A Texas Republican lawmaker urged Governor Greg Abbott in a viral X post to call a special session to strip some of the governor's powers before Gina Hinojosa takes over the office in January, drawing a firestorm of criticism from Democrats who just won every statewide office in Tuesday's election. State Representative Brian Harrison, a Republican from Midlothian, wants Abbott to convene lawmakers to restrict the governor's emergency powers before Democrat Gina Hinojosa takes office on January 19. She will be the first Democratic governor in Texas since Ann Richards left office in 1995.
Harrison told Newsweek that his call isn't fueled by politics. He said he made the same demand when Abbott won re-election four years ago. "It's not personal in the slightest," Harrison said.
"I'm literally in disbelief that Texas has got some of the most egregious and, I believe, facially unconstitutional emergency powers laws in America, which do grant to the governor effectively all the powers of a dictator." In a November 4 letter to Abbott that Harrison also posted on X, which received 3.7 million views, Harrison urged Abbott to pass legislation similar to House Bill 911, a proposal he authored that would limit emergency orders and increase legislative oversight. "The Democrats may well have won the election Tuesday night, but the inauguration wasn't Tuesday night," Harrison told Newsweek. "You know, they don't get sworn until next year.
Greg Abbott is still the governor of Texas. Republicans still control the Texas government, and we need to act like it. I'm actually kind of frustrated that too many of my Republican colleagues seem to want to just throw in the towel and pretend that we're not still in control of the Texas government." Newsweek reached out to Abbott's office, Hinojosa's campaign and the Democratic Party of Texas for comment.
While he has been advocating for this revision for years, Harrison said the issue is suddenly urgent. "The fact that we do now have a Democrat measuring the drapes literally in the governor's mansion, I'll take support however I can get it. We should have done this a long time ago, and if this is what it takes to get it done, so be it," he said.
Many responses to Harrison's X post blamed the GOP's election losses on the type of maneuver he is proposing. Democratic Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson told Newsweek that he shares Harrison's concerns about gubernatorial emergency authority but opposes addressing the issue through a special session before January. "A special session is the wrong way to address an issue that Rep.
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