Texas House GOP hardliners issue list of demands for a next speaker [Video]

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Nearly two dozen GOP state lawmakers and candidates are pushing to overhaul the Texas House’s rules in a bid to further diminish the influence of Democrats and weaken key levers of power used by the speaker to control the chamber.

In an open letter, titled “Contract with Texas,” the Republican signatories called on the next House leader to commit to their list of conservative demands that served as a repudiation of Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who they’ve accused of handing too much power to the Democratic minority. It marks the first move by the House’s growing rightmost faction to formally define how they want the chamber to function, a typically arcane debate that emerged as a central theme in this year’s primary contests.

The proposed changes included ending the practice of appointing …