Senators Wary of Sending National Guard to Quell Campus Protests

Table Of Content

• By tradition, the minority party gets to chair some Texas House committees. Some in the GOP want to end that.
• Got a Hot News Tip?
• Texans need truth. Help us report it.
• Lindsey Graham Shrugs Off ‘Catch-and-Kill’ Scheme to Help Trump Win Election
• Dozens arrested in California and Texas as campus administrators move to shut down protests – as it happened
• Texas House speaker heads to a runoff against a Trump-endorsed challenger

We can work all day on these issues, but if rogue District Attorneys will not uphold the law, what progress are we really making? Senators lauded him as a “man of faith” and a workhorse legislator with expertise in various subjects, including veterans affairs, energy and business. Patrick embraced Hancock in a hug after he took the oath as president pro tem. In a speech, Hancock thanked his son-in-law, Greg Cox, for donating his kidney to him.

Tom Oliverson challenges Dade Phelan for Texas House speaker - Austin American-Statesman

Tom Oliverson challenges Dade Phelan for Texas House speaker.

Posted: Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

By tradition, the minority party gets to chair some Texas House committees. Some in the GOP want to end that.

The Texas House boasts a long and storied history of giving a voice to the people of Texas in our State Capitol, and our democracy is far stronger when Texans like you get involved. We encourage you to have a look around and hope you find this website to be a valuable resource as you participate in your state government.

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Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is facing a runoff election after he failed to secure a majority of votes in primary voting, the clearest sign to date of his precarious position within the Republican Party. The university said it is considering keeping the campus closed beyond the weekend, and accused students of stealing items and breaking “numerous laws”. Here are photos from Austin where police, including some on horses and holding batons, blocked the main lawn at the University of Texas and pulled several students to the ground to stop demonstrators from marching through campus. Many Jewish-led groups protesting the war in Gaza have also pushed back against such allegations. As protests aligned with the Jewish Passover holiday this week, encampments at Yale and Columbia held Passover seders on Monday.

Texans need truth. Help us report it.

Phelan did not cast a vote on vouchers, but has been attacked by some pro-voucher Republicans for not doing enough to get the legislation passed. He previously told The Texas Tribune he would have supported a scaled-back version of a voucher program. Oliverson said the bloodbath for House incumbents in the primary was the speaker’s fault for not being a leader on the issue.

His critics say the results of the primary, in which nine House Republicans were ousted and eight were forced into runoffs, are a repudiation of Phelan’s leadership. The announcement was a political betrayal of Phelan, who in 2021 appointed Oliverson chair of the House insurance committee and hopes to continue as speaker. But the voters of Phelan’s Beaumont-area district may not even send him back to Austin.

Dozens arrested in California and Texas as campus administrators move to shut down protests – as it happened

“We have witnessed police punching a female student, knocking over a legal observer, dragging a student over a chain-link fence, and violently arresting students for simply standing at the front of the crowd,” the statement said. Columbia University has extended a deadline for talks on dismantling pro-Palestinian protest camps on campus by 48 hours as tension over the Unites States’ handling of the Israel-Gaza war grows. The Missouri senator Josh Hawley and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton on Monday called for Joe Biden to send national guard troops on to campuses. Campus protests are growing across the US, with arrests this week at Yale and New York universities. Calling in police enforcement on nonviolent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act.

Kathy Hochul, the Democratic governor of New York, called Mike Johnson’s trip to Columbia University “divisive” and accused the House speaker of “politicizing the issue”. More than 60 people, including a journalist, arrested at University of Southern California and University of Texas at Austin. The 30-year saga began with Gingrich of Georgia, who was the first member of his party to gain "the big gavel" since the early 1950s and the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Gingrich had been a backbench rabble-rouser since coming to the House in 1978 and built up a cadre of supporters until he won the party's No. 2 power position as minority whip in 1989.

Texas House speaker heads to a runoff against a Trump-endorsed challenger

“This runoff is not just another race, it’s the frontline of the battle for the soul of our district,” Phelan said in a lengthy statement sent late Tuesday. CST, Phelan trailed challenger David Covey 43% to 46%, according to election results posted by the Texas Secretary of State. Dade Phelan, the Republican speaker of the Texas House, is headed to a runoff with his GOP primary challenger. Oliverson helped Phelan secure the gavel in late 2019 as one of 83 lawmakers who initially backed the Beaumont Republican’s speakership bid.

Mike Johnson and the troubled history of recent Republican speakers

House Republicans who blocked McCarthy’s leadership for more than a dozen votes, grinding Congressional business to a halt for four days last week. In his nominating speech for Tinderholt, Slaton said the tradition in the House of selecting some minority party members — in Texas, Democrats — for committee chair positions is an overly generous “consolation prize” for losing an election. He said Phelan’s adherence to that tradition means Republicans can pass only some conservative legislative priorities each session while ignoring others. US senators dismissed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s suggestion to send the National Guard to college campuses to quell growing protests against the war in Gaza and US support for Israel. Cal Poly Humboldt, a public university on the far northern coast of California, where pro-Palestinian students are occupying a campus building, said on Wednesday that it would remain closed through the weekend.

Dade Phelan predicts victory in primary runoff, return as House speaker - The Dallas Morning News

Dade Phelan predicts victory in primary runoff, return as House speaker.

Posted: Tue, 19 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

“To have the speaker be in San Antonio campaigning for Tony … I’m just beside myself that that’s where things are,” Roy told San Antonio radio station KTSA. The University of Texas at Austin Police Department said in a statement on X Wednesday evening that "the dispersal order at the South Mall has ended. All University rules are still in effect." The university "supports free speech through open dialogue that is respectful and constructive," the officials said. The university closed its campus Wednesday evening as LAPD began arresting demonstrators. The Los Angeles Police Department said 93 people were arrested on suspicion of trespassing during Wednesday's demonstrations at the University of Southern California. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called for the resignation of House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) after he presided over the house “in an obviously intoxicated state.” Paxton also called for an investigation into the incident.

All of that work will be rooted in one of the most fundamental, necessary elements of this institution -- the Texas House rules. My advice to new members is to know them, love them, and be certain we will enforce them. Because our rules keep the game fair, but they do not dictate the outcome. Let us not forget the sacrifices they have made to get you where you are today. Phelan was nominated by State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine), with Reps Angie Chen Button (R-Richardson), Tracy King (D-Uvalde), John Lujan (R-San Antonio), Toni Rose (D-Dallas) and Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville) providing seconding motions.

In the Senate, Patrick, who won reelection in November for another four-year term, welcomed senators back to the chamber cheerily. We can’t wait to welcome you to downtown Austin Sept. 5-7 for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival! Join us at Texas’ breakout politics and policy event as we dig into the 2024 elections, state and national politics, the state of democracy, and so much more. But while Phelan may be unpopular with Republicans across Texas, he only needed to persuade the 200,000 residents of his southeast Texas district to reelect him. Phelan was neck and neck with GOP challenger David Covey with votes still being counted.