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[[University of Texas at Austin]]}}

[[University of Texas at Austin]]}}

'''Matthew McDade Phelan''' (pronounced FEE-lun, born September 18, 1975) is a [[real estate]] developer from [[Beaumont]], who is the [[Speaker]] of the [[Texas]] House of Representatives while representing District 21 (located in the southeastern corner of the state, an area commonly known as the '''Golden Triangle''')  Phelan is the first Speaker to come from that portion of Texas. Unlike the [[U.S. House of Representatives]], where the party in the majority elects the [[Speaker of the House]] without cross-over voting allowed, the Speaker of the Texas House is typically elected mostly by [[Democrat]]s and [[liberal]] [[Republicans]], even though the Republican Party holds the majority. The same scenario existed in Louisiana prior to the election in 2023 of Republican [[Jeff Landry]] as governor.

'''Matthew McDade Phelan''' (pronounced FEE-lun, born September 18, 1975), a [[real estate]] developer from [[Beaumont]], is a [[RINO]] who became the first [[Speaker]] of the [[Texas]] House of Representatives in 52 years to be forced into a runoff in his own primary, which he lost 46-43% to a 34-year-old [[conservative]] challenger.<ref>https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/07/dade-phelan-texas-speaker-david-covey-paxton/</ref><ref>https://results.texas-election.com/races</ref>

 

Phelan represents District 21 (located in the southeastern corner of the state, an area commonly known as the '''Golden Triangle''')  Unlike the [[U.S. House of Representatives]], where the party in the majority elects the [[Speaker of the House]] without cross-over voting allowed, the Speaker of the Texas House is typically elected mostly by [[Democrat]]s and [[liberal]] [[Republicans]], even though the Republican Party holds the majority. The same scenario existed in Louisiana prior to the election in 2023 of Republican [[Jeff Landry]] as governor.

In late May 2023, Phelan was slurring his speech while presiding over a session on the House floor, apparently because he was intoxicated.  Independent news services reported that "Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan slurred speech on House floor," replete with video.<ref name="Intoxicated">https://www.kwtx.com/video/2023/05/23/texas-house-speaker-dade-phelan-slurred-speech-house-floor/</ref>

In late May 2023, Phelan was slurring his speech while presiding over a session on the House floor, apparently because he was intoxicated.  Independent news services reported that "Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan slurred speech on House floor," replete with video.<ref name="Intoxicated">https://www.kwtx.com/video/2023/05/23/texas-house-speaker-dade-phelan-slurred-speech-house-floor/</ref>