Friday, April 19, 2024
State Rep. Mike Lang, R-Granbury, is calling upon embattled Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen to resign and for Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to select a new Republican speaker.
Lang posted his announcement on Facebook on Tuesday, the same day the first-term speaker announced that he will not seek re-election.
The Angleton lawmaker’s announcement that he will not run again came after a growing number of Republicans called for his resignation.
Their outrage followed the release of a secretly recorded conversation in which Bonnen sought help to topple members of his own caucus in 2020 and used foul language to denigrate Democrats, sparking a major political scandal.
In announcing his decision, Bonnen said: “After much prayer, consultation, and thoughtful consideration with my family, it is clear that I can no longer seek re-election as State Representative of District 25, and subsequently, as Speaker of the House.”
The Associated Press noted that Bonnen’s “retreat puts Republicans’ fragile dominance of the state Legislature further at stake.”
Democrats could gain dominion in the House in 2020 if they flip nine seats. Control of the House and Senate “will be critical,” the AP reported, since lawmakers will redraw voting maps during the 2021 legislative session.
Bonnen stated an intention to serve out the remainder of his term, but Lang wants a new Republican speaker of the House to be chosen immediately.
In the statement he posted on Facebook, Lang said: “The redistricting fight coming next session and passing conservative grass roots priorities into law are imperative. The conservatives fought and won a critical change to the Republican caucus bylaws that only Republicans pick the Republican candidate for speaker.”
Lang ended his statement with a request that Gov. Abbott call a special session “so we can select the next Republican speaker of the house.”
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