Feud between Dan Patrick, Dade Phelan escalates as Texas GOP seeks House speaker's ouster

A feud between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan escalated over the weekend as Patrick accused Phelan of being unworthy of his leadership post while the state Republican Party approved a resolution seeking the House chief's resignation.

Continuing the intraparty fallout after Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial earlier this month, the GOP's motion seeking Phelan's removal from the speaker's chair came via a 58-2 vote by the State Republican Executive Committee on Saturday in Corpus Christi.

Citing "pressure" on House Republicans to impeach Paxton, an inability to pass certain GOP legislative priorities during the regular session and allowing Democrats too much say in the lower chamber, the state Republican Party is seeking Phelan's ouster before the start of an anticipated special session in October.

"Should Speaker Dade Phelan fail to step down from the Speaker chair for this upcoming special session, the Republican Representatives should vote to vacate the chair and allow for a new Speaker," the resolution says.

More: Dan Patrick responds to Sarah Eckhardt's criticism on handling of Paxton impeachment trial

Patrick echoed a similar sentiment the day before the party's vote, taking offense at an opinion piece Phelan wrote that was published Friday in his hometown paper, the Beaumont Enterprise, accusing Patrick of influencing the outcome of Paxton's impeachment trial.

In defending his chamber's decision to advance 16 articles of impeachment that broadly accused Paxton of misusing the power of his office to benefit a campaign donor, Phelan wrote that it was a necessary procedure to determine the validity of the accusations by Paxton's former top aides who have accused the attorney general of abusing his power to personally assist Nate Paul, an Austin real estate developer.

"I stand by that vote, and I stand by the belief that Paxton’s conduct is beneath the office he holds," Phelan said of advancing the impeachment inquiry to the Senate.

Phelan went on to say that at the outset of the trial he felt confident that the Senate would allow for fair deliberation on the charges, but then increasingly felt that politics would "prevail over principles."

"In hindsight, no one should be surprised. The warning signs were there. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who led us to believe he would preside over this trial in a fair and just manner, took a whopping $3 million donation from a Political Action Committee pushing for Paxton’s exoneration before the trial even began," Phelan wrote, citing $3 million in campaign contributions Patrick received in June from Defend Texas Liberty, a pro-Paxton PAC.

In a harsh rebuke, Patrick railed against Phelan for the House's way of conducting the impeachment, calling it a "sham"on account of the speed at which the accusations became public and as witnesses were not placed under oath during their original testimony in the the lower chamber.

Patrick then defended his chamber, arguing that each senator took an oath to act as an impartial juror and that the evidence presented by House prosecutors did not warrant Paxton's removal from office.

More: Trump wants credit for Paxton acquittal as Texas Republicans feud after impeachment trial

"For Dade Phelan to cry foul and question the integrity of the Senate jurors and of my office when his rushed, no-facts, no-record process failed to achieve the results he wanted is disgusting and proves he is unworthy of his leadership position," Patrick said in closing a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, in response to Phelan's opinion piece Friday.

Phelan did not responded to an American-Statesman request for comment on Patrick's statement and the state GOP vote asking him to step down.

In a YouTube video released over the weekend by Patrick titled "Paxton Impeachment Trial: Behind The Scenes," the lieutenant governor said the donation he received from the pro-Paxton PAC had no impact on his decisions as he presided over the impeachment trial, saying donations are just part of politics.

"I really don't know anyone that it impacts; you just move forward. That's what you do," Patrick said of campaign donations influencing policy decisions. "So that was just a frivolous story written to try to make me look bad before the trial from the people that like to criticize the lieutenant governor."

In the video, Sens. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said the trial evidence didn't point to conviction and pushed back against claims suggesting senators were influenced during deliberations on Paxton's verdict.

The senators' comments came after a statement from the Texas Senate Republican Caucus, which also pushed against accusations that the chamber was biased in Paxton's favor.

"We reject any suggestions or accusations levied abasing members of the Texas Senate that the trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton was predetermined or influenced," the caucus said in a statement Friday. "As sworn jurors, each senator acted with the utmost integrity, strictly adhering to senate rules, precedent and legal standards throughout the trial."

Paxton, freshly cleared by the Senate from wrongdoing, has chimed in over the course of several interviews with conservative media outlets to express his continued displeasure with Phelan in the trial's aftermath.

On Saturday, before the Texas GOP's vote seeking Phelan's resignation, Paxton doubled down on Patrick's frustration with Phelan's comments and argued for the speaker's resignation.

More: Ken Paxton makes political threats against three House members behind his impeachment

Previously, Paxton had endorsed Phelan's removal from his leadership post when the House first publicly addressed the impeachment in May. At the time, Paxton argued that Phelan's work with Democrats and an unfounded accusation that Phelan presided over a session while intoxicated were reasons to strip him of his House leadership role.

"As the Legislature prepares for an anticipated special session to provide children with more opportunities for quality education, it is critical that Dade Phelan resigns as Speaker or is removed from his leadership position," Paxton said on X. "The people of Texas deserve serious, conservative, & unimpaired leadership."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Republicans: Dade Phelan, Dan Patrick feud; GOP seeks new House chief