Good morning,

Readers have some very strong opinions about the political future of House Speaker Dade Phelan. Check out the responses to yesterday's One Click Survey.

But first, here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.

– Brandon Waltens

Dan Patrick Officially Requests Audit into Impeachment Costs

• After signaling that he would call for an audit into the impeachment trial expenses shortly after the verdict on Saturday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has now officially made the request.
   

• In a letter to state auditor Lisa Collier, Patrick asks for all expenditures incurred by the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, and the Office of the Attorney General from March 1, 2023 through October 15, 2023.
   

• “To be clear, the goal is to determine the absolute total cost to the state of preparing for and conducting this trial from the beginning through its conclusion,” wrote Patrick. “This must detail all expenses, including but not limited to, investigators expenses, document production and assembly, attorney expenses, witness fees, travel, food and lodging. This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please determine and report on all expenses; if there are invoices outstanding, we seek to know what they are and when they will be received.”
   

• Since the trial concluded on Saturday, Patrick has been vocally critical of the House-led impeachment. He has criticized the House for rushing through the process and not following proper procedure in interviewing witnesses. To that end, he has called for a constitutional amendment to reform the impeachment process.
   

• “An impeachment should never happen again in the House like it happened this year,” said Patrick.
   

•  State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) sent a similar audit request to Collier on Monday as well.

Medina County GOP Censures State Rep. Andrew Murr

• Republican State Rep. Andrew Murr of Junction has been censured by another county in the house district he represents for “opposing the core principles of the Republican Party.”
   

• Sydnie Henry reports Murr represents House District 53, an area northwest of San Antonio that includes the counties of Bandera, Crane, Crockett, Edwards, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Medina, Menard, Pecos, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, and Upton.
   

• He also chairs the House General Investigating Committee, which brought the impeachment charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
   

• The Medina County GOP has censured Murr for his role in the rushed impeachment process, as well as for his vote for House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), who appointed Democrats to key committee chairmanships in the Texas House. They also highlighted his votes against school choice and for state interference in the political party process.
   

• Murr has also been censured by the Bandera County GOP and formally admonished by the Real County GOP. 

Former High School Secretary Arrested on Child Sexual Assault Charges

• A former secretary for the assistant principal at a high school in south Texas was arrested Friday for allegedly performing sexual acts on a student. Emily Medeiros has the story. 
   

• Samantha Lee Carranza, who worked at Sharyland High School in Mission, was arrested on charges of sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between an educator and student.
   

• According to a probable cause affidavit, a 16-year-old student—identified under the pseudonym "Cris"—reported sexual assault by a school employee to Mission Police Department on September 1.
   

• The student told the Mission police that on August 31, he went to the assistant principal's office to borrow a cell phone charger. The principal's secretary, identified as Carranza, allowed him to use the charger but said he had to stay near her desk.
   

• Carranza then sparked a conversation about her family and current divorce. Cris claims she showed him a photo of her breasts, making him uncomfortable. When he attempted to leave, he reported that Carranza stopped him and performed sexual acts.
   

• The school district says they are working with multiple agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and Child Protective Services, in the ongoing investigation.

Southern Border Sees Record Number of Unaccompanied Minors Crossing

• A recently released report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revealed that more than 400 unaccompanied minors crossed Texas’ southern border in one day. Katy Marshall has the details. 
   

• According to the report, 495 unattended children were apprehended and placed into U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody on September 12.
   

• However, DHS said, “This number does not include children from Mexico, most of whom will be repatriated and will not remain in CBP custody.”
   

• DHS also reported that while 433 children were transferred out of CBP’s care that day, more than 850 children remained in their custody.
   

• The report stated that 10,649 unaccompanied children are in the care of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, while only 316 have been discharged from the agency’s authority.
   

• As the number of unaccompanied children crossing the southern border continues to rise, the federal government is struggling to keep up. Last year, almost 130,000 unattended children entered the U.S., surpassing the previous record of 122,000 in 2021—which led to “severe” overcrowding in HHS facilities.

Early Bird Tickets to the Conservative Leader Awards

Time is running out to get early bird discounted tickets to the 2023 Conservative Leader Awards, which will take place in Irving on December 9. Grab them before prices go up!

Y'All Answered

Lawmakers and grassroots activists are calling for House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign or be forced from office over his role in the impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Senate exonerated Paxton over the weekend, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the flawed process employed by Phelan should never have taken place.

Yesterday, we asked readers: if Phelan does not resign, should Republican House members expel him from office when the planned special session on school choice convenes next month?

More than 96.5 percent of readers want Phelan removed, while 3.5 percent think he should be kept on as the speaker of the Texas House.

Here is a sampling of the responses we received...

