Newsletter

Everyone is mad!

Texas Republicans really hate it when Democrats are allowed to exist.

I didn’t watch today’s vote on House rules because I was OUT LIVING MY LIFE TO THE FULLEST (getting my new glasses adjusted), but I’m here to report what others have reported: for the first time since 1969, Democrats will not be allowed to chair committees. As a concession, Republicans will not be allowed to be vice-chairs.

And guess what? No one is happy. Obviously, the Democrats are weary and angry, a feeling we’re all used to. But the far-right Republicans? They think the new rules give Dems MORE power than they previously had.

Conservative activists and politicians said that left the door open for Democrats to continue to pull the strings under new subcommittees created under this year’s rules. Unlike in past years, where the leaders of committees appointed subcommittees, this year’s rules allow the speaker to appoint the leaders and members of the standing subcommittees.

Key committees like public health, where abortion legislation could be discussed, and Ways and Means, where property taxes will be taken up, will have subcommittees.

Here are Brian Harrison and Nate Schatzline getting incredibly outraged by what they’re calling the “Democrat Empowerment Act of 2025.” Click to watch the video of these two big babies:

But Thursday's vote may be the start of a more contentious session. Republicans who opposed the resolution to change the rules had planned to offer amendments that would address some of their concerns. But after about an hour of debate, Rep. Jared Patterson, a Frisco Republican who is a Burrows lieutenant, gathered 67 signatures from fellow lawmakers to end debate and call for a vote on the resolution. Only 25 signatures are needed to call such a motion.

Rep. Mike Schofield, a Katy Republican who wanted to continue the debate, spoke heatedly against Patterson's motion and warned that he and his allies would employ similar tactics later in the session.

"I know how to get 25 votes, too, and I promise you if you do this to us, we will do it to you," he said.

The girls are fighting.

In a press conference after the vote, Gene Wu, chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus and Twitter master, said it best: “I know there’s people out there who are very unhappy about it because some of their members have called for Democrats to just simply be expelled from the body because we’re Democrats. And nothing is ever going to make them happy short of having the rules say that Democrats will be publicly executed on the House floor.”

How far do we think we are away from that reality? Five years? Less?

Democrats in Texas haven’t held power for 30 years, but that’s never enough for Republicans. They want complete control. Anything less than that is an affront to the majority. As you see reverberating throughout the country, the far right does not believe in a two-party system where both parties have some power or even function. They believe in a two-party system where the winner shames the loser at every possible opportunity, and uses their power to ensure that they will always win.

In other news, Elon Musk’s DOGE “idea” is now a committee in the lege.