Ken Paxton

Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the eighth district and as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Paxton was first elected attorney general in 2014, rising to power as an ally of the Tea Party movement, and was re-elected in 2018 and 2022. Paxton has been described as a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, and as an ultraconservative or far-right politician. After Joe Biden won the 2020 U . presidential election and Trump refused to concede while making unfounded claims of election fraud, Paxton aided Trump in his efforts to overturn the result. He filed the unsuccessful Texas v. Pennsylvania case in the U . Supreme Court and spoke at the rally Trump held on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D ., that preceded the attack on the U . Capitol. Throughout the course of Biden's presidency, Paxton pursued legal action against the administration 106 times. In 2015, Paxton was indicted on state securities fraud charges relating to activities before taking office; he pleaded not guilty. Upon fulfilling a pretrial agreement for restitution to the victims, ethics training, and community service the charges were dismissed in 2025. In October 2020, several high-level assistants in Paxton's office accused him of "bribery, abuse of office and other crimes". In May 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives by a vote of 121–23, leading to his suspension. The articles of impeachment included allegations that Paxton gave preferential treatment to a political donor who bribed him, misapplied public resources and made false statements against whistleblowers, obstructed justice in the securities fraud trial against him, and made false statements regarding his financial interests. In September 2023, the Texas Senate voted 16–14 to acquit Paxton of all articles of impeachment, ending his suspension from office. In 2023, under President Joe Biden, the public integrity section of the U . Department of Justice recused west Texas federal prosecutors from an investigation into the same issues, an outcome sought by Paxton attorneys. Biden, whose term in office ended on January 20, 2025, was still in office, the Associated Press and The Texas Tribune reported, when the DOJ "quietly decided... not to prosecute... Paxton, effectively ending [that] corruption investigation". Paxton announced in April 2025 that he would run for the United States Senate in the 2026 election, challenging incumbent senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary.