Montgomery County GOP Censures Representatives Bell and Metcalf
March 4, 2025 | Media Inquiries: press@mctxgop.org
CONROE, TX - The Montgomery County Republican Party voted to censure Texas Representatives Cecil Bell (House District 3) and Will Metcalf (House District 16) this evening for their actions contributing to the expansion of Democrat power in the Texas House. The censure resolution passed 52 - 32, with four abstentions.
The party’s County Executive Committee (CEC) highlighted several actions as contradictory to Republican Party of Texas principles, including breaking Republican Caucus bylaws and voting with the Democrats to elect Dustin Burrows as Speaker of the House.
A previous resolution was passed by the CEC on December 14, 2024, urging Montgomery County Republican Representatives to vote for the Republican Caucus nominee for Speaker. The resolution stated that the party would consider a vote for Representative Burrows or any other candidate “who depends on Democratic votes to be elected and was not supported by the Texas House Republican Caucus” as a censurable act.
Representative Bell and Representative Metcalf’s votes for Speaker Burrows and the new House rules package have not only resulted in the allotment of 58 percent of leadership positions to Democrats, but have increased the House budget by almost $3 million of taxpayer money for Democrat vice chair positions, helping to further the Democrat agenda in Texas.
The Montgomery County Republican Party has been inundated with phone calls and emails from constituents demanding the party hold these Representatives accountable. During their address to the CEC this evening, Representatives Bell and Metcalf both stated that by holding them accountable for their actions, the Republican Party would be circumventing their voters.
County Chair Gwen Withrow reiterated that tonight’s resolution does not request any of the remedies of action from the State Republican Executive Committee under Rule 44 and that neither of the Representatives is being denied access to the Republican ballot in the next primary at this point.
“It is the job of the Montgomery County Republican Party to make sure the facts are presented accurately to voters in our county,” she said. “I am recommending that no further action be taken by the CEC until we have time to review the outcomes of this Legislative Session. We will be watching our Representatives’ votes and actions carefully. In the meantime, as Party Chairman, my job is to bring the party together and I ask everyone in the local party on both sides of this issue to help me with that.”
