RINO Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan Steps Down!

Dade Phelan — who infamously led the impeachment against Texas AG Ken Paxton — has just stepped down from the

Texas House Speaker race.

Last year, Dade Phelan went viral for appearing drunk and slurring his words on the House floor.

This led to Ken Paxton calling for Dade Phelan to resign — but instead, Phelan gathered together a band of fellow RINO scum in order to impeach Paxton.

Ultimately, Paxton was acquitted of all the impeachment charges.

And now, Texas will finally be rid of drunkard Dade Phelan…at last!

Check it out:

BREAKING: Dade Phelan, the deranged drunkard Texas House Speaker who impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton, just dropped out of the Speakership race due to having no support.

Like Kamala Harris, Phelan went viral on the internet for being drunk on live TV.

The Drunkard was… pic.twitter.com/9yq2jEqvnV

— George (@BehizyTweets) December 6, 2024

New: @DadePhelan statement on withdrawing from the speaker race. #txlege https://t.co/YoShxKfOyH pic.twitter.com/669PsPyVtl

— Brad Johnson (@bradj_TX) December 6, 2024

Ken Paxton released a statement in response, accusing Phelan of “prioritizing Democrat interests over his own caucus.”

Here’s Paxton’s full response:

STATEMENT: Dade Phelan’s withdrawal from the Speaker’s race. #TxLege pic.twitter.com/a3nfKWtGQD

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) December 6, 2024

More details on Dade Phelan’s resignation, from The Texas Tribune:

House Speaker Dade Phelan on Friday announced he is dropping his bid for another term leading the lower chamber, ending a bruising, monthslong intraparty push to remove him from power.

Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, had previously insisted he had enough votes to thwart a challenge from the right led by state Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, a former ally.

“Out of deep respect for this institution and its members, and after careful consideration and private consultation with colleagues, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the race for Speaker of the Texas House,” he said in a statement. “By stepping aside, I believe we create the best opportunity for our members to rally around a new candidate who will uphold the principles that make our House one of the most exceptional, deliberative legislative bodies in the country—a place where honor, integrity, and the right of every member to vote their district takes utmost precedent.”

Phelan abandoned the race days ahead of a scheduled meeting where Republicans are set to pick their nominee for the gavel.

Phelan’s withdrawal sets up a renewed scramble for control of the House. State Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican and top ally of Phelan, has filed paperwork to run for speaker, according to two sources familiar with the matter. His path to the gavel rests on courting the chamber’s 62 Democrats and roughly 40 unpledged Republicans — and reports of his candidacy were already drawing swift pushback from Cook’s camp and grassroots GOP activists, who are set on selecting a speaker without relying on votes from Democrats.

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Phelan was relying on the bloc of Democrats and uncommitted Republicans to secure a third term as speaker. But he never produced a list of supporters, while Cook gained fresh momentum this week by picking up two new backers, bringing him within striking distance of the votes needed to lock up the GOP caucus’ endorsement this weekend.

Under the caucus rules, whoever gets 60% or more of the votes at Saturday’s meeting will secure the group’s endorsement and receive support from all 88 Republican members when the vote goes to the full House in January — enough to win the gavel. Heading into this week, Cook had touted 47 supporters, including two unnamed backers. He picked up support from state Reps. David Spiller of Jacksboro and Trent Ashby of Lufkin this week, putting him four votes shy of the 60% threshold.

Austin American-Statesman added:

Under fire from members in his own party, Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced Friday that he would not seek a third term as head of the often fractious lower chamber.

“Out of deep respect for this institution and its members, and after careful consideration and private consultation with colleagues, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the race for Speaker of the Texas House,” Phelan said in a statement early Friday. “By stepping aside, I believe we create the best opportunity for our members to rally around a new candidate who will uphold the principles that make our House one of the most exceptional, deliberative legislative bodies in the country — a place where honor, integrity, and the right of every member to vote their district takes utmost precedent.”

Phelan’s withdrawal, which was recently rumored, came a day before House Republicans were expected to meet behind closed doors to see if they can reach consensus on a speaker candidate — or at least amass enough votes to avoid any reliance on Democrats.

Republicans hold an 88-62 majority heading into the 2025 legislative session, which will begin next month. If 76 of them — a simple majority — agree on a speaker candidate, House Democrats would be powerless to affect the outcome.

The announcement from the 49-year-old speaker caps nearly two years of intraparty squabbling over how the House operates and how much, if any, say the Democrats should have in setting the chamber’s legislative agenda.

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