Texas Senate Republicans scheduled a Wednesday afternoon meeting to discuss reorganizing the chamber, according to Quorum Report editor Scott Braddock. Political observers are asking how far Republican lawmakers might go to limit powers that Democrats would gain when they take over the governor's office.
State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie, posted a message on X on Wednesday morning asking Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to limit executive emergency powers before Gina Hinojosa is sworn in. Harrison wrote that Republicans still hold power in Texas and should use the remaining ten weeks of the session period to restore separation of powers.
In a letter to Abbott, Harrison said he has long opposed the office's emergency powers regardless of which party holds it. He said that Hinojosa, the governor-elect, would otherwise inherit those powers and could use them to act by executive order.