When a Key Democrat Left Town, Republicans Snuck Through Controversial Nominee
Last month, Texas’ Democratic senators thought they had a plan to block Josh McGee’s confirmation to the state Pension Review Board. McGee was appointed to the board by Governor Greg Abbott in 2015 and his term, which expires in 2021, was pending confirmation in the Senate. McGee, a Houston economist employed by right-wing think tanks, is a harsh critic of public pensions. Labor groups were uniformly opposed to him, likening his appointment to “putting a fox in the pension henhouse.”
McGee needed two-thirds of the Senate — 21 of the 31 senators — to vote in his favor to continue on the board. The Senate’s 11 Democrats had decided to vote together against him — meaning McGee’s confirmation was short by one vote.
But on April 20, Senator Joan Huffman, R-Houston, called for a vote on McGee at an inopportune time for the Democrats. Senator Royce West, D-Dallas, was in Chicago helping the University of North Texas’ law school secure accreditation. His absence gave Senate Republicans the slight margin they needed to push the confirmation through. McGee was confirmed 20-10 that day. That move, according to West and a legislative rules expert, is a departure from normal procedure, but McGee was confirmed despite complaints from Democrats that they had not received proper notice of the vote.
“The majority just waited for that absence,” said Ed Sills, a spokesperson for AFL-CIO. “There were 11 votes against the confirmation and they would’ve blocked McGee.”
Read more: https://www.texasobserver.org/when-a-key-democrat-left-town-republicans-snuck-through-controversial-nominee/
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