Tensions Escalate Before The Texas Speaker Race Vote As Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Targets Burrows

On Tuesday, the 2025 Texas Legislature convened at noon. The following 140 days will determine the state budget for the next two years and hundreds of bills that will have a direct impact on Texans’ everyday lives.

The first order of business for the House will be voting on its next speaker. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has launched a sharp attack on Lubbock Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows, one of the leading candidates for the gavel.

Speaking from the Senate chamber, Patrick called Burrows a continuation of former Speaker Dade Phelan’s leadership, which he blamed for stalling conservative legislation and mishandling key moments in recent legislative history.

“We do not need Dade 2.0,” Patrick declared, underscoring his opposition to Burrows. He criticized Burrows for his role as chair of the powerful Calendars Committee, accusing him of blocking bipartisan Senate-passed bills. “Under Phelan and Burrows’ leadership, conservative bills have died by the dozen,” Patrick said. “Even bills that passed the Senate 31-0, showing broad bipartisan support, never got a hearing in the House or died in Dustin Burrows’ Calendars Committee.”

Patrick also tied Burrows to controversies that have fractured the Republican Party, including the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, which ended in acquittal, and the 2021 quorum-breaking walkout by Democrats protesting restrictive voting legislation. “The Democrats’ walkout to flee to Washington, D.C. in 2021 are all due to Dade Phelan and Dustin Burrows allowing it to happen,” Patrick added.

Patrick and other conservatives, including Attorney General Paxton, have instead thrown their support behind Mansfield Republican David Cook.

Cook, the House Republican Caucus’ endorsed candidate, is running as a champion of conservative priorities like private school vouchers and border security. However, his campaign has struggled to consolidate support, with public commitments still short of the 76 votes needed for a majority.

Burrows, meanwhile, maintains he has the votes to win, despite reported uncertainty among some of his pledged supporters. Before the session convened at noon it was reported that there were three public flips for the speaker vote: two for Burrows and one for Cook.

With the vote imminent and tensions at a boiling point, today’s proceedings will shape the trajectory of the 89th Legislature.

*This is a developing story