In one of the most profound recent examples of the adage “Rules for thee, but not for me,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is urging Republican lawmakers to strip his office’s control over the Texas Senate before his successor takes office, the Washington Post reports.
During his 10-plus years in the office, Patrick engineered a power play that turned him into one of the nation’s most powerful lieutenant governors — something he’s used to all but shut down cannabis reform in the Texas Senate and force through a litany of culture war bills.
Under current rules, Texas’ lieutenant governor can control what’s debated on the Senate floor and appoint committees and chairs in addition to being heavily involved with the budgeting process and working in conjunction with the governor to establish priorities for each legislative session.
However, in comments to talk radio host Mark Davis, Patrick urged his GOP colleagues, who still retain control of the Texas Senate, to shift those powers from Democrat Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin to a majority leader of their choosing, the Post reports. To do so would only require a simple majority vote.
“I support the Republicans standing up for their voters,” Patrick told Davis.
Shortly after last week’s election, which put Democrats in control of the Texas House and every statewide elected office, state Senate Republicans held a closed-door meeting to discuss reining in Goodwin’s power, according to the Quorum Report. Details about the outcome of the gathering have been sparse, however.
Goodwin, who beat Patrick by six percentage points, has reached out to GOP state senators to say she wants to work together, the Washington Post reports, citing a statement from her transition team saying the state is “best served by a deliberative, collaborative body.”
While Republicans have the ability to jerk power away from Goodwin, political experts question the political wisdom of doing so after the election night bloodbath that shows just how tired Texas voters are of the party that’s ruled the state for three decades.
“[I] think that they should give some thought to what they’re about to do,” Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson told the Current, “because if I was [Gov-elect] Gina Hinojosa or the incoming lieutenant governor, I would immediately be making the argument that the people’s decision in this recent election to transfer leadership to the Democratic Party was being obstructed by these Republican incumbents.”
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