June 21, 2025 • 26 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Michael Berry Show. Tony Tenderholt is a Republican state
representative from Texas. He's not from Houston, so a lot
of folks in area won't know him. I didn't know
him before he became a state rep. But as a
state rep. His strong conservative views, outspoken positions, fearlessness tempered
(00:22):
by his military background made him a special state representative.
He has represented Texas House District ninety four, which includes
parts of Arlington in Terrant County, going back ten years
actually hard to believe, since twenty fifteen. Before he entered politics,
(00:43):
he served over a decade in the United States Air
Force and later switching branches as an Army major, including
deployments in Iraq where he trained local forces. He's originally
from Minnesota, but we won't hold him against it. We'll
hold out against him. He now lived, as I said,
in Arlington, Texas. He's married to Bethany Tyler, a former
(01:04):
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, and they have three children. He gained
attention early in his political career by unseating a long
time incumbent in the twenty fourteenth Republican primary. Keep your
eye on guys who do that, because that means that
they have. That's what Ted Cruz did to David Dewhurst.
(01:28):
That's what Donald Trump did to the entire twenty sixteen
cast a class. You look at guys like that and
you go, that's probably a comer. Since then, in those
ten years, he's built a reputation as one of the
most common sense conservative voices in the Texas legislature. He
(01:48):
served on several House committees, including those focused on public health,
county affairs, and government efficiency. So why are we talking
about Tony Tenderholt. He's just a state rep. There's one
hundred fifty of them. Because on June second, twenty twenty five,
at the close of the legislative session, Tony Tenderholt announced
he would not seek reelection. He said he wanted to
(02:10):
spend more time with his family, but he expressed confidence
in the future of conservative leadership in Texas. I think
it was twenty four new state reps who came up
to Austin having defeated incumbents or having had incumbents retire
to avoid being defeated by them. Tony Tenderholt was not
(02:31):
a swamp creature. He was not always popular with the establishment.
Certainly not with the Democrats, and frankly not with a
lot of the establishment Republicans. He wasn't to go along
to get along kind of guy. He spoke out, spoke often.
It's been on our show many times. And it cost
him the lobbying gigs that most state reps would get
(02:53):
after they left the session. It's cost him the extra
jobs on the side that they get by, you know,
going along on the tax increases and not opposing the
bad bills. But I really feel like this is a
Davy Crockett type guy, a citizen servant, a guy who
really cared. And his choice to leave when he could
(03:17):
have stayed on for decades when he had no real
serious challenge, when he's very popular and well respected, I
think that that's worth a moment for us to stop
and appreciate that lawmakers from both parties took to the
podium to offer their farewells and acknowledge his years of
service and frankly a grudging respect because Tony Tenderholt is
(03:41):
no sellout. We'll miss you members.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
The Chair recognizes mister Tinderholt to address the House regarding
his retirement.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yes, I'm retiring, Thank you, miss Speaker. And members. The
eighty ninth Legislative session marks my sixth session in this chamber,
representing House District ninety four. There have been ups, there's
been downs, amendments, points of order, disagreements, and achievements. It's
(04:14):
been one of the highlights of my life. Oftentimes people
forget the sacrifice of serving in the legislature. It's been
a job that has to be done by somebody, and
I'm honored to have done it. I've dedicated thirty two
(04:37):
years of my life to public service. Eleven in the
Air Force, taking part in encounter drug missions throughout South
and Central America, and then after nine to eleven, I
served for ten years in the Army as a platoon leader,
executive officer, detachment commander, retruiting commander, and then I kept
volunteering to deploy to combat zones. Arguably, my twelve years
(04:58):
here has been one of the more difficult combat zones
I've had the pleasure of serving. In two years ago,
I decided i'd run again for a sixth term, hoping
I was going to be coming back with friends. I'm
proud to say my hopes came true and I was
joined by the most conservative group of freshmen legislator this
body's ever seen. I returned to this chamber with one goal,
(05:21):
accomplishing as much conservative policy as possible, while humbly evaluating
if it was time to go home and let others
continue this vital fight for the conservative movement. We've accomplished
a lot in six sessions, but there's still more work
to be done. While more Texas GOP priorities passed this
session than previously had, there were still missed opportunities and
(05:43):
so much left to do. Just like both sides have
said every session to my Democrat colleagues, I hope you
know that I've always tried to treat you with respect
that you deserve as members of this body who are
chosen by your districts to fight for the values you hold.
To the Republican colleagues I say, sometimes oftentimes disagreed with,
(06:05):
Please know that my absence next session will not remove
in any way the pressure to deliver real conservative results
for the people of Texas. And though we've disagreed at times,
I've been truly honored to serve alongside each of you.
