Matthew McDade Phelan (born September 18, 1975) is an American

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

developer and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

for District 21. He has served as

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committee A committee or commission is a body of one or ...

since January 2021.

Background

Phelan is a 1994 graduate of Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School in Beaumont and a 1998 graduate of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

State legislator

Phelan currently serves as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He has served previously as Chair of the House Committee on State Affairs, on the Natural Resources Committee as Vice-Chair, the Calendars Committee, the Appropriations Committee, Elections Committee as well as the Select Committee on Ports, Innovation and Infrastructure. He is also a founding member of the House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus. Phelan was named a “Champion of Infrastructure” by the lobbying group The American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas and was twice a finalist for “Newsmaker of the Year” by the Press Club of Southeast Texas. ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' recognized Phelan as one of the best legislators of 2019. On December 2, 2020, Phelan was traveling in a private plane to meet Representative

Trent Ashby Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, Californi ...

when it crashed on landing during a rainstorm at

Angelina County Airport Angelina County Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport in Angelina County, Texas, United States. The airport is located seven nautical miles (13 km) southwest of the central business district of Lufkin, Texas. Facilities and air ...

near

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founde ...

. There were no serious injuries.

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

On January 12, 2021, Phelan was elected the 76th Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He is the first Speaker of the House in state history from Southeast Texas.

Voting rights

On August 12, 2021, Phelan signed arrest warrants for the 52 Democratic lawmakers who had left the state to deny a

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

. The lawmakers were attempting to block the passage of legislation widely considered by civil rights groups to restrict voting access to voters of color. During the House debate on the bill, Phelan banned Texas representatives from using the word "racism".

Personal life

He is a former board secretary to

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and s ...

of Southeast Texas and a former board member of the St. Anne

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Church, the historic

Jefferson Theatre The Jefferson Theatre is a historic performing arts theatre located on Fannin Street in downtown Beaumont, Texas. Designed by Emile Weil and built in 1927, it is an example of Old Spanish architecture and seats over 1400. The theatre was built b ...

, Southeast Texas CASA and the Golden Triangle Conservation Association. In 2019 he was installed as a Director to the Texas Lyceum. Phelan and his wife, Kim, live in

Jefferson County, Texas Jefferson County is a county in the Coastal Plain or Gulf Prairie region of Southeast Texas. The Neches River forms its northeast boundary. As of the 2020 census, the population was 256,526. The county seat is Beaumont. Jefferson County ha ...

with their four young boys.

References

External links

Campaign website

State legislative page

Dade Phelan at the Texas Tribune
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelan, Dade 1975 births 21st-century American politicians American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from Texas Catholics from Texas Living people Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Beaumont, Texas Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives University of Texas at Austin alumni