Why Texas House wants to impeach AG Paxton
— After years of legal and ethical scandals swirling around Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives has moved toward a Saturday impeachment vote that could quickly throw him from office.
The extraordinary and rarely used maneuver comes in the final days of the state’s legislative session and sets up a bruising political fight. It pits Paxton, who has aligned himself closely with former President Donald Trump and the state’s hard-right conservatives, against House Republican leadership, who appear to have suddenly had enough of the allegations of wrongdoing that have long dogged Texas’ top lawyer.
Paxton is fighting it every step of the way, calling the entire process “corrupt.” He asked supporters to rally for him at the state Capitol during Saturday’s vote.
Here is how the impeachment process works in Texas, and how the 60-year-old Republican came to face the prospect of becoming just the third official to be impeached in the state’s nearly 200-year history:
The process
Under the Texas Constitution and law, impeaching a state official is similar to the process on the federal level: the action starts in the state House.
In this case, the five-member House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously Thursday to send 20 articles of impeachment to the full chamber. The next step is a vote by the 149-member House, which the committee scheduled for today.
Paxton faces grim legislative math. A simple majority is needed to impeach. That means only a fraction of the House’s 85 Republican members would need to vote against Paxton, if all 64 Democrats did.
The House can call witnesses to testify, but the investigating committee already did that prior to recommending impeachment. Over several hours Wednesday, investigators delivered an extraordinary public airing of Paxton’s years of scandal and alleged lawbreaking.
Today’s floor debate and vote is expected to last about five hours.
If the full House impeaches Paxton, everything shifts to the state Senate for a “trial” to decide whether to permanently remove Paxton from office, or acquit him. Removal requires a twothirds majority vote.
A sudden threat
But there is a major difference between Texas and the federal system: If the House votes to impeach, Paxton is immediately suspended from office until the outcome of the Senate trial. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott would appoint an interim replacement.
The GOP in Texas controls every branch of state government. Republican lawmakers and leaders alike have until this week taken a muted posture toward the the myriad examples of Paxton’s misconduct and alleged law breaking that emerged in legal filings and news reports over the years.
In February, Paxton agreed to settle a whistleblower lawsuit brought by former aides who accused him of corruption.
The $3.3 million payout must be approved by the House and Republican Speaker Dade Phelan has said he doesn’t think taxpayers should foot the bill.
Shortly after the settlement was reached, the House investigation into Paxton began.
“We cannot over-emphasize the fact that, but for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment by the House,” the investigative committee wrote in a Friday memo.
The scene
While the vote happens inside the House chamber, Paxton has called for his supporters statewide to descend on the Capitol and demonstrate peacefully.
“Exercise your right to petition your government. Let’s restore the power of this great state to the people, instead of the politicians,” Paston said.
The request echoed Trump’s call for people to protest his electoral defeat on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Paxton spoke at the rally in Washington that day before the insurrection.
A few hours before the impeachment vote, Gov. Abbott, who has stayed quiet about it, is scheduled to make a Memorial Day address to lawmakers in the House chamber.
The Capitol and the House gallery have been the site of boisterous demonstrations over gun and LGBTQ+ rights legislation in recent weeks. Hundreds of state police troopers cleared the gallery and Capitol rotunda after protests erupted over a bill to ban transgender medical care for minors.
Republicans investigate Republican
The five-member committee that mounted the investigation of Paxton is led by his fellow Republicans, contrasting America’s most prominent recent examples of impeachment.
Trump’s federal impeachments in 2020 and 2021 were driven by Democrats who had majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives. In both cases, the impeachment charges approved by the House failed in the Senate, where Republicans had enough votes to block conviction.
In Texas, Republicans control both chambers by large majorities and the state’s GOP leaders hold all levers of influence. That hasn’t stopped Paxton from seeking to rally a partisan defense.
When the House investigation emerged Tuesday, Paxton suggested it was a political attack by Phelan. He called for the “liberal” speaker’s resignation and accused him of being drunk during a marathon session last Friday.
Phelan’s office brushed off the accusation as Paxton attempting to “save face.”
None of the state’s other top elected Republicans have voiced support for Paxton since. But the chairman of the state party came to Paxton’s defense Friday, issuing a statement calling the impeachment effort a “sham” based on “allegations already litigated by voters.”
Republican Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi said they would rely on the “principled leadership of the Texas Senate to restore sanity and reason.”