To the Conservative freshmen that works so hard to be here,
you're equipped, eager, and dedicated to ensuring the passage of
the Texas GOP legislative priorities for the future sessions to come.
(06:29):
Texas is in good hands with each of you, and
it's time for me to step aside.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Love you, buddy.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
This is the hard part. To my wonderful wife Bethany
(07:12):
and my children, Tyler and Brennan. I'm coming home. I
get to be a dad. I don't have to miss
practices and dances. I'm going to be able to do
(07:36):
prayer at dinner time with you instead of on Facebook
or FaceTime, bedtime books. And so this was the hardest
paragraph for me because this is why I'm leaving, and
I have one more paragraph, but I would tell my
peers I want to come here and be the tough guy,
but we're all human and we all have family, and
(07:59):
I encourage you guys to think about the sacrifices that
you make here because God wants me to be a
husband and a dad right now, and I'm going to
miss this place so much, but it makes it easier
knowing that I'm going to do the things that I
think God wants me to do, and that my wife
needs me to do and my children need so While
(08:23):
I'm sad to go and I'm very emotional about it,
I want to share with my peers that if you're
ever thinking about this and you're having a hard time
with it, I would tell you pick family first, because
someone else is going to come do this and they're
going to do it well. Members. As my role in
this Chamber is coming to an end, I do intend
to finish this entire term, so I have another nineteen months,
(08:45):
so if we have a special session, we'll be here again.
I hope you recognize that each of the decisions you
make will affect me and my family when I'm gone.
My prayer is that this chamber recognizes all that Texas
needs from you and that you never take for and
the immense honor and responsibility that comes with serving in
the Texas House. Thank you to my family, and thank
(09:06):
the members, and thank you the speaker.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Mister Speaker, Ms pless It.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
For what purpose may we ask that the address by
Representative Tenderholt be reduced to writing and placed in the journal.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Members, you've heard the motions, their objections to adopt some
motion chairs on order. Chare recognizes, mister toath.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Tony. I just want to.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
Expend extend my gratitude to you for the leader that
you've been in the group of leaders that you've raised up.
And I'll draw from you and Schaeffer combat veterans that
there is no more difficult place to maintain your character
and integrity and courage than this house.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
And someone one said, you.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
Don't really know the flavor of tea until you drive
in hot water. And this is the most scalding hot
water you'll ever be dropped in?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Is that true?
Speaker 6 (10:06):
But you've always done it with kindness and gratitude, with
a great spirit. You've never discontinued to fight. You fought
hard through this entire session, a session where we really
should have yielded more for our constituents. But what we
did yield, we did it because of your leadership in
the new group of freshmen that we have coming in
(10:26):
after you are going to serve texas well. God bless you, buddy,
God speed.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
The Chair recognizes mister Shecht's line.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
Tony, The first vote I ever took in this chamber
was to vote for you to be speaker, and we
were only seventy three votes away.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
We were so close.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
I am so immensely proud to be your friend. I
think for the body to hear what you see is
Tony fighting every day for conservative values and it's honorable.
You're a champion. You're a champion for the state of Texas.
But what you don't know is the first questions that
Tony asked me was have you called your wife today?
And how have you called and facetimed your kids today?
(11:18):
And the last question you asked me today yesterday, what
have you called your wife and have you reached out
to your kids? It's the most important thing in your life.
I'm so proud, so proud to be your friend. You're
a fighter for Texas, but more importantly, you're an amazing
husband and a father, and I love you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
The chair recognizes Miss Garcia.
Speaker 8 (11:44):
Barry, Representative Tenderhole. I just wanted to use this opportunity
as a message for our body as well. I remember
when I first came in here as a freshman last
session as.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
A woman veteran.
Speaker 8 (12:02):
There aren't many of us that are here that are
veterans and just trying to figure out how to navigate
a partisan world because as military we don't understand the
separation when it comes to protecting and serving and defending
our constitution and our people.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
When I came here.
Speaker 8 (12:21):
You know, some things are are synonymous with military. Those
things could be, you know, operation just cause al Qaeda
isis you name it. We can name those things off
of the tip of our tongues because we're true Americans
who believe in our mission.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
And one of those names.
Speaker 8 (12:42):
That came off the tip of the tongue here in
the legislature was a tender Holt. Now, when I got here,
I had no idea what a tender Holt was, but
folks warned me about the tenderhold. He said, Josie, you
are an activist, You are a protester the tender hope.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
He will not like you. And I believed it.
