Key takeaways:
- The Texas Republican Party voted to censure second-term Congressman Tony Gonzales for breaking with the party in several votes.
- The votes in question include Gonzales’ support for the Respect for Marriage Act, his opposition to a GOP-led border security measure, and his vote against the House Republican Conference’s rules package.
- The censure of Gonzales is the latest in a series of moves by the Texas Republican Party to punish members who break with the party line.
The Texas Republican Party has voted to censure second-term Congressman Tony Gonzales for breaking with the party in several votes. The party cited Rule 44 of the Republican Party of Texas, which allows the party to censure elected officials who violate Texas Republican Party principles and priorities three times or more in a given biennium.
The votes in question include Gonzales’ support for the Respect for Marriage Act, his opposition to a GOP-led border security measure, and his vote against the House Republican Conference’s rules package earlier this year. The Texas GOP said in a statement that it is imposing the “full set of penalties allowed by the rules, for lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities.”
Gonzales’ district, which stretches along the US-Mexico border between El Paso and San Antonio, is home to Uvalde, where a mass shooting at an elementary school last year killed 19 children and two teachers. After the shooting, Gonzales voted in favor of bipartisan gun-safety legislation.
The censure of Gonzales is the latest in a series of moves by the Texas Republican Party to punish members who break with the party line. The party has also censured several other members of Congress, including Rep. Chip Roy and Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
The censure of Gonzales is a reminder that the Texas Republican Party is serious about enforcing its principles and priorities. It remains to be seen how the party will respond to future votes that break with the party line.
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