When the Texas House of Representatives convened for a high-stakes session to approve congressional redistricting, at least 50 Democrats fled the Capitol and the state to prevent a quorum. That political maneuver was countered by Gov. Greg Abbott, who announced Monday he was seeking arrest warrants when the lawmakers did not show up.
The warrants, which are civil in nature, were approved in a House vote Monday and signed by House Speaker Dustin Burrows.
A story about the fleeing Democrats, published by the liberal-leaning Texas Tribune, said their political stance is putting pressure on Speaker Burrows. That’s because the Democrats he is criticizing for leaving the state cast the key votes that helped him win the House Speaker’s seat in January.
Burrows, who is loathed by some GOP lawmakers for his deals with Democrats, could make allies from those Republicans if he takes a strong stance on the Democrats disrupting the session, the story said.
Other Republicans quoted in the story said a weak stance could set up a new election for House Speaker.
Describing that political standoff on American Family Radio, state Rep. Brian Harrison may have surprised the AFR audience by slamming his own party, in particular Speaker Burrows and other key GOP leadership in the Capitol.
“I actually have more anger for elected Republicans,” he shared, “who have the power to stop the Democrats from pursuing their awful goals, and choose not to stop it.”
Harrison, who represents District 10 in the Texas House, is well-known in the state legislature for his outspoken opinion of GOP leaders who wield power in Austin and openly share power with Democrats.
He told show host Jenna Ellis the current Texas Republican Party is hampered because some Republican lawmakers are, in reality, closet Democrats who run as Republicans because their conservative constituents would never elect them as a Democrat.
Even the current standoff over the fleeing Democrats is an example of that capitulation, Harrison said. He told Ellis that Republican legislators had a quorum present last week when Speaker Burrows gaveled out the session after seven minutes.
“With that one moment,” Harrison told Ellis, “Burrows singlehandedly released the Democrats to go to the other side of the Texas Capitol, where Hakeem Jefferies was waiting with open arms to help them flee the state.”
A 15-second video clip, which Harrison posted to X, shows Speaker Burrows gavel out the session on July 30. It also shows the Speaker ignoring someone ignoring an “I object!” on the House floor after asking if there is any objection to the adjournment.
Harrison said he was the person objecting.
Back in the Texas Tribune story, the newspaper quoted Rep. Harrison, who is described as a "thorn in Burrows' side" in the legislature. The story said the GOP rep laughed when asked by a reporter how Speaker Burrows could win his support.
"Start acting Republican, that would be one," Harris told the newspaper.
