Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week:
Texas House Speaker Race
The Republican Party of Texas is weighing in heavily against the Republican House members who are refusing to support Rep. David Cook, who was chosen by the caucus to lead the House in 2025. Cook has the support of 56 of the 88 members of the caucus, which is the three-fifths majority he needs to get the caucus endorsement. But it is shy of the 76 needed on the House floor to be elected Speaker by the full 150-member House.
So, Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock has reached out to Democrats in the House to try and get to the 76 number. After initially claiming to have the 76 – 38 Republicans and 38 Democrats – several Republicans claimed they never committed to Burrows, thus reducing his count to well under the 76 mark. Burrows is still trying to establish a coalition which is heavily dependent on support from the Democrats. That has riled up the Republican Party of Texas who has vowed to pressure the Republicans supporting Burrows into supporting the choice of the caucus.
The party has indicated they are working on a formal plan to censure all Republican members who refuse to support and ultimately vote for Cook when the vote takes place on the House floor in January. Specifically, the party says it will censure any Republican House member that does not vote for Rep. David Cook which will subsequently bar the member from running in a Republican primary for two years. There are varying legal opinions on whether this censure will hold up from a legal standpoint. But suffice it to say, this will have a negative effect on any incumbent that is censured that has to go to court to fight to get on a Republican primary ballot.
The party has also informed a handful of members that they will be sending out direct mail to Republican primary voters in each of their districts regarding the member’s support of a candidate that is courting Democrats in the race for Speaker. State party chair Abraham George sent out a text to all the members that will be targeted asking them to unite behind Rep. Cook. He went on to offer them an opportunity to personally defend or expand upon their support of Rep. Burrows prior to sending out the direct mail. The members being targeted have dismissed the potential effects of the mailers – for now – and say their support for Burrows is solid and they will not be intimidated by these tactics.
So far, over 100 county GOP chairs have thrown their support to Rep. Cook.
Suffice to say, the pressure on the members supporting Burrows will be unrelenting until the vote for Speaker takes place, and the success of the party’s initiatives depends on how many of the 38 or so members will ultimately succumb to the pressure.
Huge Budget Surplus
Since the legislature meets for only 5 months every two years, they write a two-year budget. That bill is the only must-pass piece of legislation every session. When lawmakers convene in January, they will write the budget for the upcoming 2026-27 state budget. Comptroller Glenn Hegar informed lawmakers this week that they will have $20 billion in unspent state funds left over from the 2024-25 budget at their disposal. Last session, lawmakers passed a $321 billion budget after entering the 2023 session with a $32 billion surplus. Much of that surplus went to Operation Lone Star – the state border enforcement effort – and property tax reduction. Lawmakers had also allotted $4.5 billion for public education spending, but that money went unspent when the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on private school voucher legislation.
Texas Leads Nation in Population Growth
Texas once again led the entire nation in population growth in 2024 for the 14th year in a row. The US Census Bureau released updated data this week that showed the state added 562,941 residents in 2024, which is 100,000 more than Florida and twice as many as California. Texas now has a population of 31,290,831, which is a 2% increase over 2023 population figures. More than half of the new residents in Texas – 319,569 — in 2024 were international migrants. Roughly a third of the population growth came from natural attrition – the difference between births and deaths. The remainder came from people moving to Texas from other states.
Nationally, the nation’s population grew by 3.3 million people, with 84% of those coming from migration into the US.
AG Paxton Sues NY Doctors
AG Ken Paxton has sued a New York doctor for allegedly providing support through telemedicine and sending abortion pills to a woman in Texas. Texas law prohibits abortion pills to be sent by mail. The lawsuit also alleges that the NY doctor is not licensed to practice medicine in Texas. The state of New York has recently passed a medical shield law that protects doctors from civil or criminal consequences for treating patients from states where abortion is severely restricted. The state has also vowed to not cooperate in any way with other states attempting to civilly sue or criminally prosecute a doctor licensed in New York.
