Texas House committee assignments extend power of experienced GOP leaders

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House Speaker Dustin Burrows appointed lawmakers to committees on Thursday, announcing a leadership team made up mostly of veterans who had led legislative panels under his predecessors — and appointing only Republicans to chair committees, as prescribed by the chamber’s new rules.

In a news release announcing the committee appointments, Burrows emphasized that the makeup of the committees reflected the GOP dominance in the chamber, noting that all were chaired by Republicans and that every standing committee and subcommittee was made up of a GOP majority. Burrows, however, immediately stirred criticism among hardline conservatives for putting Democrats in charge of half the chamber’s 12 newly created subcommittees.

Burrows said his committee appointments tried to ensure that lawmakers could use their expertise to contribute to the chamber’s overall goals.

“Assigning members to committees is among the most significant and intricate responsibilities of the Speaker — one that demands thoughtful consideration and a delicate balance of many factors,” he said in a statement. “Taking the time to get this right was not just necessary — it is what Texans deserve of their government, and I am confident these appointments will position the House for a productive, successful session.”

Burrows, a Lubbock Republican who is weeks into his first term as speaker, kept in place much of the leadership team assembled by his predecessor, Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont. He rewarded many allies who stuck with him even after the House Republican Caucus endorsed a different candidate, Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, in the speaker’s race.

Among those returning to key positions are: Rep. Greg Bonnen of Friendswood, who will lead the budget-writing Appropriations Committee; Rep. Brad Buckley of Salado, who will lead the Public Education Committee; and Rep. Morgan Meyer, who will lead the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Also returning to their posts are Burrows allies Brooks Landgraf of Odessa who will again head the Environmental Regulation Committee and Jeff Leach of Plano who will lead the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee despite a very public disagreement with Gov. Greg Abbott over the planned execution of a death row inmate.

Burrows also shuffled around some veteran lawmakers to new roles. GOP Rep. Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi will return to his old post leading the Calendars Committee, which he ran for four terms from 2011 through the 2017 session. The panel sets the agenda for bills heard on the House floor, a crucial position that Burrows held the last two sessions.

Some of Burrows’ conservative critics blasted the move, saying that Hunter had used the post to kill conservative legislation when he last held it eight years ago. Burrows also drew immediate criticism from the right for appointing a Democrat, Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso, as speaker pro tempore, though the position is largely ceremonial. Moody previously served as speaker pro tem in the 2019 and 2021 sessions, before he was stripped of the title in what was seen as a symbolic punishment for Democrats’ move to flee the state to prevent Republicans from passing a bill overhauling the state’s elections.

Another veteran lawmaker Burrows ally, Rep. Ken King of Canadian, got a major promotion to lead the powerful State Affairs Committee, which oversees a sweeping range of key legislation. Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth will lead the House Administration Committee and Rep. Tom Craddick, a former speaker from Midland who has served in the House since 1969, will head the Transportation Committee for the first time.

Burrows did not forget Phelan, his predecessor and close ally, appointing him to lead the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee – a minor committee but a clear signal that the previous speaker, who had fallen out of favor with many Republicans, will remain part of the leadership team.

The move also returns a favor. After Burrows was disgraced in a scandal in 2019 where he was caught in a secret recording targeting 10 fellow Republicans in the primaries, Phelan, in his first term as speaker, appointed him to the Calendars committee.

A key question was how Burrows would handle the 52 Republican members who voted for Cook in the speaker’s race. Burrows reduced the number of standing committees from 34 last session to 30, in what he said was an effort to “enhance government efficiency.”

Among those, Burrows doled out only four chairmanships to Cook supporters: Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, the Agriculture and Livestock Committee; Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, the Elections Committee; Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee; and Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, the Redistricting Committee.

Four other Republicans who voted for Cook were put in charge of new subcommittees created under this year’s House rules, which reshuffled the lineup by turning several existing panels into subcommittees. Cook was appointed to lead the Juvenile Justice Subcommittee, while Rep. James Frank, a Wichita Falls Republican who vied with Cook for the gavel before lining up behind him, was put in charge of the Disease Prevention and Women’s and Children’s Health Subcommittee.

Additionally, Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, was appointed to lead the Academic and Career-Oriented Education Subcommittee, and Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, will run the County and Regional Government Subcommittee. Both members broke from Phelan’s leadership team in supporting Cook.

Burrows also brought back into the fold some lawmakers who had been out of power for several years, notably veteran Rep. Drew Darby of San Angelo, who will lead the Energy Resources Committee. Darby was one of the lawmakers Burrows had targeted in the recording scandal.

