'The consequences were dire': Republican lawmaker alludes to political pressure over school choice vote

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- A Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives explained to his constituents in a comment on a Facebook post that he voted to approve Senate Bill 2, the school choice bill, because all of his bills and appropriations were "at risk," echoing allegations made against the Governor Wednesday night.

The bill would create a $1 billion program where families could apply to use taxpayer money to help pay for private school tuition and school supplies.

Early Wednesday morning, after hours of debate, State Rep. Jeff Barry, R-Pearland, posted his official statement on the passage of the education savings account legislation.

"While I have had serious reservations about any form of ESA proposal, I fought to make the legislation better for our students by working closely with House Public Education Committee Chairman Brad Buckley and committee members, House colleagues, and our school districts to develop provisions that would improve this proposal," Barry said in the statement.

He posted it to his Facebook page and received more than 130 comments from constituents, most of them negative about his yes vote. One Facebook user, Maritza Wong, wrote in a comment, "Just Wednesday morning, your staff said you were a firm no on vouchers."

Barry's account responded to that comment, saying, "The bill was passing regardless of my vote. If I voted against it, I would have had every statewide and national political Al figure against me. Not to mention all of my bills vetoed. The consequences were dire, with no upside at all. I understand your frustration, and I am disappointed in the outcome as well. If I would have voted against this, all of my bills and appropriations were at risk. We have some great things we have already done for the district."

Nexstar has reached out to Barry's office for a comment and is waiting to hear back.

'This was still the people's House, not the governor's House'

The comments made in the Facebook post echo the allegations made against Governor Greg Abbott during the House floor debate. State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, proposed an amendment to call for a referendum, allowing Texas voters to decide in a statewide vote if they wanted an ESA program.

In his layout of the amendment, Talarico alleged Gov. Abbott was threatening Republican lawmakers by telling them he would veto all of their bills and threatened to make their primaries a "blood bath."

"The last time I checked, this was still the people's House, not the Governor's House," Talarico said to his House colleagues. State Rep. Mitch Little, R - Lewisville, questioned which of his Republican colleagues had been threatened, but Talarico would not provide any names.

Gov. Abbott's Press Office posted a response to those allegations on its official X account, calling Talarico two-faced. "He lied about the school choice program and the Governor," the post said. A spokesperson in the Governor's Office said the governor spoke with members and encouraged them to vote for school choice legislation.

The referendum was eventually tabled by the House, along with 42 other amendments that were offered by House Democrats during debate.

President Trump weighs in before school choice vote

Gov. Abbott met with the House Republican Caucus before Wednesday's vote. During that meeting, President Donald Trump called in to the meeting and was put on speaker for all of the members to hear.

According to a portion of that call posted on social media, President Trump could be heard saying school choice is a top priority for the Republican Party.

The President posted on Truth Social following the passage of SB 2. "This is a gigantic Victory for students and parents in the Great State of Texas! We will very soon be sending Education BACK TO ALL THE STATES, where it belongs," the post read.

Gov. Abbott's efforts to pass school choice

In 2023, school choice legislation could not get passed the House of Representatives after 21 Republican members joined Democrats in opposition.

Following that defeat, Gov. Abbott campaigned against the members in his own party, spending millions on their primary opponents.

There were only two Republican members who voted against SB 2 on Wednesday night. That included former Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, and State Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, who also voted against school choice in the past.