AUSTIN (Texas) — A historic trial to determine if Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton will be permanently removed from his office in Texas is set to begin in August at the State Senate. The jury that determines his future may include his wife Sen. Angela Paxton.
The last order of business for lawmakers was to set a schedule. This came at the end of a tense legislative session this year in Texas.
It drags Republicans – who have for years pushed Texas to the right in a fast-changing state – into a summer filled with unfinished business and sour feelings, which are likely to spill over into the 2024 elections.
Also, the stakes are high for Republican Governor Greg Abbott. Greg Abbott was unable to get his agenda passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature in time. He called the lawmakers back almost immediately for the first “several special sessions” in the coming month.
Paxton was not mentioned in his announcement. Abbott has been silent about Paxton since the impeachment process began last week.
Paxton is at the heart of the controversy in the Texas Capitol. The GOP-controlled House impeached him over the weekend, on charges of bribery and misusing office. This follows nearly a decade’s worth of scandals and criminal allegations that have plagued the state’s top attorney. The state Senate has set an Aug. 28 start date for the trial. He is suspended pending that.
The session concluded with 12 House members walking across the building to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate. There are 31 senators that could serve as jurors.
Angela Paxton is one of the complicating factors. She hasn’t spoken out since her husband was impeached or stated whether she would recuse herself. When approached by The Associated Press Monday outside the Senate Chamber, she declined to comment.
Andrew Murr (a Republican state representative) is the chairman of the House Investigation. He also refused to comment if Angela Paxton should participate.
Murr stated, “We will handle this process with all the reverence and weight it requires and deserves.”
The impeachment marked a dramatic end to the 140 day legislative session in Texas.
Instead of a smooth victory this spring, Republicans fought for months over promises to reduce property taxes and to provide vouchers to students in public schools, but they failed to deliver on either before the deadline.
Abbott was silent at the end of the session. He could also name an interim attorney general, but has not made any public comments about Paxton since the impeachment process began last week.
Paxton has been defended by activists from the hard-right of the GOP and Donald Trump, former president, who is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024. Trump posted over the weekend on his social media platforms that the governor “was missing in action!”
The failure to keep promises made at the Texas state Capitol, in a state in which Republicans have controlled all levers of power for decades and used this dominance to place Texas in front of the nation in controversial measures restricting abortion and immigration, showed that they don’t always act in lockstep.
Brandon Rottinghaus is a professor of Political Science at the University of Houston. He said that there are battle lines within the Republican Party. “I don’t think that they are ideological.” You could interpret this as the House being tired of being pressed by extreme right-wing Republicans and that this is their attempt to put up some barriers.
Texas is not a new place for rifts. Republicans have also passed a number of conservative-friendly measures, such as banning gender affirming care, or offices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the state’s colleges and universities.
The new laws also forced Harris County, which is the third largest county in the country and the biggest in Texas controlled by Democrats. They were required to fire their election administrator, and opened the door for state officials taking greater control of their elections.
Paxton was impeached for the first time in Texas’s nearly 200 year history. He has called the House probe that led to his impeachment corrupt and denied any wrongdoing. He faces a slew of allegations, including an indictment for securities fraud and accusations that he misused his office to try and thwart a FBI investigation of one of his donors.
House Speaker DadePhelan said to the chamber, “I am not proud of what happened this week.” “I’m not proud of it.” It was not my proudest moment. “It was only right.”
