Republican state Rep. Kyle Biedermann of Fredericksburg announced Tuesday his intention to introduce the Texas Independence Referendum Act, which he said would allow Texans to vote for the state to “reassert its status as an independent nation.”
“The federal government is out of control and doesn’t represent the values of Texans,” Biedermann said in a statement. “That is why I am committing to file legislation that will allow a referendum to give Texans a vote for the State of Texas to reassert its status as an independent nation. #Texit #txlege”
While this isn’t the first attempt by a lawmaker to bring the topic of secession to the table, and it surely won’t be the last, this is seen as a major victory by the Texas Nationalist Movement, which has pushed for a vote on Texas becoming an independent nation since forming in 2005.
“Regardless of whether you support independence or do not, at a minimum, the people of Texas deserve to have an open, free, fair, public debate on the issue that culminates in a binding referendum on the issue,” TNM President David Miller said Tuesday during a video.
Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party, said this move is Republicans showing again how little they care about the country or the will of the people.
“You can’t claim to be patriotic and file a bill for Texas to secede from the union,” Rahman said.
“You can’t attempt to subvert the will of the people and steal an election from the people and the elected president of the United States, Joe Biden. From Ken Paxton to Greg Abbott to Kyle Biedermann, Texas Republicans are supporting treason. There is no reason these people should represent us. It’s time for new leadership in 2022.”
As for Biedermann, his announcement comes just over a month after he resigned from the Texas Freedom Caucus, a group of staunch conservatives that he helped form in 2017, as first reported by The Texan.
His explanation for leaving involved wanting political independence from any group but was also due to a disagreement over who the next speaker of the House should be, The Texan reported.
“I feel so strongly about the need for open communication and unity that I decided to leave the Freedom Caucus and not have ties to any group,” Biedermann said in a statement.
He added, “My goal for the past six months has been to bring the (House Republican) Caucus together and heal the damage caused by Speaker Bonnen and build back the trust that was lost.
I believe we need to unite the Caucus in order to choose a Speaker committed to changing the culture of the House.”
In the two weeks following Biedermann’s resignation, Rep. Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, announced that he had enough votes to become the next speaker of the Texas House and was congratulated by Gov. Greg Abbott by Nov. 10.
While the Texas Freedom Caucus consisted of 12 members in 2017, that number is now down to eight heading into the 87th Texas legislative session with the retirement of both Rep. Mike Lang and Rep. Bill Zedler and the departure of Rep. Jonathan Stickland last session.
As Dan Solomon of Texas Monthly put it last year: Secession is a seasonal conversation, “much like whether to fire Jason Garrett.” Though that phrase is now applicable to the Dallas Cowboys’ new head coach Mike McCarthy, the point still stands, and the topic of secession has returned yet again.
And, as a refresher, no, Texas can’t legally secede from the U.S.