Texas GOP speaker drops re-election bid after secret tape

Texas' embattled GOP House speaker announced Tuesday that he won't seek re-election after a growing number of Republicans called for his resignation following the release of a secretly recorded conversation in which he sought help to oust members of his own caucus in 2020 and used foul language to disparage Democrats.

The decision by Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen comes less than a week after the release of the hourlong tape that sparked among the biggest political scandal in the state in years. Bonnen's retreat puts Republicans' fragile dominance of the state Legislature further at stake.

"After much prayer, consultation, and thoughtful consideration with my family, it is clear that I can no longer seek re-election as State Representative of District 25, and subsequently, as Speaker of the House," Bonnen said in a statement that included a list of 43 House Republicans calling for him to step down.

Though he will not seek re-election in 2020, Bonnen of Angleton, Texas, will serve the rest of his first term as House speaker.

The Texas Legislature won't meet again until 2021, when lawmakers will redraw voting maps and political control of the House and Senate will be critical. Heading into 2020, Democrats can grab a majority if they flip nine seats in the lower chamber.

The secretly recorded June meeting between Bonnen and the head of a conservative group called Empower Texans is at the center of an ongoing state police investigation. The lobbying group often criticizes Republicans it feels aren't conservative enough on issues such as spending, abortion and guns,

Bonnen can be heard asking for the help of Empower Texans CEO Michael Quinn Sullivan in targeting several Republican incumbents in primaries next year. He also suggests he can provide a news affiliate of Empower Texans with media credentials for access to the House floor in exchange for the group's help.

Bonnen sought to drive out moderate GOP members who he believed stood in the way of his agenda, and he used crude language while discussing freshman Democrats whose midterm victories in 2018 weakened the GOP's House majority.

"Jon Rosenthal makes my skin crawl. He's a piece of (expletive)," Bonnen said in the recording. He refers to Michelle Beckley as "vile."

Five top House Republicans released a statement Monday night stating they no longer supported Bonnen. "It is clear that trust and confidence in the Speaker has significantly eroded among our membership, and the matter has both damaged the reputation of the House and relationships among individual members," they said.

The Texas Republican Caucus condemned Bonnen's remarks in a statement released on Friday.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement that Bonnen's decision not to seek re-election was a victory for transparency and accountability.

"Texans are tired of politicians, like Republican Speaker Bonnen, who use backroom deals, cover-ups and outright lies to pursue power over everything," Hinojosa said.

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.

The Houthis said they shot down the Predator with a surface-to-air missile, part of a renewed series of assaults this week by the rebels after a relative lull in their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that “a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen.” He said an investigation was underway, without elaborating.

The Houthis described the downing as happening Thursday over their stronghold in the country's Saada province.

Footage released by the Houthis included what they described as the missile launch targeting the drone, with a man off-camera reciting the Houthi's slogan after it was hit: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”

The footage included several close-ups on parts of the drone that included the logo of General Atomics, which manufactures the drone, and serial numbers corresponding with known parts made by the company.

Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least five drones to the rebels counting Thursday's shootdown — in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.

Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.

The drone shootdown comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sank another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the U.S.-led campaign against them and after firing drones and missiles steadily in the last months. However, the rebels have renewed their attacks in the last week.

A Houthi supporter raises a mock rocket during a rally against the U.S. and Israel and to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)