April 9, 2025      4:05 PM

Braddock: Embarrassing antics by Harrison unite the Texas House GOP Caucus and further empower Speaker Burrows to cut deals with Lt. Gov. Patrick

Assessing the bigger picture: When they needed more support from within the chamber, previous speakers would rally House members against Patrick. Burrows doesn’t need to do that now. With the House fully united against Rep. Harrison, Burrows is in a stronger position than ever to cut deals with the Texas Senate’s presiding officer

We were only five days or so into the legislative session when some of the most strident Texas House Republican critics of Speaker Dustin Burrows started to privately grumble that Rep. Brian Harrison was hurting their cause. “Did you notice some of us have stopped standing with him at the back mic?” one asked.

Yes, I noticed.

As Rep. Harrison and his small crew have pushed and prodded their colleagues, the number of allies Harrison can rely on has now dwindled to one. Rep. Davie Lowe stood with Harrison against the motion to table the ill-fated attempt to vacate the chair but later released a statement arguing “it’s time to move forward” and put any questions about Burrows’ ability to serve as Speaker in the rearview mirror. “I firmly believe we must refocus on the issues that matter most to the people of Texas,” Lowe said in his written statement.

Harrison, R-Himself, has been called a “Stunt Queen” and is the worst possible messenger for what could have been some compelling arguments. Of course, they fall flat when all a member ever does is aggravate his colleagues.

But there is some irony in Democrats gloating about an outcome that puts Speaker Burrows in better position than ever to cut deals with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has said his weekly talks with Burrows are representative of the best relationship he’s had with any speaker during his decade as the Texas Senate’s presiding officer.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright April 09, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved