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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, congratulated Attorney General Ken Paxton for beating the impeachment fees towards him Saturday.
“Congrats to [Paxton] on being acquitted of every single article of impeachment,” Cruz wrote on X, previously referred to as Twitter. “This was the right outcome, consistent with the will of the voters. I look forward to seeing Paxton back in office, continuing to serve as the most effective conservative AG in America.”
House impeachment managers had accused Paxton of misusing his place of job to lend a hand his good friend and donor Nate Paul, an Austin actual property investor, harass and examine his enemies. But in a chain of dramatic votes, senators who had acted as jurors in Paxton’s impeachment trial knocked down each and every of the 16 fees and reinstated the third-term Republican to his place of job.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been quiet about his emotions on the impeachment trial, struck a impartial tone in the wake of Paxton’s acquittal: “the jury has spoken.”
“Attorney General Ken Paxton received a fair trial as required by the Texas Constitution,” Abbott wrote in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Attorney General to secure the border and protect Texas from federal overreach.”
But the verdict wasn’t welcome news for all Texas Republicans — specifically the ones in the House who laid their political capital on the line to question him. House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, blasted the Senate’s verdict as “extremely unfortunate” after the House introduced them “with extensive evidence of Ken Paxton’s corruption, deception and self-dealing.
“The impeachment procedure exists to not punish the wrongdoer, however to decide whether or not they have got abused their energy so egregiously that they’re undeserving for place of job and their elimination is in the perfect hobby of the state,” Phelan wrote in a lengthy statement Saturday afternoon. “It is unlucky that the result of this procedure will in the end relinquish regulate of the state’s best regulation enforcement company to a person who, I imagine, obviously abused his energy, compromised his company and its workers, and moved mountains to give protection to and get advantages himself.”
Republicans in the Texas Legislature took to social media to celebrate Paxton’s acquittal — many praising the Senate’s push under Patrick to kill the effort while lambasting the House Republican-backed impeachment effort.
“I stood against this witch hunt of an impeachment from day one,” wrote state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, an Arlington Republican who voted against sending impeachment charges against Paxton from the House to the Senate. “I told my colleagues that there was no evidence, but they were threatened and bullied by (House Speaker Dade Phelan) and his lieutenants. Senators had the freedom to vote without being bullied by leadership, and the truth prevailed.”
Other far-right Republicans vowed retribution against the House Republicans who pushed the impeachment inquiry — signaling a coming GOP civil war.
“Speaker Phelan must step down now for empowering this Democrat effort while killing Republican priorities,” said state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Midlothian Republican who additionally voted towards the articles in the House and called for state auditors to probe what state tax greenbacks have been “wasted” on the effort.
Democrats, meanwhile, lamented the Senate verdict.
“Despite overwhelming proof of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s corruption, (Patrick) and the Texas Republican Senate acquitted him,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, wrote on X. “So blatantly ignoring the Rule of Law in this situation may be very unhealthy.”
“Is anyone surprised that Texas Republicans let Ken Paxton off the hook for blatant and rampant corruption?” U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, wrote on X. “We can’t expect justice from them. We must #VoteThemOut.”
Texas House Democrats, too, lambasted the outcome.
“Senate Republicans failed to protect the public trust and they will be tied to Paxton’s crimes for the rest of history,” wrote state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat who heads the Texas House Democratic Caucus.
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