The Speaker of the Texas House and the presiding officer of the Texas Senate walked into the third special session Monday already in a political feud unmatched in recent history.
Late morning, Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) called on Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other conservative lawmakers to return money donated from Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a powerful group whose president reportedly met with a man who called for a "Holy war" against Jews.
In response, Patrick called on Phelan to resign, accusing him of taking advantage of the war in the Middle East.
The Texas Tribune reported Jonathan Stickland, president of Defend Texas Liberty PAC, held a day-long meeting with white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes at Strickland's Tarrant County office.
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Fuentes is one of the most well-known white supremacists in the country, known for praising Hitler, first becoming known after attending the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and attending the Jan. 6 riot at the United States Capitol.
A call to Stickland by NBC 5 has not yet been returned. Online, a spokesman for the group wrote, "We reject Speaker Phelan's effort to combine Defend Texas Liberty PAC with Nick Fuentes. We oppose Mr. Fuentes' incendiary views."
Defend Texas Liberty has donated more than $7 million to conservative candidates and groups in the past three years according to state campaign reports. Former candidate for governor Don Huffines received more than $3.5 million in his primary race against incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott. The ultraconservative group is funded by a handful of oil billionaires from West Texas and was one of the largest voices defending Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton when he was impeached by Phelan's House, including giving a $1 million donation and $2 million loan to Patrick who was the presiding judge in Paxton's impeachment trial.
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Phelan urges lawmakers to return those donations or give them to a charity of their choice.
"It’s very easy to say 'I reject Hitler sympathizers,'" Phelan told NBC 5 in an interview, "It should be easy for Republicans to do that and I have yet to see some of these individuals do that. That’s on them. That’s not on me. I haven’t taken a dime from these people and I never will.”
Patrick responded in a statement saying, "Fuentes and his antisemitic rhetoric have no place in the United States" but going on to say, "There is no place in Texas political discourse for any elected official to use the atrocities in Israel for their own political gain ... That's what Dade Phelan is doing. At this point, he's simply got to go."
Patrick, Paxton, and his allies previously called on Phelan to resign after Paxton was impeached by the House and temporarily removed from office. Patrick's Senate acquitted Paxton of bribery and abuse of power allegations and returned him to office, mostly citing not enough evidence.
"You have a choice right now, just like the impeachment: choose integrity, political courage, we can turn our back to corruption," Phelan told NBC 5.
The Patrick and Phelan feud has lasted all year after a contentious negotiation of property tax relief and the result of the Paxton impeachment trial. Paxton has vowed to campaign against Phelan and his allies in the March primary and also criticized Patrick for implementing a gag order during his impeachment trial.
Monday afternoon, almost 60 of the 85 Texas House Republicans signed a letter calling for the GOP to purge donations from Defend Texas Liberty after the meeting. Dallas-Fort Worth area lawmakers Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth) and Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) did not sign the letter and have received more than $100,000 from Defend Texas Liberty.
"I similarly refuse to allow Dade Phelan to exploit a tragedy of this magnitude against one of our strongest national allies for his own political gain," wrote Tinderholt online.
"I have been very clear about my love and support for the nation of Israel, and I condemn all antisemitic beliefs," wrote Schatzline.
Defend Texas Liberty is largely funded by billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. For years the men have financed the campaigns of ultraconservative candidates. Dunn posted online a story where he was named a "Top 50 Christian ally of Israel" and called for people to stand with Israel in "this time of need."
No lawmaker has yet to announce they will return their donations to the group by Tuesday morning.
The amount of intra-party hatred shocks longtime politicos.
"Never have I seen anything like it here or in Washington," said longtime representative and former congressman, Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas) told The Dallas Morning News.
"It's an unfortunate situation," said almost 40-year state lawmaker Rep.John Smithee, to the News, "All of us kind of need to dial down a little bit."
On Monday Patrick's Senate and Phelan's House passed resolutions supporting Israel. Gov. Greg Abbott has mostly been quiet on the back and forth between Patrick and Phelan but released a statement condemning the violence in Israel.
Abbott attended a solidarity event at the Dell Jewish Community Campus in Austin Monday night.
