At a Texas Tribune Festival event on Thursday, the Beaumont Republican said his opposition to Trump and his agenda informed his decision to give up the speaker’s gavel last year.
Dade Phelan
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Former Speaker Dade Phelan won’t seek reelection to Texas House
As speaker, Phelan oversaw passage of numerous conservative priorities, but he gave up the gavel under pressure from the far right over the House’s impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Once again, Texas Legislature unlikely to pass ethics legislation this year
Lawmakers filed dozens of bills that would increase transparency around spending in elections and strengthen penalties for campaign and lobbying violations. None are poised to pass.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Bill to limit out-of-state donations to Texas candidates gets House approval
The bill would cap out-of-state political donations to a candidate or lawmaker to $5,000 for a statewide election, $2,500 for a district office and $1,000 for a county office.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas megadonor Alex Fairly joined forces with the GOP’s ultraconservative wing. He didn’t like what he saw.
Fairly, an Amarillo businessman, backed many candidates aligned with conservative West Texas billionaire Tim Dunn’s political operation in 2024. Now he’s disavowing what he says are dishonest and aggressive campaign tactics while pondering his path forward.
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Texas Legislature 2025
With AI on the rise, Texas House passes bill requiring more transparency in political ads
The bill faced fierce opposition from hardline conservatives who say it is policing speech and could allow the state to jail people over silly political memes.
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Texas Legislature 2025
How a multi-year legal battle by allies of a billionaire megadonor set off this year’s explosive House Speaker race
A pair of lawsuits filed by allies of West Texas megadonor Tim Dunn shut down laws that banned outside spending in the House leadership race, allowing for more political mudslinging and raising questions about ethics rules.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Lubbock celebrates native Dustin Burrows’ rise to Texas House speaker
Meanwhile in the Panhandle, Republicans were less excited that Burrows won the speaker contest thanks largely to Democrats.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas House to pick new speaker, concluding brutal proxy war
The new speaker will have a dramatic impact on the direction of this year’s lawmaking — and potentially the future of the Legislature.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Ken Paxton kicks off tour to pressure Republicans to support David Cook for House speaker
Paxton’s latest tour is the continuation of his efforts in the past year to get political revenge on House Republicans who supported his impeachment.