Gov. Greg Abbott Dismisses Calls for Speaker Dennis Bonnen to Quit as ‘premature,’ Welcomes Inquiry

AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott says that while Speaker Dennis Bonnen was "a good partner" in this year's legislative session, it's good for both Bonnen and the state that the Texas Rangers are investigating whether anything improper happened in his June huddle with a conservative activist."We need to get to the bottom of this and we need to get to the bottom of this quickly," Abbott said late Thursday in a televised town hall.He referred to a controversy that has engulfed Bonnen's speakership and has gripped Texas politics for the last three weeks."I don't know any of the facts that happened," Abbott said of Bonnen's meeting with Empower Texans chief Michael Quinn Sullivan, at which the speaker allegedly proposed a swap of House media credentials to Sullivan's website in exchange for his political support in next March's Republican primaries."I do know this -- he was a good partner in helping to make this a very successful session," Abbott said."What is happening right now" -- the Rangers investigation of the Bonnen-Sullivan meeting, requested last week by the House General Investigating Committee -- is the best thing that could happen, the Republican governor said. Abbott indicated he's confident the Rangers will quickly determine if Bonnen did anything wrong.If not, "we need to move on," Abbott said.Asked if he agreed with calls for Bonnen to resign -- so far, by a tiny number of House members -- the governor replied, "It's premature. We need to find out what the Rangers are going to find."Abbott spoke from Tyler, in an hour-long event that was aired live statewide on a dozens stations owned by Irving-based Nexstar Media Group Inc. and two CW stations -- including one in Dallas -- owned by Tribune Broadcasting.The remarks about Bonnen were Abbott's first public comments since the flap erupted in late July.On his Texas Scorecard website, Sullivan -- who this year has criticized Abbott and other state GOP leaders for insufficiently pushing staunch conservatives' agenda -- alleged that Bonnen and lieutenant Rep. Dustin Burrows offered him a quid pro quo: If Sullivan and his political action committee refrained from criticizing this year's session and Bonnen, and targeted 10 Republican House incumbents, the speaker would deliver Sullivan his long-desired media credentials. Sullivan said he rejected the offer.On other topics, Abbott:· Defended his resistance to calling a special session to address the massacre of 22 people in El Paso by an alleged white supremacist from North Texas. He contrasted the Texas Legislature's measured, deliberate approach to catastrophes such as Hurricane Harvey and the Santa Fe High School mass shooting with Congress' partisan gridlock. "We will act, without a special session," he said.· Promised a "balanced approach" to red flag law proposals that would allow police and family members to ask a judge to remove firearms from people who are deemed a threat to others or themselves. They wouldn't have stopped the El Paso tragedy, he said. And the rights of "law-abiding, responsible" gun owners shouldn't be trampled, he said.· Expressed confidence that despite recent announcements by four GOP Texas congressmen that they're retiring, Republicans will continue to dominate state politics. "It is going to stay red after this election," he said.Nexstar is becoming Abbott's favorite venue. He got a standing ovation for recounting his Boy Scout days in Longview's Troop 201 and KXAN anchor Sally Hernandez, to whom he gave an El Paso Strong bracelet, ended the show with congratulations for the Abbotts' 38th wedding anniversary.U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, offered his party's three-minute response to Abbott.Seizing on El Paso, Castro called for red flag laws, universal background checks and banning "weapons of war" from communities."As the school year starts, we're all facing the fact that we have to look into our children's eyes and have a conversation, not about the excitement of the first day of class but about the people who could harm us and getting back home safe and active shooter drills," he said."Governor Abbott and the Republican establishment would have you believe that gun violence and mass shootings are inevitable, that evil exists and there's little we can do about it," he said.Speaking of the next legislative session, Castro added, "We cannot wait until 2021 for change."  Continue reading...

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