He is also one of three Republicans appointed to helm committees after surviving Abbott-backed primary challenges last year over their opposition to private school vouchers. Rep. Stan Lambert of Abilene will lead the Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee which he has sat on for multiple sessions. Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston will lead the Public Health Committee.

School voucher legislation is a priority this session for top Republican leaders, including Burrows, who supported Abbott’s failed push in 2023 to let families use taxpayer funds to send their kids to private schools. The three remaining Republican lawmakers who were targeted by Abbott in last year’s primaries have indicated they plan to oppose the policy again, though none were appointed to the public education committee that will handle voucher legislation. All three backed Burrows in the speaker race.

As the public education chair in 2023, Buckley was the House point person on vouchers, a role he will reprise this session. His committee is made up of a clear pro-voucher majority, with nine of 15 members having voted for the policy two years ago or campaigned on their support for vouchers before winning their first term in November.

Burrows also injected some fresh blood into his leadership team with nine lawmakers leading standing committees for the first time. In addition to Reps. Shaheen and Lambert, the first-time committee leaders include: Rep. Keith Bell of Forney, who will lead the General Investigating Committee; Rep. Jay Dean of Longview, who will lead the Insurance Committee; Rep. Gary Gates of Richmond, who will lead the Land and Resource Management Committee; Rep. Cole Hefner of Mt. Pleasant who will lead the Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Rep. Lacey Hull of Houston, who will lead the Human Services Committee; and Vasut, the new Redistricting Committee chair.

One of the biggest promotions went to Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. of Magnolia, a 12-year veteran of the Legislature who had never helmed a committee. The Houston-area lawmaker will now run the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee in what will be seen as a reward for changing his support from Cook to Burrows ahead of the speaker’s race.

Democrats largely backed Burrows’ rise to the speaker’s dais with the understanding that he would continue the House’s tradition of power sharing with the minority party, even if the Republican majority in the chamber voted to ban Democratic chairs. Under his committee appointments, Democrats will chair six of the 12 standing subcommittees created by the new rules.

All those positions went to veteran Democrats who had led committees before and have legislative experience in the relevant field. Rep. Phillip Cortez of San Antonio will lead a subcommittee on defense and veterans affairs, Rep. Harold Dutton of Houston will lead one on family law, Rep. Rafael Anchía of Dallas will head a subcommittee on telecommunications, Rep. Terry Canales of Edinburg will lead a transportation subcommittee and Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie will lead a panel on property tax appraisals.

Democrats were appointed as vice chairs to all 30 standing committees, in keeping with the new rules. Veteran Reps. Mary González of El Paso, Ana Hernandez of Houston and Toni Rose of Dallas held onto their respective roles as vice chairs of the Appropriations, State Affairs and Calendars committees, while Rep. Diego Bernal of San Antonio regained the Public Education vice chairmanship that he last held in the 2019 session.

Some have interpreted the new rules to expand the power of vice chairs by allowing them to request witnesses and hearings on bills or topics.

Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, the Texas House Democratic Caucus leader, seemed pleased with how his party fared.

“Today's committee assignments by Speaker Burrows demonstrate a commitment to bipartisanship and upholding the institutional norms of the Texas House of Representatives,” he said in a statement. “These appointments position Democrats to effectively advocate for communities across our state.”

With committee assignments now in place, the Legislature can start moving bills through the legislative process, though both chambers are still barred from passing legislation until March 14, the 60th day of the session, aside from Abbott’s handpicked emergency items. Burrows had faced criticism from far-right activists and lawmakers who said he was delaying the appointments in order to run out the clock on their priority bills.

Burrows announced his committee assignments on the 31st day of the session, tying the longest delay in the last 30 years which occurred in 2009 and 2017 under former Speaker Joe Straus, according to House Journals. Similar to 2009, Burrows is a first-time speaker and his election was not guaranteed until House lawmakers voted on the first day of the session. Incumbent speakers usually have the time in between sessions and the months after an election to plan out their assignments.

For now, Burrows seems to have staved off major criticism from the right flank of his party. In a statement, Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George, who was highly critical of Burrows during the speaker’s race, struck a more reserved tone in a statement following the committee assignments.

“The decisions made in this House will shape the future of Texas, and history will judge this session by the legislation it passes — or fails to pass,” George said. “The Texas GOP is already in motion, fighting to secure every possible conservative victory. The stakes are high and there’s no room for complacency. Let’s get to work.”

Renzo Downey contributed to this report.