Speaker Phelan’s New Chief of Staff’s Clients Include Las Vegas Sands and Texans for Lawsuit Reform
August 23, 2024 | Austin, TX
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced today on X that he is appointing a casino lobbyist as his new chief of staff.
“I’m thrilled to announce Mike Toomey as the next Chief of Staff in the Office of the Speaker,” he said. “His leadership will greatly benefit the state, my office and the entire Texas House.”
According to Texas Scorercard, Toomey is a former Texas House member and is currently a partner at Texas Lobby Group.
Transparency USA lists the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which is pushing to legalize casino gambling in Texas, as Toomey’s fourth largest client. Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC also is listed on Transparency USA as a client. This PAC was rumored to be behind the impeachment of Attorney General Paxton alongside Speaker Phelan last year.
The Montgomery County Republican Party passed a resolution supporting the censure of House Speaker Dade Phelan by the Orange County Executive Committee on August 14, 2023, for failure to bring Republican priority bills to the floor and causing other priority bills to fail in the Texas House.