Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called on the state House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign on Tuesday after the latter appeared to perform his duties as speaker while drunk during a recent House floor session.
Phelan has gone viral on social media in recent days for appearing to be intoxicated while presiding over a recent session in the Texas House of Representatives. In the video below, Phelan is seen badly slurring and fumbling over his words.
“After much consideration, it is with profound disappointment that I call on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign at the end of this legislative session. Texans were dismayed to witness his performance presiding over the Texas House in a state of apparent debilitating intoxication,” Paxton said. “His conduct has negatively impacted the legislative process and constitutes a failure to live up to his duty to the public.”
Paxton separately referred Phelan’s actions to the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee for investigation, according to a letter from the attorney general.
In his Tuesday statement, Paxton also blasted Phelan for failing to advance “critical conservative priorities” during this year’s legislative session, including election integrity bills and measures designed to prevent “Chinese spies from controlling Texas land.”
“His failures as Speaker have created a credibility crisis for all Republican candidates and for our entire Party,” Paxton added.
As The Federalist previously reported, Phelan has been the main figure preventing Texas from banning unsecured election practices such as ranked-choice voting (RCV). For context, RCV is a system