Speaker 8 (13:01):
Because my first week here there was the tenderhole and
he was running for speaker and he was calling these
things points of orders that I hadn't learned much about.
But I was intrigued because he looked so stoic. That
faced that screams fear into the hearts of many legislators
(13:22):
on this floor.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Spoke military to me.
Speaker 8 (13:28):
When I saw his face, I saw a soldier.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
So I walked up.
Speaker 8 (13:33):
To him one day right over here, I remember, and
I just went up to him and I said, hi, sir,
I'm Josie and he said, oh, hello, and he smiled.
I was like, okay, there's step one. He can smile.
Step two was I said, I'm also military. My husband's
a purple Heart veteran, and I'm also combat veteran. From
that day, I take every opportunity that I can when
(13:56):
people ask me who is your favorite Republican and I
tell people it is Tony Tenderholt, and the shock that
is on people's faces and their hearts and their minds.
But you all, I want you to know this because
we're Texans. Tony Tenderholt is a man who was a
(14:19):
part of Operation just Caused, a story that I read
about in the Encyclopedia Britannica And for those of you
who are younger, the Encyclopedia Britannica is the websites on
book form. This man has worked in almost every counter
terrorism operation in the modern century.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Now, when I tell you.
Speaker 8 (14:43):
That we are losing a real American hero here today,
I mean that I'm so sad to see you go,
but thank you for your service. Major tenderhol.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
The chair recognizes Miss Jones of Harris.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
So as a Democrat, So as a Democrat who is overwhelmed.
Speaker 9 (15:26):
There's eighty eight Republicans and there are sixty two Democrats,
and this is a very tough place. But the beautiful
thing about America is we're entitled to our beliefs and
we have to respect that. And all of us here
were elected by our constituents.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Last session, Tony.
Speaker 9 (15:51):
And I officed across from each other, and almost we
never really spoke to each other that much, except that
I know his wife's favorite colors pink.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
And is my favorite color two. But this session.
Speaker 9 (16:05):
I got the opportunity to meet Tony, and I learned
very quickly as a Democrat that I better find some
Republican friends otherwise none of my stuff was going to
get passed. And I also found out that Tony has
a group of Republicans who follow him religiously, and so
(16:27):
if I wanted to try to get the votes I
needed to get to pass any of my bills, presuming
all sixty two Democrats voted for it, which isn't always
the case, that I better go talk to Tony. So
on HB four thirteen, Tony was I was talking to
the Republicans I knew, like, hey, where are you guys
on this? And they were like, well, Tony's against it
(16:48):
and whatever he says, I'm doing and I won't tell
who that person is, So you better go talk to Tony.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
And what I learned about Tony that I think.
Speaker 9 (16:59):
A lot of us can learn and from is that
he can be in a position, but if you talk
to him and you give him facts and figures, he
literally will He's not gonna answer you quickly, so you
can't bully him, and he'll tell you he's gonna think
about it and come back to him, and that's what
you better do. You better not try to harass him
because that is never gonna work. And then you come
(17:21):
back when he told you to come back, and if
he is for.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
You, he will be for you.
Speaker 9 (17:25):
He will change his position, which is exactly what he did.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
And I know the people that follow him listen to
him immediately.
Speaker 9 (17:35):
He's got a system set up that somebody needs to
duplicate because imitation is.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
The highest form of flattery.
Speaker 9 (17:41):
Because when he decided that he was going to switch
his position on HB four thirteen, which is that you've
already served your time, Deill, he literally sent out a
bat wave or something, and by the time I walk
back to my desk, the people who believe in him
and who follow him were like, Okay, Tony changed his mind.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
We're with you.
Speaker 9 (18:03):
And not only did he do that, because sometimes it's
hard in this place, especially if you're it's my understanding
that with Republicans a scorecard is.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Really important, and you might not even vote for good
bills if you think it's going to lower your scorecard score.
Speaker 9 (18:21):
But Tony is courageous. He doesn't care, and he says,
you know what, I'm gonna do a lot of people
don't understand your bill. I'm gonna go to the back mic.
And so I know that people thought hell froze over
when tenderholt and he was paying attention, I didn't have
to go tell him. He charged to the back like
I guess soldiers do, and he was like, I'm gonna
(18:43):
just cut to the chase and I'm gonna save you
some time. And he explained HB four thirteen, which is
now sitting on the Governor's desk. And so I just
want to thank Tony because that is actually criminal justice reform.
Senator Huffman carried it on the other side, and so
I respect the Republican that Tony is.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
We don't agree on everything.
