as many of them as possible.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6d/51/6d51d957-e70d-452f-8661-3823af319edd/content/images/2026/11/995d2485-8f11-47ca-a334-94f015d04c6d_598x206.png)

For a much deeper dive into the history that has led to this schism, read this piece in the [Texas Tribune](https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/texas-house-speaker-dustin-burrows-david-cook/?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io).

[Burrows won](https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/dustin-burrows-david-cook-texas-house-speaker-vote/?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io) with the help of Democrats. This divide in the Republican party may allow Democrats to help stall some of the more egregious bills. Maybe. I hope.

And now everything is adjourned until Wednesday.

Only other thing worth mentioning from today is that a Dallas Rep’s partner proposed on the House floor right after he was sworn in. Pretty amazing to see two Black men get engaged in the TEXAS HOUSE.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6d/51/6d51d957-e70d-452f-8661-3823af319edd/content/images/2026/11/23dbb1e5-8345-48c5-bccb-b9e4e0112a6b_593x468.png)](https://x.com/JasonWhitely/status/1879239353865761265?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io)

Thus concludes day 1.

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