The suit was filed in state court in Collin County but will ultimately set up a legal battle between states that have banned abortion except in rare circumstances versus those states that still not only allow the procedure, but also allow their doctors to assist and treat patients from other states. If Paxton wins a judgement in state court against the doctor from New York, then Paxton could legally challenge the validity of the New York medical shield law which could create a years long battle regarding the rights granted in one state versus the laws in place in other states.
No Health Insurance for DACA Program
About 90,000 people in Texas covered by DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – will be barred from receiving health insurance after a ruling by a federal judge in North Dakota. Several Attorneys General from Republican states have filed suit against the federal government saying that the DACA program does not allow for the provision of health insurance for members of its program. DACA gives children who entered the US with their parents legal standing to be in the country. The federal court agreed with the Republican AG’s and said in his ruling that it is for Congress to determine who qualifies for legal standing and the benefits from which they are able to benefit.
The federal court order is not the final say. However, the court ruled that the 19 states that have filed the lawsuit have “proven a fair chance of prevailing” when the case goes to trial. The state of Texas is part of another court action that is attempting to have the entire DACA program ruled unlawful and should be voided. In 2023, a federal judge in Texas agreed and has sent the case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for further review. That case will undoubtedly be finally decided by the US Supreme Court.
Space X to Incorporate into a City
Space X is working to incorporate its south Texas headquarters into a city to help with infrastructure development. Employees living at Starbase – located in south Texas — have begun the process of calling a special election to establish an incorporated city which would transfer management of relevant functions such as the management of utilities, housing, and transportation needs as well as schooling to a publicly elected body. Starbase currently has launch pads, public housing, office space, and temporary recreational facilities that are normally maintained by a city government. If successful, the Starbase initiative would follow a model established by company-founded cities such as Sugar Land, which was founded by the employees of Imperial Sugar Company in Fort Bend County.
Political Notes
Two of the 38 members who initially threw their support to Rep. Burrows in the Speaker’s race have already drawn likely opponents for the 2026 Republican primary. Rep. Will Metcalf of Conroe in Montgomery County north of Houston was the first to draw an opponent. Montgomery County is the single most reliable Republican stronghold in the state. Montgomery County GOP Vice Chair Jon Bouche has already filed the paperwork and announced the appointment of a campaign treasurer for the 2026 race. In his statement announcing his candidacy, Bouche said Metcalf has “betrayed the trust of his constituents by siding with the Democrats to elect a liberal Speaker.”
City Councilman Chris Woolsey of Corsicana has also announced that he too has appointed a campaign treasurer to prepare for a Republican primary challenge to Rep. Cody Harris, also of Corsicana, because of Harris’ commitment to support Rep. Burrows for Speaker. These are the first two to get opponents, and there will undoubtedly be more to come prior to the January 14thscheduled vote for House Speaker.
More developments regarding the race for Texas House Speaker. This week, Amarillo businessman Alex Fairly – a consistent megadonor to Republican candidates – pledged $20 million to the newly established Texas Republican Leadership Fund. In a statement announcing the donation to start the new fund, Fairly said he wants to build on the Republican gains made in Texas in the 2024 election and that “every Republican House member should be strongly opposed to a minority band of Republicans teaming up with Democrats to cut a joint governing agreement.” Details will emerge on how involved the new fund will get in the campaign to elect Rep. Cook as Speaker. But moving forward, Fairly has vowed to have a “true Republican majority”, which is a hint that the fund will target Republican House members in 2026 that are supporting Rep. Burrows for Speaker.
On Tuesday, members of the Texas Electoral College met at the state Capitol to cast the state’s 40 electoral votes for President-Elect Trump. The proceedings were presided over by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson. The state’s electors – elected on the November ballot by Congressional districts – are required to meet “on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following the general election” to perform their duties.
What’s Next??
I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy holiday season. With things slowing down until the end of the year, I will take a break from sending the weekly update until after the first of the year.
As always, I will update everyone if there are any major developments in the Speaker’s race or any other subject of relevance. Look for my next update on Friday, January 10, 2025.
Enjoy your holiday season and please be safe!!
There are 25 days until the start of the regular legislative session.