Latest Ken Paxton News

How key Republican senators are responding to Trump allies' primary threats

Jan. 25, 2025 09:59 AM EST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — From activists on the far right to Elon Musk, allies of President Donald Trump have been quick to threaten primary challengers for Republican senators who don't back his Cabinet picks and legislative priorities. In the case of Iowa's Joni Ernst,...

Texas bar association drops lawsuit against AG Ken Paxton over 2020 election challenge

Jan. 23, 2025 17:45 PM EST

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The State Bar of Texas is dropping efforts to discipline Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton over allegations that his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election amounted to professional misconduct. The decision, revealed...

Appeals court rules against Obama-era policy to shield immigrants who came to US as young children

Jan. 17, 2025 21:01 PM EST

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against an Obama-era policy to shield immigrants who came to the country illegally as young children, only three days before Donald Trump takes office with pledges of mass deportations. The unanimous decision by a panel of...

Texas developer at the center of attorney general's impeachment pleads guilty to federal charge

Jan. 15, 2025 18:55 PM EST

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A real estate developer whose relationship with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was at the center of the Republican's historic impeachment trial in 2023 pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of lying to a financial institution. The plea by Nate Paul,...

Texas has a powerful new House speaker in a blow to the GOP's hard right

Jan. 14, 2025 18:10 PM EST

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A push by Texas' hard right to widen control in the state Capitol fell short Tuesday after House lawmakers rejected its choice for the powerful speakership amid a Republican feud accelerated by the historic impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton. Instead,...

States are preparing to help or thwart Trump's second-term plans

Jan. 12, 2025 00:12 AM EST

Do you live in a red state, a blue state, or one where Republicans and Democrats share power? Your answer might provide the best indicator of what to expect from your governor and state lawmakers as President-elect Donald Trump takes office and legislatures convene. In...

Border shelters relieved the pressure during migrant surges. Under Trump, they could become a target

Jan. 05, 2025 09:12 AM EST

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — When Roselins Sequera's family of seven finally reached the U.S. from Venezuela, they spent weeks at a migrant shelter on the Texas border that gave them a place to sleep, meals and tips for finding work. “We had a plan to go to Iowa" to join friends, said...

As Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht prepares to retire, he reflects on the court he helped change

Dec. 26, 2024 14:44 PM EST

When Nathan Hecht ran for the Texas Supreme Court in 1988, no Republican had ever been elected to the state’s highest civil court. His election foreshadowed a coming transformation of the court, civil legal procedure and Texas itself. Hecht is the longest tenured Supreme Court...

Texas sues NCAA in latest push to block transgender athletes in women's sports

Dec. 23, 2024 12:05 PM EST

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the NCAA to block the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports, arguing that it tricks and misleads fans. The lawsuit filed in state district court in Lubbock and announced Sunday, argues the NCAA...

Abortion opponents shift focus to pills with lawsuits, proposed laws and possible federal action

Dec. 23, 2024 00:29 AM EST

Opponents of abortion are increasingly focusing on restricting access to pills, which are the most common way to end a pregnancy in the U.S. This month, the Texas attorney general's office filed a lawsuit against a New York doctor, saying she violated Texas law by prescribing...