The governor appointed former Secretary of State John Scott to temporarily serve as attorney general days after the state\u2019s GOP-controlled House voted to impeach Ken Paxton.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday appointed former Secretary of State John Scott to temporarily serve as attorney general after the state House impeached Ken Paxton.
\u201cJohn Scott has the background and experience needed to step in as a short-term interim Attorney General during the time the Attorney General has been suspended from duty,\u201d Abbott said in a statement Wednesday. \u201cHis decades of experience and expertise in litigation will help guide him while serving as the state\u2019s top law enforcement officer.\u201d
Abbott, a Republican, made the interim appointment days after the state’s GOP-controlled House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton \u2014 with 60 of its 85 Republican members, including Speaker Dade Phelan, supporting his suspension on charges that include bribery and misuse of office.
Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years in connection with allegations that he abused his office to help a donor. He is also awaiting trial on an indictment alleging state securities fraud from 2015.
Paxton, who has denied any wrongdoing, called the impeachment proceedings a \u201cpolitically motivated sham” in a statement Saturday.
The House has delivered articles of impeachment to the state Senate, which will hold a trial to decide whether Paxton should be permanently removed from office. The trial is expected to begin no later than Aug. 28, with a jury that could include his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton.
Abbott \u2014 who did not refer to Paxton by name or comment on the impeachment in his statement appointing Scott \u2014 touted Scott’s record as an attorney, saying he has “handled cases at all levels of the justice system.”
Scott, whom Abbott appointed secretary of state in late 2021, resigned\u2002last year after he oversaw the 2022 midterm elections as the top elections official and presided over an audit of the state’s 2020 election results.
Scott previously served as deputy attorney general for civil litigation when Abbott was attorney general. Scott was also once appointed as the state Health and Human Services Commission’s chief operating officer.
Paxton, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump who was first elected \u2019 attorney general in 2014, led a failed legal effort to overturn President Joe Biden\u2019s victory in four battleground states in 2020. He also backed Trump\u2002when Trump launched his White House re-election bid last year.
Trump defended\u2002Paxton on his social media website, Truth Social, over the weekend, suggesting the proceedings were a form of election interference and a “very unfair process.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n