Will TX Republicans Use Their Majority to Strip Incoming Dems of Power? Here's Why They Should
Following the devastating 2026 midterm elections that cost Republicans the state of Texas, one Republican lawmaker in the Lone Star State began petitioning Gov. Greg Abbott to take immediate action to limit at least some of the power that state Democrats are poised to gain come January.
That lawmaker was Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, who posted to social media after the election urging Abbott to “rein in” the executive emergency powers that’ll soon be available to Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa.
“Republicans lost last night, but Democrats were not sworn in [yet],” Harrison wrote in a lengthy statement to the social media site X that was published the morning after the 2026 blue-wave midterm elections.
“We still have total power in Texas, and we must act like it by using the remaining ten weeks to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat,” he added.
🚨 I call on Gov. Abbott to IMMEDIATELY convene a special session to REIN IN EXECUTIVE EMERGENCY POWERS… before Gina Hinojosa is sworn in!
Republicans lost last night, but Democrats were not sworn in.
We still have total power in Texas, and we must act like it by using the remaining ten weeks to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit…
— Brian Harrison (@brianeharrison) November 4, 2026
When Harrison wrote that “we still have total power in Texas,” he meant that Republicans now hold Texas’ governorship, as well as the state’s House of Representatives and Senate, and they will continue to hold it until January.
The Republican state lawmaker continued his post by preemptively pushing back on concerns that his request was partisan. He did so by noting that he’d been calling for the state’s executive powers to be reined in for years.
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“I’ve warned since I was first elected that NO governor, Republican or Democrat, should have unchecked emergency powers!” he wrote.
He was elected to office in 2021. Abbott was still governor at the time.
“Now that Texas has elected a Democrat Governor, the urgency is undeniable… and inaction is intolerable,” his post continued.
Harrison reiterated this same point in a statement to Fox News.
“Texas should have reined in executive emergency powers when I first demanded it in 2022,” he said. “If these are not revoked, Gina Hinojosa will assume not just the powers our state constitution bestows upon a Governor, but will, in effect, inherit nearly all the powers of a dictator.”
“Most people are shocked to learn Texas governors can write, edit, or change any statute on a whim if they just declare an ‘emergency,’ and this is unconstitutional,” he continued.
🚨SIGN THE PETITION today to urge Governor Abbott to call a special session to rein in executive emergency powers before Gina Hinojosa is shown in!
Texas Governors have the executive powers of a DICTATOR.
I have filed bills for YEARS to rein in those powers, and we must have a special session to fix this problem NOW!…
— Brian Harrison (@brianeharrison) November 5, 2026
According to Fox News, Section 433.002 of the Texas Government Code allows the governor to issue directives and “amend, modify, or rescind” those directives during a declared state of emergency.
“These powers have been abused in the past, and Governor-Elect Hinojosa has pledged to use them on day one,” Harrison warned. “Republicans are still in control for ten weeks; we need to start acting like it.”
In his social media post, Harrison similarly urged the Texas state House and Senate to “immediately pass” HB911, a bill of his that would reportedly restrict the Texas governor’s “never ending emergency powers.”
Read the full text of HB911 here: https://t.co/jqHZ1WsXkC https://t.co/wYz0LWLgfw
— Brian Harrison (@brianeharrison) November 4, 2026
Harrison was 100 percent right in his demands. And the fact is that we all know that Texas Democrats would do the exact same thing if they were in the same boat.
In addition, limiting Hinojosa’s power may be the only way to prevent Texas from permanently transforming into the blue-state hellhole that is California.
According to The Texas Tribune, the governor-elect has said that she intends to use her power to block the construction of data centers, hand out $1,500 checks to every Texan, and terminate the state’s private school voucher program.
And according to Gov. Abbott’s social media campaign account, her past record similarly includes “voting for gender transitions for children,” “investigating parents for refusing to affirm a child’s gender identity,” and allowing “men in women’s private spaces.”
New billboard alert❗️
Gina Hinojosa has a longtime radical record of voting for gender transitions for children, investigating parents for refusing to affirm a child’s gender identity, men in women’s private spaces, and now it’s up for all to see.
Gina’s policies are not just wrong for Texas, they are dangerous for our daughters.
— Governor Hot Wheels (@GovHotWheels_TX) September 19, 2026
This woman simply cannot be granted unlimited power, even if that means weakening the power of potential future Republican Texas governors.
Kudos to Harrison for what he’s doing. Let’s just hope Abbott listens to him and takes action before it’s too late for the Lone Star State.
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