Texas Gov. Greg Abbott remains silent on potential AG impeachment

Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton during a Texas Public Policy Foundation gathering in 2018. (Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune)

Editor's note, May 27: The latest updates on Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment proceedings in the Texas House are here. This page is no longer being updated.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott remains silent on AG Ken Paxton debacle

May 26, 2023 at 5:54 p.m.

Gov. Greg Abbott is staying silent on the potential impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas House on Saturday.

More than 24 hours after a House committee unanimously recommended impeachment, Abbott’s office has not responded to requests for comment on the situation. The full House intends to start debating the impeachment resolution at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Abbott could soon have a major choice to make. If the House votes to impeach, then Paxton would be immediately suspended from office, giving Abbott the option to appoint someone to temporarily fill the vacancy.

Abbott himself is a former attorney general, preceding Paxton in the seat. He has largely avoided extensively commenting on Paxton’s legal problems over the years.

The governor never took sides in Paxton’s hotly contested Republican primary last year. But going into the contest, he said Paxton was doing a “very effective job” as attorney general.

— Patrick Svitek