AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Republican speaker of the Texas House abandoned efforts Friday to keep his powerful post in the face of unrelenting pressure from the party's hard right and anger over the historic impeachment last year of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Dade Phelan's decision, a victory for the GOP's ascendant right flank, sets off a fight over who will become his successor at a time when Texas Republicans are eager to be a policy model for President-elect Donald Trump's agenda.
The Texas House has long acted as a more moderate guardrail even as lawmakers under Phelan passed some of the nation's toughest restrictions over abortion, immigration and voting.
But Paxton's impeachment last year in the House over corruption accusations angered conservatives and drew a rebuke from Trump, plunging Phelan into an expensive battle just to win reelection and a vanishing path to keep one of the most powerful positions in Texas.
“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," Phelan said in a statement.
Phelan’s campaign to hang onto the job reflected a broader power struggle within the GOP, which expanded its already commanding majorities in the Texas Legislature in November’s elections.
Paxton was ultimately acquitted in the Senate. Soon after, Paxton's allies launched an aggressive campaign to oust Phelan during Texas' primary elections but fell short in a runoff.
Tensions over the speaker race has shown a growing influence of emboldened hard-right conservatism in the Statehouse. Pushback against Phelan that beagn after his involvement in Paxton's impeachment intensified after the House failed to pass a school voucher bill last year.
Pressure mounted after the election when several Republicans who campaigned on their opposition to Phelan and support for school vouchers won their races, ousting many of the speaker's allies.
Phelan will continue to serve out his term as a representative for Beaumont, Texas, a city northeast of Houston.
Texas has become a leader in conservative legislation for other GOP-controlled states across the country and its border security tactics will likely be a model for the incoming Trump administration.
Texas banned nearly all abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and has outlawed gender affirming care for transgender youth. More than 30 anti-LGBTQ bills have been filed ahead of next year's session that restrict teachings on sexuality, bathroom use, and medical care for transgender people.
The Texas House will formally elect a speaker once session begins in January.
—-
Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.