• “If he's not stopped now, what's Dade Phelan going to do next?” – Michelle Lantz
      

• “The ‘tit-for-tat’ needs to stop. One foolish impeachment attempt was enough. The governor and the legislature need to focus on real problems like stopping “health” tyranny and dealing with the invasion at the border.” – Stan Martin
      

• “A Phelan resignation is not very likely, but his ousting is long overdue.” – Michele Ward
      

• “Yes, Phelan should be removed as Speaker of the House. He is in no way a Republican, but a swamp-dwelling Democrat. Boot him out.” – Rick Wisdom
     

• "I don't understand why the Republicans are always so spineless to do what needs to be done." – June Moore
      

• "With so many Republicans in the House accepting significant campaign contributions from Phelan, there may not be enough representatives with the courage to remove him." – Richard Steenson
       

• “Phelan should be removed or forced to resign for certain. The Paxton impeachment debacle is just one of many reasons why. Texas needs a true, Republican speaker of the house.” – Cathy Blake 
      

• "I’m in RINO DADE’s district, and have been actively encouraging all of my conservative friends to vote against him. I’d vote for a Democrat before him, since there’s no difference." – Gregory Jackson
       

• "Does the game warden require a license for RINO hunting?.....asking for a friend and all conservatives in Texas." – Cecil Mardis
        

• “When ultra-conservative Republicans run everyone out of the party they consider RINOs, they will be unable to win an election and will become irrelevant.” – James Smith
      

• "Dade Phelan should resign, but clearly, by their statements, he and his cohorts are just doubling down." – Carol Spencer
       

• “Dade Phelan has proven to be absolutely worthless to the conservative cause. He does not support the Texas Republican effort. Get rid of him.” – Charles Busbey
      

• “Phelan is a disgrace!  He should be removed from office and never allowed to hold public office.” – Meg Comstock
      

• "Not only does Phelan need to go, but also his enablers.  The House managers might be a start, and the Dirty Dozen featured in The Heist.  Who will step in and primary these people out of office?" –Adam Sanford
       

• “If I wanted communists to run the state, I’d vote Dhimmicrat.” – Corey Mayo
      

• “Absolutely, Dade Phelan needs to be removed from office! He has been ineffective as Speaker at best. He is lazy, concerned about his own position rather than the citizens of the state of Texas, he really shouldn't even run under a Republican platform as he loves to be in bed with the Democrats.” – Rhonda Rice
      

• “Yes! Dade Phelan needs to go along with many Texas House members who are failing to do their jobs.” – Patty Carter
      

• “Dade Phelan must be removed from office. However, great care should be taken in selecting a new speaker. With all the RINOS in the House, we could easily end up with a worse speaker, as was the case with Phelan.” – Reed Vestal
      

• “Dade Phelan believes he rules the legislators in the Texas House. In reality, most of our GOP reps allow him to because of fear and not getting committee assignments.” – Cyndie Lasher
       

• “Expelling Phelan would be a start.  Murr needs to go, too.  If they want to stay in politics, then run for reelection as the Democrats they are.” – Karole Fedrick
      

• “Dade Phelan absolutely has to go.  Kerr County has joined other Texas counties in passing a resolution of censure against the Speaker for his opposition to the core principles of the RPT Platform and Legislative Priorities adopted at the most recent State Convention.” – Helen Herd
      

• “The House Speakership should be wrested from Dade Phelan for many reasons, not just for the secret investigation of Attorney General Paxton and ramming the impeachment of the AG through the House without following precedent.” – Linda Simcox
      

• “Not only should Phelan resign, there should be steps taken to break up the whole cabal of Republican reps who are really Democrats or rhinos at best.” – Sam Sorrell
       

• “This was such a waste of taxpayer money and time that could have been spent taking care of real business in Texas.” – Sherry Ayres
      

• “Yes, Phelan should be removed. He needs to be the example of the consequences of failing to legislate the direction Texans desire.” – Steve Crevier
      

• “Dade Phelan should have been removed way before this sham impeachment. He has never represented the Republican Party. I want him gone.” – Corrine Jung
       

• “Drunk Dade Phelan should absolutely be removed from office should he choose not to retain what little dignity he has left intact and resign. His reckless, inept, and corrupt ‘leadership’ has subverted conservative legislative priorities at every turn, and he has been a complete embarrassment to the great state of Texas.” – Shilo Platts
       

• “What do you expect when you put a RINO in charge. He needs to go and take his cronies with him.” – Curtis Simpson
       

• “Dade Phelan has worked very hard against Republican and Conservative platforms. At last year's GOP convention, we clearly laid out our priorities – all of which he ignored. Also, I know I would have been FIRED for drinking on the job. Phelan is a boil on Texas's butt” – Diana Allen
       

• “Phelan should go because he consistently ignores the Republican Party priorities and led a failed impeachment process! Also, I hope we also remember the current House members who voted for the impeachment of Paxton at the polls!” – George McClure 

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