Joseph Richard Straus III (born September 1, 1959) is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A Republican, he represented District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar County, including part of San Antonio, Texas, and several surrounding communities from his first election to the House in 2005 until his retirement in 2019. He chose not to seek re-election to the state House in 2018.