AUSTIN — Amid post-pandemic hugs and relief over a return to norms, House members on Tuesday elected Republican Rep. Dade Phelan as speaker for the second time as the Legislature gathered again in Austin.
“The threats to their safety are all too real,” he said, citing child traffickers, school violence and “social media companies that prey on the insecurities of children.” “Division does not have to define us,” he said. “So let the political fires that have raged compel us to come to the table for a solution.”
Lingering bitterness over Democrats’ walkout was detectable in the first nominating speech for Tinderholt, by Royse City GOP Rep. Bryan Slaton. People wore a visually arresting array of garb, from fancy cocktail attire to T-shirts proclaiming support for a particular issue, such as the need for Texas to secede from the U.S.Disabled veteran Orlando Sims of Corpus Christi posed for a selfie outside the office of his state representative, veteran Nueces County GOP lawmaker Todd Hunter. He’d traveled to Austin for opening day to meet lawmakers.