The fallout between the Dallas GOP and two incumbent Republican state representatives took a public turn on the evening of February 17.

The Dallas GOP passed a resolution to censure Reps. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) and Angie Chen Button (R-Dallas) for actions “in opposition to the core principles of the Republican Party of Texas’s Platform and the Legislative Priorities.”

The Dallas County GOP Executive Committee pointed to several recent actions to buttress this point, including the allegation that Meyer and Button helped Democrats elect Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) as Speaker of the Texas House and that the representatives did not vote as a unified body with their party in electing a Speaker Pro Tempore.

Dallas County GOP Chair Allen West reportedly told Texas Scorecard, “I think it’s important that we hold elected officials accountable for their actions, and there are consequences to those actions and decisions when they violate our principles, our platform — rules and procedures that we expect them to follow.”

The Republican Party has prioritized having the majority party elect the leadership of the Texas House since it adopted a rule that threatens officeholders who do not vote with the majority of the caucus in choosing a chamber’s leadership. This priority took the form of changes to Rule 44 of the state party rules.

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The rule was expanded by an overwhelming vote of the delegates at the state Republican Party Convention last summer.

Rule 44’s invocation can have real penalties.

One authorized penalty is the denial of applications for a place on the Republican Primary Election ballot for 24 months following the adoption of the censure. This would make it difficult for an incumbent to use the party’s name and resources to seek re-election.

The State Republican Executive Committee decides whether to take this action. According to Rule 44, Meyer and Button will be given “fourteen (14) days’ notice and opportunity…. to speak before the[State Republican Executive Committee] in response [to the proposed penalty].”

Neither Meyer nor Button have addressed the matter on X. Likewise, neither immediately responded to requests for comment.

However, some of Meyer’s former primary opponents have highlighted the subject. Barry Wernick sent out a news alert on X: “BREAKING: MORGAN MEYER & ANGIE BUTTON CENSURED BY DALLAS GOP COUNTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.”

Meyer narrowly defeated Wernick in the 2024 Republican Primary, clenching victory by only a few hundred votes.