Republican power in the Texas Senate is preserved, thanks to a rule change on Wednesday. In 2019, it took 19 senators to allow a floor vote on a bill, at a time when there were 19 Republicans in the Senate. Democrats flipped a Senate seat in November, so Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had only 18 fellow Republicans backing him as the latest session began this week. Patrick pushed to lower the threshold to 18 senators, in order to limit the Democrats' ability to obstruct legislation. The rule change passed Wednesday on a party-line vote of 18-13.
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