Speaker 9 (19:03):
In fact, most times we don't agree with each other,
but in this place, we've got to figure out a
way to find common ground. Whatever that common ground is,
it may not be a lot, but that's what's gonna
be best for Texas. So I will miss you, Tony,
and now I've just got to figure out who's got.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Influence like you do.
Speaker 9 (19:22):
Moving forward, I mean, if I stay here. So anyway,
thank you. I'm really glad to know you.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Thank you for exciting.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
The chair recognized this, Miss Marilla Shaw, Thank you, mister speaker.
Speaker 10 (19:41):
Members, Tony, you've made a hard decision today, but I
know that it's one that you've thought out and that
you feel good, and it sits in your heart right.
I know that because five years ago, when I was
a new member, I went down my hall to meet
my hall neighbor and I was fortunate that you were
(20:02):
there with your children and your wife, and we had
a good conversation. And I'm glad that we have that
conversation that day because ever since then, I've known that
if Tony got up to the mic front or back,
that he has researched, he has thought out, and he
has come to a good conclusion about what he's talking about.
And therefore I could always rely on the words that
(20:24):
came out of his mouth to be worth considering strongly.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
You have.
Speaker 10 (20:33):
Brought integrity, responsibility, and just thoughtful consideration to this body
and you have been Thank you for making it easy
to work with you, and you have made the Texas
House a better place because of your presence, and I
just want to thank you and thank you for being
(20:54):
a friend.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Thank you, Chare recognizes, mister Harrison, thank you, mister speaker.
Speaker 5 (21:04):
Members, I just wanted to say thank you Tony Tenderholt
right there right here, give missus tenderhold around of applause.
Please let me get right to the point. The state
(21:31):
of Texas and the Texas House is better because Tony
Tenderholt served in this chamber, and Tony, in front of
all these people, I want to say thank you for
your contribution to the state of Texas. I've been proud
to serve her people alongside you, and I regret that
we will not be able to do so in the
same capacity moving forward.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Thank you, my friend, mister Dutton, for what purpose.
Speaker 11 (21:56):
I wanted to talk to Tony tenderhope.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Chare recognizes mister Tenderhole.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I'll yield for questions question I was going to talk about.
Speaker 11 (22:06):
You, mister speaker. I just want all the members to
know that all of us come from different backgrounds and
so it's not a matter of where we are when
we come. It's a matter of whether or not we grow.
And I will tell you that I've watched Tony Tenderhole
(22:29):
when he came to this legislature and now that he's leaving,
I think there's a message for all of us, and
that is we should continue to grow, grow in our jobs,
grow in our perspectives. And I've watched you do that, Tony,
and I just wanted to say thank you on behalf
of all the legislators here because I'm number three in
(22:53):
seniority and I've never seen a legislator grow as much
as Tony Tenderhole. And so with that, let me congratulate you.
Let me thank you for setting the pace for all
of us here so that we can somehow another manage
to do better for Texas. And I think you've done that,
(23:16):
and my hat's off to you. Congratulations to you and
your family, and I'll look forward to the next Tony Tenderholt.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Well before you leave, I told him, I keep it short,
but I was going to mention you in my speech,
and we were trying to keep it shorter. I want
to share something really brief this session. I wanted to
teach these freshmen to not make some of the same
mistakes I may have made early. But you may not
remember this. You were going to be in the speech
in my first point of order I ever did. You
sat right next to me across the aisle, and you
(23:50):
saw me digging for the point order, and you told
me it was it was chapter four, and you eventually
even told me what page. And I leaned over to
you and I said, why are you doing this for
me when you're actually this is a point of order
against stuff that you're supporting. And you told me. We're colleagues,
and I want you to look smart when you go
up there, and I beat you now that there's there's
(24:12):
but there's a lesson in that, right. The lesson is.
The lesson is you saw democrats come up, you saw Republicans,
and the lesson is we are colleagues, and we are family,
and we're going to fight, and we're going to argue,
and then we're going to go in the members lounge
and we're gonna make up, and we're going to come
out and maybe argue or be together. But that was
one of the very first lessons I learned was from you.
(24:32):
You taught me how to fight against you. It was
a bill that you were going to be upfront for
that I was calling a point of order and you
taught me and showed me, and you made me look
on the right page, and you didn't want me to
look silly.
Speaker 11 (24:45):
Well, thank thank you, Thank you for that. Tony. I
just I just wanted you to grow to be the
Tony tend to.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Hope you are well. Thank you. I appreciate you well.
Speaker 11 (24:53):
Thank you, Tony. Thank you for your service here.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
It is that love and respect everybody. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
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(26:11):
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(26:36):
a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free counseling.
