49 Texas GOP precinct chairs voted unsuccessfully to oust Tarrant County GOP vice chair because he's Muslim
The Republican Party in the last conservative urban county in Texas, Tarrant County, voted Thursday night not to remove trauma surgeon Shahid Shafi as vice chairman of the county GOP because he is Muslim. The GOP precinct chairs voted against ousting Shafi 139-49 after a months-long campaign by some local party members, starting soon after Shafi was appointed vice chairman in July. "As an immigrant to this great country, I am honored and privileged to receive the support of my fellow Republicans," Shafi said after the vote.
Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Darl Easton said "religious liberty won tonight," and while the conclusion of "this unfortunate episode" is "great day for the Republican Party of Tarrant County, that victory also serves notice that we have much work to do unifying our party." Former Tarrant County precinct chair Sara Levgold — who is not Muslim but wore a burqa to the meeting to "represent the Islamization of our county, our state, and our country" — disagreed. She complained that Muslims in the workplace "demand they're able to wear their hijab and demand they get a prayer room," adding, "When was the last time a Christian was allowed to have a separate place to say their prayers?"
GOP leaders in Texas had condemned the push to oust Shafi, and Levgold said critics have "said nothing but horrible things about us — that we're bigots and Islamophobes and white supremacists — when we're just patriots who care for our country." Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, narrowly voted for Democrat Beto O'Rourke over Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in November and flipped several GOP Texas House and Senate seats in the area.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘Let 2026 be a year of reckoning’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why is Iran facing its biggest protests in years?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Iranians are taking to the streets as a growing movement of civic unrest threatens a fragile stability
-
How prediction markets have spread to politicsThe explainer Everything’s a gamble
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
