Conviction requires a two-thirds vote, meaning 21 of the chamber’s 31 members. Nineteen of those lawmakers are Republicans, including Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, who was seated for the trial but will not be allowed to vote.in May after he requested $3.3 million in state funding to settle a lawsuit by senior aides-turned-whistleblowers. It was a stunning upset at the hands of fellow Republicans that forced him from office pending the Senate trial.
A three-term attorney general endorsed by former president Donald Trump and reelected last year by a wide margin, Paxton is only the third official to be impeached since Texas became a state in 1845. Some have seen the trial as a referendum not only on his brand of populist conservatism but on Trump.
“There will be more national implications if he survives this than if he doesn’t,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.Highlighting the stakes, Trump and prominent conservatives such as Rep. Matt Gaetz have publicly lobbied for Paxton. Trump posted on Truth Social late Wednesday, calling him “one of the TOUGHEST & BEST Attorney Generals in the Country and dismissing the “shameful” attempt to undo his reelection.
Activists backing Paxton discussed on social media which GOP senators might be swing votes — some already face primary challenges — and urged local supporters to contact them. Charlie Kirk, founder of the Arizona-based group Turning Point USA, posted a list of 10 lawmakers who “insiders” had told him were uncertain votes.Within Texas, the attorney general and his trial have divided many on the state’s political right, from party leaders and officials to radio hosts. Some, including Sen.
Prosecutors built their case in part on the testimony of individuals who had worked for Paxton; the former staffers recounted their anguish over his behavior, which became so disturbing they reported him to the FBI. Many of the prosecution’s 15 witnesses said the attorney general had turned his powerful office over to wealthy Austin developer Nate Paul, who was using it to go after his enemies.
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