Despite Texas House Republicans repeatedly calling the 2021 session the “most conservative in history”, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and others have called for a special session to pass conservative legislation that died in the House. Abbott and many calling for a special session have neglected to call for it to address the three bills aimed at banning child chemical castrations and transgender surgeries that died at the hands of House Speaker Dade Phelan, Calendars Committee Chair Rep. Dustin Burrows, and Health Committee Chair Rep. Stephanie Klick, all Republicans.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Abbott’s primary challenger Don Huffines wrote, “Once again, Texans were failed by cowards in Austin. Republican politicians, despite having trifecta control in Texas, worked with Democrats to kill a number of key GOP bills. I support calls for an imminent special session and believe we must pass every GOP priority,” wrote Huffines. “Among the bills that Republicans killed were legislative efforts to end taxpayer-funded lobbying, ban social media companies from silencing conservatives, prevent biological boys from playing in girls’ sports, and outlaw sex change surgeries and controversial hormone therapist for children – all of which have strong support amongst Texas Republican voters.”
Abbott remained uncharacteristically silent on virtually all of these topics, and was harangued by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller on Tucker Carlson Tonight for his silence regarding transgender surgeries and chemical castrations for minors. Huffines added, “Greg Abbott, who has refused to support legislation on any of these critical topics, indicated that he will call a special session,” but notes, “he has made no indication that GOP priorities will be addressed.”
Texas conservatives have made their priorities clear, but these priorities continue to be met with inaction and excuses.
We cannot afford to wait any longer for results on top GOP issues.
Texans deserve leadership—no excuses. pic.twitter.com/UbL3LsqNMf
— Don Huffines (@DonHuffines) May 26, 2021
In an email sent to his supporters, Rep. Bryan Slaton added his voice to the call for Texas Republicans to hold a special session and pass legislation ending chemical castrations and transgender surgeries for minors. “Republicans in the Texas House have killed numerous Texas GOP priorities this session: The abolition of abortion, banning child genital mutilation, monument protection, and more, all failed to pass,” wrote Slaton. “We need a special session immediately in order to pass SB 29, 12 and 10, along with the remaining Republican priorities and building the wall. The voters gave us a mandate when they elected republicans to the majority, and they are expecting us to get these bills passed, and we must do so.”
The call for a special session comes after National File exposed that virtually all top Texas Republicans – Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Phelan, and Klick – received over $250,000 in combined donations from Texas’s first clinic offering transgender chemical castrations for children. Patrick alone has received $120,000 from the clinic’s PAC since 2016, something former U.S. House candidate Chris Ekstrom told National File is unsurprising.
“I wish I could say I’m surprised that Dan Patrick is taking money from the chemical castration lobby. But during the last session, to my horror, I realized that Dan Patrick was totally unaware of the Monuments Protection Act until we forced him at a meeting of the True Texas Project to acknowledge that Republicans expected him to do something about it,” said Ekstrom. “After the meeting, he promptly pushed it through the Senate, where it then died in the House, just like S.B. 1311. Is this déjà vu? $120,000 isn’t chump change, and apparently Dan knew which way the wind was blowing in the House.”