AUSTIN — Democratic state Sen. Taylor Rehmet of Fort Worth accused Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of “petty, partisan politics” Monday after the newly elected senator was left off a list of influential appointments.
Patrick gave Rehmet zero committee assignments Monday. The snub means roughly a million people living in northern Tarrant County will have no voice in the Senate as interim committees begin ramping up work ahead of next year’s legislative session.
Hours after Patrick’s committee appointments were made public, Rehmet responded that the lieutenant governor “has chosen to silence our district even further by refusing to assign me to any committee.”
“This decision reflects the kind of petty, partisan politics that too often stands in the way of delivering results for working families,” Rehmet said on social media.
Political Points
Rehmet shocked the Texas political sphere in January when he pulled off a double-digit upset over Patrick’s preferred candidate, flipping a red seat blue.
That flip might only be temporary. Rehmet is serving out the unexpired term of acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican who resigned from his Senate seat after he was appointed to the comptroller’s office. The term ends Jan. 12.
Rehmet will need to win again in November to ever take a meaningful vote in the Senate, barring a long-shot special session. Patrick has assumed that will never happen and predicted that Republican candidate Leigh Wambsganss will win a rematch against Rehmet, a union leader and machinist at Lockheed Martin.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stands at the dais as he speaks to the Senate in the Senate Chamber during the second day of the 89th regular session at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
“She’ll win next November if this knucklehead Democrat wins,” Patrick said in January on talk radio, adding that Democrats would use an upset in a low turnout election as proof that Texas is turning purple, urging Republicans to vote in the special election. Patrick later called the result a “wake-up call.”
Patrick said on Tuesday that Rehmet was well aware he would not be appointed to any committees and that other senators in his position, including Republicans, had also been left off of Patrick’s list of appointees.
“Sen. Rehmet’s recent complaint is just a cheap shot to try to score political points for his election,” Patrick posted on X.
Despite the snub, Rehmet said he was “fully committed” and “energized” to work for his constituents.
“My office has already begun research and policy development on all committee topics, and although we are being denied a formal seat at the table, I will continue working every day to ensure Texas works the way it should for working families,” Rehmet said.
Between sessions, Senate committees hold hearings and research issues and policies that could become major legislative agenda items during the regular session.
In the Senate, Patrick holds strong sway over committees. He chooses every member and leader of each committee, doling out chairmanships to Republicans he trusts while often relegating Democrats to smaller assignments.
In Monday’s announcement, Patrick created three new committees that will examine religious liberty, veterans affairs and border security. Republicans will lead all 20 committees and hold strong majorities in each body, allowing the GOP to dictate which proposed bills will reach the Senate floor.
Patrick also provides legislative assignments to each committee ahead of the session. In late January, he called for the committees to investigate Shariah in Texas, research “America and Texas first” curriculum for public schools and begin crafting his property tax cut proposal.
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