AUSTIN, Texas — After Twitter flagged him for “hateful conduct,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton dug in on his decision to deny the gender identity of the nation’s highest-ranking transgender official.
Adm. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary of health and a transgender woman, was recently named a woman of the year by USA Today. In a statement Paxton tweeted and sent to campaign supporters, the attorney general reiterated that he refuses to acknowledge Levine as a woman because he was following “science.”
Locked in a competitive bid for reelection, Paxton’s comments come on the heels of the state’s controversial decision to launch child abuse investigations into the families of transgender youth.
“This whole insane episode represents a two-pronged attack from the left — both of which I’m vigorously fighting against,” Paxton wrote. “First is the left’s war against human biology, and especially against women. Second is their weaponization of Big Tech against conservative voices.”
He added he was “exploring legal options” against Twitter.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Levine’s employer, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Paxton, a Republican, has fought for years against expanding the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and, in particular, transgender people.
This episode with Levine, however, appears to be Paxton’s first time openly denying the existence of transgender identities altogether. His statement built on his tweet from Thursday, in which he called Levine a man. That tweet was flagged for violating Twitter’s rules but was left up because the social media site determined it may be in the public’s interest.
A spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment on Paxton’s stance on transgender identity and rights.
The timing is notable because Paxton — who is in the midst of a contentious reelection campaign against a fellow Republican — was also the impetus behind the state’s recent decision to target the families of transgender children.
A week before the March 1 primary election, Paxton issued an opinion that classified certain kinds of gender affirming medical treatments for trans minors as child abuse. Based on that interpretation, Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies to investigate any reports of such care.
Child protective services have launched at least nine probes in response. The family of a trans teenager targeted by the state is now suing to halt these investigations.
Paxton cited science in his denial of Levine’s gender identity. Yet he has rejected assertions from the nation and state’s largest medical groups that gender affirming medical treatments are safe and at times necessary care for trans youth and adults.
The attorney general has also been frequently at odds with some in the scientific community during the pandemic. Paxton sued over businesses and school districts having mask mandates to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Paxton, no friend of social media giants, has gone after tech companies like Twitter and Facebook on allegations they conservative speech and infringe on user privacy. Last year, he agreed to stop blocking constituents on Twitter after several Texans sued him.
He may even be courting a reprimand from Twitter, which could help him with conservative voters in his bid for re-election. Other elected officials have seen their accounts suspended for similar comments, including an Indiana congressman who also went after Levine last year.
Paxton will face off against Land Commissioner George P. Bush in the GOP runoff on May 24. Re-elected to a second term in 2018, Paxton has been under active indictment for alleged securities fraud for nearly seven years and also faces an unrelated FBI bribery investigation.
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