Charles Schwertner

Charles Schwertner
President pro tempore of the Texas Senate
Assumed office
May 29, 2023
Preceded byKelly Hancock
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 5th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2013
Preceded bySteve Ogden
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 20th district
In office
January 11, 2011 – January 8, 2013
Preceded byDan Gattis
Succeeded byMarsha Farney
Personal details
Born
Charles Jeffrey Schwertner

(1970-05-29) May 29, 1970 (age 54)
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBelinda
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin (BS)
University of Texas Medical Branch (MD)
Signature
WebsiteCampaign website

Charles Jeffrey Schwertner (born May 29, 1970)[1][2] is an American orthopedic surgeon and politician from Georgetown, Texas. He has served in the Texas State Senate since November 6, 2012, after having represented House District 20 in the Texas House of Representatives for a single term beginning in January 2011.[3] He is a Republican.

As a member of the Texas Senate, Schwertner serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce.[4] He is currently a member of the Senate Committees on Education, Finance, State Affairs, and the HHS Transition Legislative Oversight Committee.[5] Schwertner also chairs the Sunset Advisory Commission, a 12-member body of legislators and public members that periodically reviews function and operations of more than 130 state agencies.[6]

Schwertner was named one of the "Worst Legislators" in Texas by Texas Monthly magazine in 2015 and 2017 calling him “mean-spirited and insecure” and citing an incident where he "silenced an abortion rights witness by slamming his gavel down so hard that it broke the glass tabletop of his desk."[7][8]

  1. ^ "State Senator Charles J. Schwertner's Statistics". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  2. ^ "Austin police arrest Texas senator on DWI charge, records show". KXAN Austin. 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  3. ^ "Senator Charles J. Schwertner's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  4. ^ "The Texas State Senate – Senate Committee on Business & Commerce". senate.texas.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  5. ^ Services, Texas Senate Media. "The Texas State Senate: District 5". www.schwertner.senate.state.tx.us. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  6. ^ "Home | Texas Sunset Advisory Commission". www.sunset.texas.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  7. ^ Ratcliffe, RG (July 1, 2017). "The Best and Worst Legislators 2015". Texas Monthly. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Ratcliffe, RG (July 1, 2015). "The Best and Worst Legislators 2017". Texas Monthly. Retrieved February 7, 2023.