The veteran president of the Texas Senate and the new speaker of the House did not start out on the same page.

Meanwhile in the Panhandle, Republicans were less excited that Burrows won the speaker contest thanks largely to Democrats.

The newly elected Texas House Speaker, Dustin Burrows, is well positioned to bring school choice to Texas and achieve other long sought conservative goals.

Rep. Cody Harris had accused Abraham George of improperly threatening to send mailers and censure lawmakers who backed Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker.

Since then, the vast majority of House speakers have been elected by acclamation or with more than 140 votes. Even Rep. Dade Phelan, whom hard-right Republicans forced from seeking a third term, received 143 votes in 2021 and 145 in 2023.

Rep. Dustin Burrows is elected Texas House Speaker, winning with support from Democrats, amid GOP internal tensions.

AUSTIN – Shortly after Lubbock Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows was elected Texas House speaker, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick questioned the legitimacy of his victory and issued a legislative challenge. Perhaps it was a threat. Pass conservative measures or else, Patrick suggested in a social media post and news release.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows navigates bipartisan tightrope with the adoption of new rules governing committees in his chamber.

By State Rep. Mitch Little It’s a tense time to be in the Texas House. The first two weeks of the legislative session have certainly been eventful, if not productive. To start, the House elected Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock over the reform candidate,

House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, Jan. 22. The proposals include billions of dollars for border security, property tax cuts, public school funding, water infrastructure and private school vouchers.

Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and David Cook, R-Mansfield, after Burrows won the vote for speaker. (Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune, Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune) Sign up for The Brief, The Texas ...

Democrats will serve as House committee vice chairs, which some lawmakers said harks back to the Texas tradition of power sharing. But vice chairs don’t have nearly the power enjoyed by chairs, who can push or kill legislation and are better positioned to pass legislation.