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2d ago

GOP Senators Consider Stripping Powers From Texas Lt. Gov.-Elect as Goodwin Assembles Bipartisan Transition Team

The Republican 19-12 Senate majority can change chamber rules with a simple vote so their decision will likely determine who controls committee assignments, the budget and the floor in 2027.

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Irving Frost Marathon
From left: State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa and Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin.
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Overview

  • Outgoing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick publicly urged Republican senators on Monday to change Texas Senate rules to transfer the lieutenant governor’s customary powers to Senate Republicans, saying a simple majority can make the shift.
  • Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin on Tuesday named a bipartisan transition team that includes former Republican senators Kel Seliger and Tommy Williams as she prepares to lead a Senate still controlled by Republicans.
  • Under current practice the lieutenant governor’s authority over committee appointments, which bills reach the floor and budget negotiations comes from Senate rules that a 16-member majority can amend, and Republicans will have 19 votes when the Legislature reconvenes.
  • Goodwin has signaled she will pursue bipartisan deals to boost K-12 funding, expand Medicaid and regulate THC while her transition focuses on staffing and building relationships with individual senators to move her agenda.
  • If GOP senators move quickly to curb powers before Goodwin is sworn in, the change could prompt legal challenges, political backlash or bargaining over interim confirmations and special sessions that would affect Texans’ schools, health care and state budget priorities.