The Michael Berry Show. Tony Tenderholt is a Republican state
representative from Texas. He's not from Houston, so a lot
of folks in area won't know him. I didn't know
him before he became a state rep. But as a
state rep. His strong conservative views, outspoken positions, fearlessness tempered
(00:22):
by his military background made him a special state representative.
He has represented Texas House District ninety four, which includes
parts of Arlington in Terrant County, going back ten years
actually hard to believe, since twenty fifteen. Before he entered politics,
(00:43):
he served over a decade in the United States Air
Force and later switching branches as an Army major, including
deployments in Iraq where he trained local forces. He's originally
from Minnesota, but we won't hold him against it. We'll
hold out against him. He now lived, as I said,
in Arlington, Texas. He's married to Bethany Tyler, a former
(01:04):
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, and they have three children. He gained
attention early in his political career by unseating a long
time incumbent in the twenty fourteenth Republican primary. Keep your
eye on guys who do that, because that means that
they have. That's what Ted Cruz did to David Dewhurst.
(01:28):
That's what Donald Trump did to the entire twenty sixteen
cast a class. You look at guys like that and
you go, that's probably a comer. Since then, in those
ten years, he's built a reputation as one of the
most common sense conservative voices in the Texas legislature. He
(01:48):
served on several House committees, including those focused on public health,
county affairs, and government efficiency. So why are we talking
about Tony Tenderholt. He's just a state rep. There's one
hundred fifty of them. Because on June second, twenty twenty five,
at the close of the legislative session, Tony Tenderholt announced
he would not seek reelection. He said he wanted to
(02:10):
spend more time with his family, but he expressed confidence
in the future of conservative leadership in Texas. I think
it was twenty four new state reps who came up
to Austin having defeated incumbents or having had incumbents retire
to avoid being defeated by them. Tony Tenderholt was not
(02:31):
a swamp creature. He was not always popular with the establishment.
Certainly not with the Democrats, and frankly not with a
lot of the establishment Republicans. He wasn't to go along
to get along kind of guy. He spoke out, spoke often.
It's been on our show many times. And it cost
him the lobbying gigs that most state reps would get
(02:53):
after they left the session. It's cost him the extra
jobs on the side that they get by, you know,
going along on the tax increases and not opposing the
bad bills. But I really feel like this is a
Davy Crockett type guy, a citizen servant, a guy who
really cared. And his choice to leave when he could
(03:17):
have stayed on for decades when he had no real
serious challenge, when he's very popular and well respected, I
think that that's worth a moment for us to stop
and appreciate that lawmakers from both parties took to the
podium to offer their farewells and acknowledge his years of
service and frankly a grudging respect because Tony Tenderholt is
(03:41):
no sellout. We'll miss you members.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
The Chair recognizes mister Tinderholt to address the House regarding
his retirement.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yes, I'm retiring, Thank you, miss Speaker. And members. The
eighty ninth Legislative session marks my sixth session in this chamber,
representing House District ninety four. There have been ups, there's
been downs, amendments, points of order, disagreements, and achievements. It's
(04:14):
been one of the highlights of my life. Oftentimes people
forget the sacrifice of serving in the legislature. It's been
a job that has to be done by somebody, and
I'm honored to have done it. I've dedicated thirty two
(04:37):
years of my life to public service. Eleven in the
Air Force, taking part in encounter drug missions throughout South
and Central America, and then after nine to eleven, I
served for ten years in the Army as a platoon leader,
executive officer, detachment commander, retruiting commander, and then I kept
volunteering to deploy to combat zones. Arguably, my twelve years
(04:58):
here has been one of the more difficult combat zones
I've had the pleasure of serving. In two years ago,
I decided i'd run again for a sixth term, hoping
I was going to be coming back with friends. I'm
proud to say my hopes came true and I was
joined by the most conservative group of freshmen legislator this
body's ever seen. I returned to this chamber with one goal,
(05:21):
accomplishing as much conservative policy as possible, while humbly evaluating
if it was time to go home and let others
continue this vital fight for the conservative movement. We've accomplished
a lot in six sessions, but there's still more work
to be done. While more Texas GOP priorities passed this
session than previously had, there were still missed opportunities and
(05:43):
so much left to do. Just like both sides have
said every session to my Democrat colleagues, I hope you
know that I've always tried to treat you with respect
that you deserve as members of this body who are
chosen by your districts to fight for the values you hold.
To the Republican colleagues I say, sometimes oftentimes disagreed with,
(06:05):
Please know that my absence next session will not remove
in any way the pressure to deliver real conservative results
for the people of Texas. And though we've disagreed at times,
I've been truly honored to serve alongside each of you.
