Brian Harrison | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the 10th district | |
| Assumed office October 12, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Jake Ellzey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brian Edward Harrison (1982-05-19)May 19, 1982 (age 43) Midlothian, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Texas A&M University (BA) |
Brian Edward Harrison (born May 19, 1982) is an American government official who has represented the 10th district in theTexas House of Representatives since winning aspecial election for the seat in 2021. He previously served as chief of staff of theUnited States Department of Health and Human Services and ran for theUnited States House of Representatives in the2021 special election forTexas's 6th congressional district, gaining 10.8% of the vote and placing fourth in a field of 23 candidates.[1] The election was won by state representativeJake Ellzey. Harrison ran in and won the ensuing special election for Ellzey's state house seat on September 28, 2021.
A graduate ofOvilla Christian School,[2] Harrison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics fromTexas A&M University.[3]
From 2005 to 2009, Harrison held positions at theDepartment of Health and Human Services,Social Security Administration,United States Department of Defense, andOffice of the Vice President of the United States during thePresidency of George W. Bush.[3][4][5]
After leaving government service in 2009, he was the director of healthcare practice at theDCI Group, a public affairs consulting group.[4][6][7] In 2011, he was a delegate at the annual American-German Young Leaders Conference organized by the American Council on Germany.[6] Harrison then worked at his father's homebuilding business, Harrison Homes.[4] From 2012 to 2018 he owned and operated aDallas, Texas, dog-breeding business called Dallas Labradoodles.[5][8][9]
During thePresidency of Donald Trump, Harrison was appointed deputy chief of staff in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and promoted to chief of staff when his predecessor departed in June 2019.[10] Harrison coordinated the HHS early response to theCOVID-19 pandemic before those responsibilities were transferred toRobert Kadlec in February 2020.[11] According to Harrison, he worked “closely” with Dr.Anthony Fauci and was "an integral leader of the development ofOperation Warp Speed."[12][13]
In February 2021, Harrison was reported to be exploring running for thespecial election inTexas's 6th congressional district after the death of incumbentRon Wright.[14] On March 1, 2021, Harrison officially declared his candidacy.[15][16] Harrison came in fourth place in the special election with 10.81% of the vote.[17][18]
Two months later on August 9, 2021, Harrison announced his candidacy for theTexas House of Representatives District 10special election to replaceJake Ellzey, who vacated the district seat after winning the Texas's 6th congressional district special election, the one Harrison ran for in May.[19][20] The special election was held on August 31, 2021, and Harrison placed first with 41 percent of the vote with 4,613 votes andJohn Wray placed second with 36 percent of the vote with 4,031 votes. Harrison and Wray would later face each other in a runoff election.[21] The runoff was held on September 28, 2021, and Harrison defeated Wray 55.38% to 44.62%.[22]
On May 27, 2023, Harrison voted against impeachingAttorney GeneralKen Paxton.[23] Paxton was ultimately acquitted of all charges following the trial in thestate senate.[24]
After the 88th legislative session, Harrison, in addition to others such as Texas GovernorGreg Abbott, was one of the most vocal supporters of the campaign to replace ideologically opposed Republicans using the votes in the Paxton impeachment and the issue ofprivate school vouchers as litmus tests for whether certain members were truly conservative.[25][26] Ultimately 15 Republican incumbents were ousted in2024 primary with new ideologically aligned Republicans.[27][28]
During the race for Texas Speaker of the House in the lead up to the 89th legislative session Harrison supported candidateDavid Cook who ran on the issue of banning members of the minority party, in this case Democrats, from receiving committee chairmanships in the Texas House.[29][30] Cook lost the speaker's race in the second round toDustin Burrows.[31]
