Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives on Saturday and has been temporarily suspended pending a trial in the Senate.
The House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton based on an investigation into allegations of corruption. Paxton is facing 20 articles of impeachment stemming from complaints centering around violating whistleblower laws.
Paxton reacted to the House's impeachment vote by saying it was “illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust."
Paxton is just the third official in Texas history to be impeached. The last time an official was impeached was in 1975 when Judge O.P. Carillo was impeached for misusing county assets and funds for his own use.
Paxton Lynch has been one of the most effective attorney generals in the nation. He has been active in fighting back against the Biden administration and its open border policies.
So when news broke that the Texas House might impeach him, many conservatives were shocked. Prominent figures like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former President Donald Trump have all come to Paxton's defense.
Trump took to Truth Social to say, "Free Ken Paxton." He also addressed the Republicans in the Texas House, saying, "I will fight you," if they went ahead with impeaching Paxton.
Senator Cruz called the entire process “a travesty" and said that the legal battles Paxton has been fighting should stay in the court system.
In fact, some speculate that figures in the Texas Republican Party are using Paxton's legal battle as an excuse to remove someone that has been too good at his job.
Ken Paxton has done more to fight back against the left than most Republicans and there seems to be strong resentment over that. Furthermore, Paxton wasn't interested in politics and was willing to blow things up, something establishment Republicans hate.
Attorney General Ken Paxton recently called for Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign after videos emerged showing Phelan presiding over the House "in an obviously intoxicated state."
Just one week later, Phelan and the Republican-held House impeached Paxton, yet there has been no accountability for Phelan's behavior. The timing certainly raises questions and it's worth wondering if this impeachment is simply Phelan getting revenge and removing a political enemy.
A statement from Paxton on the issues said, "After much consideration, it is with profound disappointment that I call on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign at the end of this legislative session. Texans were dismayed to witness his performance presiding over the Texas House in a state of apparent debilitating intoxication. His conduct has negatively impacted the legislative process and constitutes a failure to live up to his duty to the public."
We may be seeing a political coup in Texas; if so, it is a grim reminder that even in reliably Republican states, conservative warriors will find themselves hamstrung by the establishment Republican Party that has no interest in real change.