To the Conservative freshmen that works so hard to be here,
you're equipped, eager, and dedicated to ensuring the passage of
the Texas GOP legislative priorities for the future sessions to come.
(06:29):
Texas is in good hands with each of you, and
it's time for me to step aside.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Love you, buddy.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
This is the hard part. To my wonderful wife Bethany
(07:12):
and my children, Tyler and Brennan. I'm coming home. I
get to be a dad. I don't have to miss
practices and dances. I'm going to be able to do
(07:36):
prayer at dinner time with you instead of on Facebook
or FaceTime, bedtime books. And so this was the hardest
paragraph for me because this is why I'm leaving, and
I have one more paragraph, but I would tell my
peers I want to come here and be the tough guy,
but we're all human and we all have family, and
(07:59):
I encourage you guys to think about the sacrifices that
you make here because God wants me to be a
husband and a dad right now, and I'm going to
miss this place so much, but it makes it easier
knowing that I'm going to do the things that I
think God wants me to do, and that my wife
needs me to do and my children need so While
(08:23):
I'm sad to go and I'm very emotional about it,
I want to share with my peers that if you're
ever thinking about this and you're having a hard time
with it, I would tell you pick family first, because
someone else is going to come do this and they're
going to do it well. Members. As my role in
this Chamber is coming to an end, I do intend
to finish this entire term, so I have another nineteen months,
(08:45):
so if we have a special session, we'll be here again.
I hope you recognize that each of the decisions you
make will affect me and my family when I'm gone.
My prayer is that this chamber recognizes all that Texas
needs from you and that you never take for and
the immense honor and responsibility that comes with serving in
the Texas House. Thank you to my family, and thank
(09:06):
the members, and thank you the speaker.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Mister Speaker, Ms pless It.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
For what purpose may we ask that the address by
Representative Tenderholt be reduced to writing and placed in the journal.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Members, you've heard the motions, their objections to adopt some
motion chairs on order. Chare recognizes, mister toath.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Tony. I just want to.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
Expend extend my gratitude to you for the leader that
you've been in the group of leaders that you've raised up.
And I'll draw from you and Schaeffer combat veterans that
there is no more difficult place to maintain your character
and integrity and courage than this house.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
And someone one said, you.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
Don't really know the flavor of tea until you drive
in hot water. And this is the most scalding hot
water you'll ever be dropped in?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Is that true?
Speaker 6 (10:06):
But you've always done it with kindness and gratitude, with
a great spirit. You've never discontinued to fight. You fought
hard through this entire session, a session where we really
should have yielded more for our constituents. But what we
did yield, we did it because of your leadership in
the new group of freshmen that we have coming in
(10:26):
after you are going to serve texas well. God bless you, buddy,
God speed.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
The Chair recognizes mister Shecht's line.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
Tony, The first vote I ever took in this chamber
was to vote for you to be speaker, and we
were only seventy three votes away.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
We were so close.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
I am so immensely proud to be your friend. I
think for the body to hear what you see is
Tony fighting every day for conservative values and it's honorable.
You're a champion. You're a champion for the state of Texas.
But what you don't know is the first questions that
Tony asked me was have you called your wife today?
And how have you called and facetimed your kids today?
(11:18):
And the last question you asked me today yesterday, what
have you called your wife and have you reached out
to your kids? It's the most important thing in your life.
I'm so proud, so proud to be your friend. You're
a fighter for Texas, but more importantly, you're an amazing
husband and a father, and I love you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
The chair recognizes Miss Garcia.
Speaker 8 (11:44):
Barry, Representative Tenderhole. I just wanted to use this opportunity
as a message for our body as well. I remember
when I first came in here as a freshman last
session as.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
A woman veteran.
Speaker 8 (12:02):
There aren't many of us that are here that are
veterans and just trying to figure out how to navigate
a partisan world because as military we don't understand the
separation when it comes to protecting and serving and defending
our constitution and our people.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
When I came here.
Speaker 8 (12:21):
You know, some things are are synonymous with military. Those
things could be, you know, operation just cause al Qaeda
isis you name it. We can name those things off
of the tip of our tongues because we're true Americans
who believe in our mission.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
And one of those names.
Speaker 8 (12:42):
That came off the tip of the tongue here in
the legislature was a tender Holt. Now, when I got here,
I had no idea what a tender Holt was, but
folks warned me about the tenderhold. He said, Josie, you
are an activist, You are a protester the tender hope.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
He will not like you. And I believed it.
Speaker 8 (13:01):
Because my first week here there was the tenderhole and
he was running for speaker and he was calling these
things points of orders that I hadn't learned much about.