On April 1, 2025, Harrison attempted to remove Speaker Burrows from his post by making amotion to vacate the chair. He cited the changes of House rules regarding democrat vice-chairs on committee and an alleged prioritization of democratic legislative policies as the reason for his motion. Burrows refused to recognize Harrison for the motion stating that the motion “must be raised by resolution”.[32][33] On April 8, Harrison filed the resolution and it was put before the House the next day. The subsequent debate was swiftly shut down on a vote of 141-2. Only Harrison and Rep.David Lowe voted to continue debate.[34]
In September 2025, Harrison shared a series of videos and audio recordings online which showed discussions between a student and faculty at Texas A&M University. In one of the videos a student confronts the instructor, Dr. Melissa McCoul, about her teaching of issues related togender identity featured in the children's bookJude Saves the World[35] during a summer course on children’s literature.[36] The video sparked a pressure campaign which eventually resulted in McCoul being fired for teaching content “that did not align with any reasonable expectation of the standard curriculum”.[37] As Harrison released more recordings and other state officials like GovernorGreg Abbott became involved more faculty were removed from their positions[38] and ultimately Texas A&M University PresidentMark Welsh resigned.[39][40][41][42]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Susan Wright | 15,021 | 19.21 | |
| Republican | Jake Ellzey | 10,851 | 13.85 | |
| Democratic | Jana Sanchez | 10,497 | 13.39 | |
| Republican | Brian Harrison | 8,476 | 10.81 | |
| Democratic | Shawn Lassiter | 6,964 | 8.89 | |
| Republican | John Anthony Castro | 4,321 | 5.51 | |
| Democratic | Tammy Allison Holloway | 4,238 | 5.41 | |
| Democratic | Lydia Bean | 2,920 | 3.73 | |
| Republican | Michael Wood | 2,503 | 3.19 | |
| Republican | Michael Ballantine | 2,224 | 2.84 | |
| Republican | Dan Rodimer | 2,086 | 2.66 | |
| Democratic | Daryl J. Eddings Sr. | 1,652 | 2.11 | |
| Republican | Mike Egan | 1,543 | 1.97 | |
| Democratic | Patrick Moses | 1,189 | 1.52 | |
| Democratic | Manuel R. Salazar III | 1,119 | 1.43 | |
| Republican | Sery Kim | 888 | 1.13 | |
| Republican | Travis Rodermund | 460 | 0.59 | |
| Independent | Adrian Mizher | 351 | 0.45 | |
| Democratic | Brian K. Stephenson | 271 | 0.35 | |
| Libertarian | Phil Gray | 265 | 0.34 | |
| Democratic | Matthew Hinterlong | 252 | 0.32 | |
| Republican | Jennifer Garcia Sharon | 150 | 0.19 | |
| Democratic | Chris Suprun | 102 | 0.13 | |
| Total votes | 78,374 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brian Harrison | 4,613 | 40.70 | |
| Republican | John Wray | 4,031 | 35.57 | |
| Democratic | Pierina Otiniano | 1,281 | 11.30 | |
| Republican | Kevin Griffin | 883 | 7.79 | |
| Republican | Clark Wickliffe | 351 | 3.10 | |
| Independent | Scott Goodwin | 107 | 0.94 | |
| Republican | Susan Mellina Hayslip | 37 | 0.33 | |
| Libertarian | Matt Savino | 31 | 0.27 | |
| Total votes | 11,426 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brian Harrison | 6,717 | 55.38 | |
| Republican | John Wray | 5,412 | 44.62 | |
| Total votes | 11,334 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Republican | Brian Harrison (incumbent) | 13,325 | 100.0 | ||
| Total votes | 13,325 | 100.0 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Republican | Brian Harrison (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Brian Harrison (incumbent) | 16,282 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 16,282 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Brian Harrison (incumbent) | 68,706 | 98.67 | |
| Write-in | 928 | 1.34 | ||
| Total votes | 69,634 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
Harrison was married to Tara Napier in 2011.[49] She worked at the White House during theBush administration in 2007 and at theOffice of the Secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2011 before being hired byBP as communications manager in December 2011.[49] She became head of corporate affairs in 2019. Harrison and Napier have four children.[49] Harrison's father, Ed Harrison, ran forU.S. Congress inTexas's 24th congressional district in 1994 and 1996 against DemocratMartin Frost and for state Senate against RepublicanKip Averitt in 2002, losing all three.[50]
I am honored to be able to use my experience, as President Trump's Chief of Staff for the Department of Health and Human Services and as an integral leader of the development of Operation Warp Speed
Fortunately, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and someone I worked with closely, has publicly contradicted this.
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