Cody Vasut

Texas legislator

Cody Vasut

Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 25th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2021
Preceded by	Dennis Bonnen

Personal details
Born	Cody Thane Vasut (1987-08-13) August 13, 1987 (age 36) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kate Samuel
Children	3
Residence(s)	Angleton, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	Texas A&M University (BBA, MS) University of Houston Law Center (JD)
Occupation	Attorney
Website	https://www.votevasut.com/

Cody Thane Vasut (born August 13, 1987)^[1] is an American politician. He has represented the 25th District in the Texas House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Vasut also works as an attorney.^[2]

Early life, education, and career

Born in Houston to John and Pella Vasut.^[3] Vasut grew up in Brazoria County, Texas, where he then graduated from Angleton High School. He then went on to attend Texas A&M University, where he received a BBA and a MS in Management. As an undergraduate, Vasut was the 37th speaker of the Texas A&M student senate.^[4] Vasut later earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center in 2012.^[5]

Career

From 2012 to 2022, he worked as an associate attorney for BakerHostetler in Houston.^[6] He was a councilmember for the city of Angleton from May 2016 to May 2020. During his time as councilmember, he voted to lower the property tax rate to the city to its lowest in decades, he also brought prayer into the meetings.^[2]

Vasut filed in 2019 to run for the Texas House of Representatives District 25 seat held by Dennis Bonnen, who announced in late 2019 that he would not seek re-election for the 87th legislature.^[7] Vasut won the 2020 election for the seat against Democrat Patrick Henry with 71% of the vote in November 2020.^[8] Governor Greg Abbott had endorsed Vasut prior to the election.^[9]

Vasut is among the most conservative members of the Texas House.^[10] He is a member of the Texas Freedom Caucus, a faction of hardline conservative legislators.^[11] Analysis of voting records by Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy analysis of voting records found that Vasut was the fifth-most right-wing member of the Texas House in 2021,^[12] and the third-most right-wing member of the Texas House (after Jared Patterson and Briscoe Cain) in 2023.^[13]

In 2022, amid a school voucher debate in Texas, Vasut filed a bill for the state to reimburse parents for private school tuition.^[14] In 2023, Vasut authored an amendment to the state budget to allocate $80 million in state funds to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers; the amendment passed along party lines.^[15]

In 2023, Vasut served as one of the twelve House impeachment managers (consisting of seven Republicans and five Democrats) charged with prosecuting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during his impeachment trial.^[10]

Vasut supports a ban on Democrats being given committee chairmanships as long as the Republicans hold the majority of seats in the Texas House.^[16]

References

^ "Cody Vasut's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Morrison, Haley (February 20, 2020). "2020 Primary Election Guide Q&A: Get to know the Republican candidates for Texas House District 25". Community Impact. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^ "Samuel-Vasut". Brazosport Facts. March 18, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ "Former Speakers of Student Senate". Student Government Association at Texas A&M. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ "University of Houston Law Center – Briefcase 2013" (PDF). University of Houston Law Center. 32 (1): 48. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ Jacqueline Thomsen, Texas lawmaker leaves BakerHostetler for new law firm after proposal to penalize abortion aid, Reuters (August 18, 2022).
^ Wiseman, Todd (November 8, 2019). "Secret recordings in Texas: A brief history of some Capitol controversies". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ "2020 Texas State Election Results". fox26houston.com. November 3, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ "Governor Abbott Endorses Cody Vasut For State Representative Of House District 25". gregabbott.com. September 14, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Robert Downen & Alejandro Serrano, Meet the Texas House impeachment managers who are taking aim at Ken Paxton, Texas Tribune (June 1, 2023).
^ Patrick Svitek & Cassandra Pollock, Four years in, the Freedom Caucus finds a less contentious role in the Texas House, Texas Tribune (February 3, 2021).
^ Mark P. Jones, Analysis: The 2021 Texas House, from left to right, Texas Tribune (June 15, 2021).
^ Mark P. Jones, Analysis: The 2023 Texas House, from right to left, Texas Tribune (June 20, 2023).
^ Brian Lopez, Some Republicans are optimistic about enacting school choice in next year's session — but it might not be so easy, Texas Tribune (November 28, 2022).
^ Karen Brooks Harper & Zach Despart, Texas House approves $302.6 billion state budget with tax cuts and teacher and state employee raises, Texas Tribune (April 6, 2023).
^ Johnson, Brad. The Back Mic: Legislators Opposed to Democratic Chairs Listed, Rep. Moody Quells DA Appointment Rumors, House Rules Discussed, The Texan, December 9, 2022.