Party Politics 83: Speaker Dennis Bonnen

After several contentious legislative sessions and a widening ideological divide within the Republican Party, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus stepped down leaving the chamber without a leader. Representative Dennis Bonnen, of Angleton --- which is 50 miles south of Houston --- announced this week he has the votes to win the position. Party Politics co-hosts Jay Aiyer and Brandon Rottinghaus discuss the importance of this change in leadership for the parties, politics, and policy in the upcoming legislative session.NATIONAL TOPICS-Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized-Nancy Pelosi’s leadership fight-CNN sues White House-White House turnovers – First Lady Melania v. Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel-Florida electoral recounts – what is the political impact?-Trump refuses to visit WWI veterans memorial in France due to rainTEXAS TOPICS-State Board of Education curriculum leaves in Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller-Senator John Cornyn announces he will run for reelection in 2020-Texas Supreme Court Justice Phil Johnson retiring – who might Governor Abbott select to replace?-Asylum policy change’s impact on Texas border-State Senator Sylvia Garcia resigns– the upcoming race for Senate District 6-Pre-File mania! Texas legislators rush to file bills in advance of the session“You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Tweet us using #PartyPoliticsPod or email [email protected]. Party Politics is produced by Don Geraci, the audio engineer is Todd Hulslander and our digital editor is Alvaro ‘Al’ Ortiz.”