TEXAS — While some business leaders are praising the choice to open up Texas 100%, the pushback continues against Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to loosen pandemic restrictions in Texas. Some argue it was a move rooted in politics and not science. It turns out, not all of the governor’s four chief medical advisers were part of the decision.

Coming on the heels of a devastating winter storm and criticism of state leadership, some are questioning the timing of Abbott’s orders ending the statewide mask mandate. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins believes it was an attempt to shift people’s focus and called it “unfortunate,” because he believes ending the rules will lead to more people getting sick and hospitalized.

“It was Texas Independence Day and he wanted to play on to his conservative base. Okay? If you want to know what you can get away with, listen to Gov. Abbott. If you want to know what you can do to keep your family and your community as strong as possible, so that together we can beat COVID, listen to me and the doctors,” Jenkins told Spectrum News 1.

During a virtual news conference Wednesday morning, local leaders in Austin and Travis County were also quick to criticize the governor.

"There is no explanation for the governor's action other than trying to distract us and the media from the failure of the state to protect us from the power outage," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said.

But according to Abbott’s press secretary, Renae Eze, he intended to make the announcement on February 22, but the winter storm delayed delivery of additional vaccines, adding the decision hinged upon vaccine distribution. In a statement to Capital Tonight, Eze said the governor speaks regularly with Dr. John Hellerstedt, the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services, and Dr. John Zerwas, vice chancellor for the University of Texas Health System. Both serve as Abbott’s chief medical advisers.

“All were in agreement that Texans should continue following medical advice and safe standards on preventing COVID-19 to protect themselves and their loved ones, just like they do on other medical issues. As the governor mentioned [Tuesday], COVID-19 has not suddenly disappeared. Removing state mandates does not end personal responsibility or the importance of caring for family members, friends, and your community,” Eze said.

Speaking virtually Wednesday before the Texas House Committee on Public Health, Hellerstedt assured state lawmakers he and the governor are on the same page regarding mask-wearing and physical distancing. When asked if the governor consulted with him on his decision to lift the statewide mask order, Hellerstedt said he has daily conversations with the governor’s staff about public health trends and said what changed was the government’s mandate but the “strong message about public health and prevention would persist.”

When asked to clarify if those discussions were directly with the governor prior to the announcement, Hellerstedt said spoke with Abbott’s team but that he “did not have a personal conversation” with the governor himself before his announcement.

Abbott’s press secretary did not mention the other medical advisers, Dr. Mark McClellan, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Parker Hudson, assistant professor of internal medicine and infectious diseases at Dell Medical School. Spectrum News 1 confirmed McClellan was not consulted and reportedly Hudson was not involved as well.

“I don’t think this is the right time. Texas has been making some real progress but it’s too soon for full reopening and to stop masking around others,” McClellan said in a statement to Spectrum News 1.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, believes the end of the mask mandate and full reopening of Texas serve as baseline moments for Abbott, who is up for re-election in November of next year.

“This is really the kind of beginning point for his reelection campaign. If people look back a year from now and say that the economy didn't get that much better and that the health crisis continued, then it's going to be a real political liability for him,” Rottinghaus said.

Considering there is more than a year until the gubernatorial election, Rottinghaus said Abbott has time to raise money, rally support from Republicans and see the potential economic gains as vaccine distribution ramps up in Texas. Rottinghaus said he believes Abbott does not want to be the last big Republican-led state with coronavirus restrictions in place.

“Texas and Florida are in competition for who can open up the fastest, who can be the most small government in what is otherwise a sort of big government moment. This is definitely a political issue, because all of the science tells us that the right thing to do is to have people continued to wear masks. The politics of this obviously complicate things and that's really what we're seeing here,” Rottinghaus said.

Meanwhile, as the state works on getting more people their COVID-19 shots, Jenkins and other local leaders argue ignoring the advice of health professionals would be a liability for the state, considering only a fraction of Texans are fully vaccinated.

“There's not a doctor in Texas who is not an employee of Greg Abbott who would agree that it's a good idea to stop wearing a mask right now,’’ Jenkins said.