But I was intrigued because he looked so stoic. That
faced that screams fear into the hearts of many legislators
(13:22):
on this floor.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Spoke military to me.
Speaker 8 (13:28):
When I saw his face, I saw a soldier.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
So I walked up.
Speaker 8 (13:33):
To him one day right over here, I remember, and
I just went up to him and I said, hi, sir,
I'm Josie and he said, oh, hello, and he smiled.
I was like, okay, there's step one. He can smile.
Step two was I said, I'm also military. My husband's
a purple Heart veteran, and I'm also combat veteran. From
that day, I take every opportunity that I can when
(13:56):
people ask me who is your favorite Republican and I
tell people it is Tony Tenderholt, and the shock that
is on people's faces and their hearts and their minds.
But you all, I want you to know this because
we're Texans. Tony Tenderholt is a man who was a
(14:19):
part of Operation just Caused, a story that I read
about in the Encyclopedia Britannica And for those of you
who are younger, the Encyclopedia Britannica is the websites on
book form. This man has worked in almost every counter
terrorism operation in the modern century.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Now, when I tell you.
Speaker 8 (14:43):
That we are losing a real American hero here today,
I mean that I'm so sad to see you go,
but thank you for your service. Major tenderhol.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
The chair recognizes Miss Jones of Harris.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
So as a Democrat, So as a Democrat who is overwhelmed.
Speaker 9 (15:26):
There's eighty eight Republicans and there are sixty two Democrats,
and this is a very tough place. But the beautiful
thing about America is we're entitled to our beliefs and
we have to respect that. And all of us here
were elected by our constituents.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Last session, Tony.
Speaker 9 (15:51):
And I officed across from each other, and almost we
never really spoke to each other that much, except that
I know his wife's favorite colors pink.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
And is my favorite color two. But this session.
Speaker 9 (16:05):
I got the opportunity to meet Tony, and I learned
very quickly as a Democrat that I better find some
Republican friends otherwise none of my stuff was going to
get passed. And I also found out that Tony has
a group of Republicans who follow him religiously, and so
(16:27):
if I wanted to try to get the votes I
needed to get to pass any of my bills, presuming
all sixty two Democrats voted for it, which isn't always
the case, that I better go talk to Tony. So
on HB four thirteen, Tony was I was talking to
the Republicans I knew, like, hey, where are you guys
on this? And they were like, well, Tony's against it
(16:48):
and whatever he says, I'm doing and I won't tell
who that person is, So you better go talk to Tony.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
And what I learned about Tony that I think.
Speaker 9 (16:59):
A lot of us can learn and from is that
he can be in a position, but if you talk
to him and you give him facts and figures, he
literally will He's not gonna answer you quickly, so you
can't bully him, and he'll tell you he's gonna think
about it and come back to him, and that's what
you better do. You better not try to harass him
because that is never gonna work. And then you come
(17:21):
back when he told you to come back, and if
he is for.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
You, he will be for you.
Speaker 9 (17:25):
He will change his position, which is exactly what he did.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
And I know the people that follow him listen to
him immediately.
Speaker 9 (17:35):
He's got a system set up that somebody needs to
duplicate because imitation is.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
The highest form of flattery.
Speaker 9 (17:41):
Because when he decided that he was going to switch
his position on HB four thirteen, which is that you've
already served your time, Deill, he literally sent out a
bat wave or something, and by the time I walk
back to my desk, the people who believe in him
and who follow him were like, Okay, Tony changed his mind.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
We're with you.
Speaker 9 (18:03):
And not only did he do that, because sometimes it's
hard in this place, especially if you're it's my understanding
that with Republicans a scorecard is.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Really important, and you might not even vote for good
bills if you think it's going to lower your scorecard score.
Speaker 9 (18:21):
But Tony is courageous. He doesn't care, and he says,
you know what, I'm gonna do a lot of people
don't understand your bill. I'm gonna go to the back mic.
And so I know that people thought hell froze over
when tenderholt and he was paying attention, I didn't have
to go tell him. He charged to the back like
I guess soldiers do, and he was like, I'm gonna
(18:43):
just cut to the chase and I'm gonna save you
some time. And he explained HB four thirteen, which is
now sitting on the Governor's desk. And so I just
want to thank Tony because that is actually criminal justice reform.
Senator Huffman carried it on the other side, and so
I respect the Republican that Tony is.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
We don't agree on everything.
Speaker 9 (19:03):
In fact, most times we don't agree with each other,
but in this place, we've got to figure out a
way to find common ground. Whatever that common ground is,
it may not be a lot, but that's what's gonna
be best for Texas. So I will miss you, Tony,
and now I've just got to figure out who's got.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Influence like you do.
