Greg Abbott urged to call special session to limit Hinojosa’s powers

A Republican Texas lawmaker is seeking to limit some of the new governor’s powers after Democrats turned the state blue in Tuesday’s election.

Republican Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison publicly urged outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday to call a special session to “rein control” of the governor’s emergency executive powers before Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa takes office.

“The Republicans lost last night, but the Democrats were not sworn in,” Harrison wrote in a lengthy statement posted on

Harrison also emphasized in his message that he believes Texas governors should not have “unchecked” emergency powers, regardless of party affiliation.

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The Texas State Capitol in Austin. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

“Texas should have limited executive emergency powers when I first asked for it in 2022,” Harrison told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “If these are not revoked, Gina Hinojosa will not only assume the powers that our state constitution gives to a governor, but will in fact inherit almost all of the powers of a dictator. Most people are shocked to learn that Texas governors can write, edit or change any law on a whim if they simply declare an ’emergency,’ and that is unconstitutional.”

Under Texas Government Code Section 433.002, the governor may issue emergency directives and “amend, modify, or rescind” those directives during a declared state of emergency, subject to the requirements set forth in law.

“These powers have been abused in the past, and Governor-elect Hinojosa has committed to using them from day one,” the Texas Republican added. “The Republicans have still been in charge for ten weeks, we must start acting accordingly.”

Harrison also said in Post

His comments come after Hinojosa defeated Abbott on Tuesday in the 2026 Texas gubernatorial race, becoming the state’s first Latino governor.

During her election campaign, Hinojosa pledged to declare “a costly emergency” in Texas and introduce executive orders to end taxes on gasoline and diesel and freeze residential electricity rates, the Texas Tribune reported Wednesday.

A shared image shows Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa in the 2026 Texas gubernatorial race. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Abbott’s office and Hinojosa’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

In an article published on Thursday

Texas’ governor possesses the ability to sign or veto bills passed by the state Legislature, serve as commander in chief of the state’s military forces and call special legislative sessions “for specific purposes,” according to Abbott’s office.

Under the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, the governor can declare a state of disaster and exercise certain emergency powers, including suspending specific regulatory requirements, but disaster declarations must be renewed after 30 days and can be terminated by the legislature at any time.

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Hinojosa promised in an article published Wednesday that his administration would “lead with a policy of courage, not convenience.”

The Democratic Party notched another key victory in the Lone Star State on Tuesday after James Talarico unseated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race.

Ahead of Hinojosa taking office next year, some Texas Republican state senators have pledged to “hold the line” against Democratic-led policy goals in the state, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a town hall meeting on education at a community center October 10, 2026, in Cypress, Texas. (Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump blasted Abbott in a Truth Social article on Tuesday, saying the governor lost his re-election bid because he was a “RINO,” an acronym that stands for “Republican in Name Only.”

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“If Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, had not become a RINO in the last six months of his political life, he would not have lost,” Trump wrote in his social media post. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”

After conceding the race, Abbott told supporters Tuesday that he had informed Hinojosa that he would “assist her and her team in a period of transition,” The Hill reported.

“For weeks, I had been publicly warning on this podcast that we were in very real danger of losing everything in Texas,” Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said in an X message on Wednesday. “Far too few people believed this was possible. I am very, very sorry that this has happened. Texas has not had a Democratic governor since 1994.”

“We haven’t had a Democratic senator since 1993,” Cruz added. “Now we’ll have both.”

Hinojosa is expected to officially take office in January 2027.