Here’s news that will be catnip to conservative activists.
Former President Donald Trump has strongly hinted at considering Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for a cabinet spot should he win in November, but now he’s made it explicit.
Over the weekend at the National Rifle Association’s convention in Dallas, Trump was asked by Fox 4’s Steven Dial whether Paxton is a name worth considering for U.S. attorney general. He told Dial, “I would, actually [consider Paxton]. He’s very very talented. We have a lot of people that want that one and will be very good at it.”
“But he’s a very talented guy. I fought for him when he had the difficulty [in impeachment] and he won. He had some people after him and I thought it was very unfair. He’s been a great attorney general.”
Paxton’s legal team defeated the impeachment effort last year, and then the long-running case against him over alleged securities fraud was dropped just before he was set to go to trial. The Whistleblower case against the Office of the Attorney General, which served as a basis for impeachment, remains underway, though depositions were paused.
This isn’t the first time Trump has gestured about a Paxton appointment should he win another term in the White House. Back in November, he mentioned Paxton among others in an interview with The Texan. The former president also mentioned Paxton in a February interview with Fox News alongside Gov. Greg Abbott, during which he noted the governor as a potential candidate for vice president. Abbott has since said he’s not interested.
The Texas attorney general has long been an ally of Trump, most notably filing the 2020 challenge against four states for changing their election laws without permission from their respective legislatures — something Texas did too, but which wasn’t included in the suit.
Paxton was ultimately endorsed by Trump for re-election in 2022, though the former president dragged out the process, considering both Paxton and his eventual runoff opponent George P. Bush.
Last month, Paxton flew to New York City to join Trump at his ongoing criminal trial — a proceeding that Paxton called “a sham of a trial” and a “travesty of justice.”
At the same event, Trump also reiterated his endorsements of challengers to Texas House incumbents David Covey, Alan Schoolcraft, and Helen Kerwin, along with Texas Senate candidate Brent Hagenbuch.
It would be quite satisfying to watch Paxton help undo the radical agenda of the Biden Administration and carry on the campaign against federal overreach from within the federal government.
A lot of possible appointments get floated during campaign season, and there’s no shortage of potential Attorney General candidates. But a whole lot of conservative names floated as possible appointments during Trump’s presidential run (Brett Kavanaugh, Neal Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett being three that most readily come to mind). So there’s a definite possibility that this could come to pass in Trump’s second term.
Tags: 2024 Presidential Race, Department of Justice, Donald Trump, Ken Paxton, Republicans, Texas, Trump Cabinet
Ken Paxton is a resolute champion of Second Amendment rights, a passion that has been somewhat lacking in Donald Trump. If he wants to shore up support among a highly motivated, grass roots activist group, naming Ken Paxton to a high profile office would serve to allay fears that NYC urbanite Donald Trump is squishy on gun rights.
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-temporary-restraining-order-against-biden-administration
The Senate would never approve Paxton as AG, even if the GOP held a majority.
There is zero chance the Senate ever confirms a pro-American, anti-corrupt AG or FBI director.
“The Senate would never approve Paxton…”
Preemptive surrender is why Republicans invariably lose. But if Paxton cannot get the necessary votes, Ohio AG David Yost would be an acceptable alternative. He opposed the vax mandate, which could help Trump peel away supporters from RFK Jr.
Until Republicans abandon their Washington Generals role, fighting Progressives will be a lo-o-ong slow grind.
Ted Cruz would be much better and more effective. He’s also a far better lawyer than Paxton.
And I agree, a Paxton confirmation process would be a freaking nightmare.
“[A] Paxton confirmation process would be a freaking nightmare.“
Jeff Sessions served two decades in the US Senate before getting the nomination for US AG. He was innocuous as vanilla ice cream but the Senate Democrats denounced him as Trump’s lap dog.
Any nominee who is not to the left of Che Guevara will face “a freaking nightmare “. Clarence Thomas was vilified by Joseph Robinette Biden during his confirmation hearing. It hasn’t stopped him from authoring the Heller, McDonald or Bruen decisions, has it?
Put your best candidate forward and don’t concern yourself as to whether the opposition will embrace your choice. If you don’t fight, you will never win.
If you fight, you need to fight smart.
Nominating Ted Cruz (besides appointing a much more capable attorney and manager than Paxton — look at Cruz’s record when he was Texas Solicitor General) creates a dynamic for Senate Democrats: if Cruz if confirmed, he’s out of the Senate. Sure, his replacement is practically guaranteed to be another GOP member, but one with less seniority — and more importantly one that is not be Ted Cruz. Like Sessions, there will be some noise from the usual suspects, but Cruz would probably sail through.
Paxton, OTOH . . . all of his checkered history if going to be front page national news. (And while I like Paxton’s politics, to say that he doesn’t have some pretty big skeletons in his closet is simply ignoring reality.) Trump could do much better.