Trump makes rambling phone call to Texas House GOP Caucus ahead of critical school voucher vote

AUSTIN — Members of the Texas House GOP Caucus received a rambling seven-minute phone call from President Donald Trump on Wednesday ahead of the chamber’s much-anticipated vote whether to adopt school voucher legislation.

On the call — shared on YouTube by longtime Texas political journalist Scott Braddock — the president bragged about his big wins in Texas and urged lawmakers to pass fellow Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s prized school-voucher proposal, Senate Bill 2.

“It’s such a Republican thing, the whole thing for school choice. It’s such a Republican thing,” Trump said. “I want you to know I totally have your back, I’m with you 100%. Blame me, put it on my shoulders. I don’t care. I have your back 100%. I know the people of Texas, and I know what they wanted. I know they really want this. And, if they didn’t want it we wouldn’t be talking about it so much.”

Then Trump — apparently confused about who was on the other end of the call — thanked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for his continued work on the bill, which would allocate $10,000 of taxpayer money to families who enroll their kids in private school. Patrick, a Trump ally, presides over the Texas Senate, and therefore isn’t a member of the House GOP Caucus.

“Dan, are you there?” Trump said.

“This is just the House, sir,” one lawmaker responded.

Continued the call, Trump bragged about how much winning he’s done and stated how much he loves Texas before circling back to vouchers.

“I really think it’s a forward-thinking vote. There’s nothing complex about it,” Trump said. “You’re not going to get hurt by it. Actually, it’s almost the opposite. People really want it.”

The president continued: “You’re doing a tremendous job, and it’s a big moment. The SB 2 is a very, very important thing, and I just want to thank you.”

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This article appears in Apr 2-15, 2025.