Speaker 9 (19:22):
Moving forward, I mean, if I stay here. So anyway,
thank you. I'm really glad to know you.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Thank you for exciting.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
The chair recognized this, Miss Marilla Shaw, Thank you, mister speaker.
Speaker 10 (19:41):
Members, Tony, you've made a hard decision today, but I
know that it's one that you've thought out and that
you feel good, and it sits in your heart right.
I know that because five years ago, when I was
a new member, I went down my hall to meet
my hall neighbor and I was fortunate that you were
(20:02):
there with your children and your wife, and we had
a good conversation. And I'm glad that we have that
conversation that day because ever since then, I've known that
if Tony got up to the mic front or back,
that he has researched, he has thought out, and he
has come to a good conclusion about what he's talking about.
And therefore I could always rely on the words that
(20:24):
came out of his mouth to be worth considering strongly.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
You have.
Speaker 10 (20:33):
Brought integrity, responsibility, and just thoughtful consideration to this body
and you have been Thank you for making it easy
to work with you, and you have made the Texas
House a better place because of your presence, and I
just want to thank you and thank you for being
(20:54):
a friend.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Thank you, Chare recognizes, mister Harrison, thank you, mister speaker.
Speaker 5 (21:04):
Members, I just wanted to say thank you Tony Tenderholt
right there right here, give missus tenderhold around of applause.
Please let me get right to the point. The state
(21:31):
of Texas and the Texas House is better because Tony
Tenderholt served in this chamber, and Tony, in front of
all these people, I want to say thank you for
your contribution to the state of Texas. I've been proud
to serve her people alongside you, and I regret that
we will not be able to do so in the
same capacity moving forward.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Thank you, my friend, mister Dutton, for what purpose.
Speaker 11 (21:56):
I wanted to talk to Tony tenderhope.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Chare recognizes mister Tenderhole.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I'll yield for questions question I was going to talk about.
Speaker 11 (22:06):
You, mister speaker. I just want all the members to
know that all of us come from different backgrounds and
so it's not a matter of where we are when
we come. It's a matter of whether or not we grow.
And I will tell you that I've watched Tony Tenderhole
(22:29):
when he came to this legislature and now that he's leaving,
I think there's a message for all of us, and
that is we should continue to grow, grow in our jobs,
grow in our perspectives. And I've watched you do that, Tony,
and I just wanted to say thank you on behalf
of all the legislators here because I'm number three in
(22:53):
seniority and I've never seen a legislator grow as much
as Tony Tenderhole. And so with that, let me congratulate you.
Let me thank you for setting the pace for all
of us here so that we can somehow another manage
to do better for Texas. And I think you've done that,
(23:16):
and my hat's off to you. Congratulations to you and
your family, and I'll look forward to the next Tony Tenderholt.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Well before you leave, I told him, I keep it short,
but I was going to mention you in my speech,
and we were trying to keep it shorter. I want
to share something really brief this session. I wanted to
teach these freshmen to not make some of the same
mistakes I may have made early. But you may not
remember this. You were going to be in the speech
in my first point of order I ever did. You
sat right next to me across the aisle, and you
(23:50):
saw me digging for the point order, and you told
me it was it was chapter four, and you eventually
even told me what page. And I leaned over to
you and I said, why are you doing this for
me when you're actually this is a point of order
against stuff that you're supporting. And you told me. We're colleagues,
and I want you to look smart when you go
up there, and I beat you now that there's there's
(24:12):
but there's a lesson in that, right. The lesson is.
The lesson is you saw democrats come up, you saw Republicans,
and the lesson is we are colleagues, and we are family,
and we're going to fight, and we're going to argue,
and then we're going to go in the members lounge
and we're gonna make up, and we're going to come
out and maybe argue or be together. But that was
one of the very first lessons I learned was from you.
(24:32):
You taught me how to fight against you. It was
a bill that you were going to be upfront for
that I was calling a point of order and you
taught me and showed me, and you made me look
on the right page, and you didn't want me to
look silly.
Speaker 11 (24:45):
Well, thank thank you, Thank you for that. Tony. I
just I just wanted you to grow to be the
Tony tend to.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Hope you are well. Thank you. I appreciate you well.
Speaker 11 (24:53):
Thank you, Tony. Thank you for your service here.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
It is that love and respect everybody. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
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(25:24):
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Podcast is produced by Ramon Roeblis, The King of Ding.
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(25:48):
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(26:11):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
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man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(26:36):
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