This week, Donald Trump dropped a bit of a bombshell on the Democrat Party as well as shattering a few dreams in the GOP.
Trump stated that he was considering Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the position of Attorney General if he wins the 2024 election.
Talking Points…
- Ken Paxton
- Trump considering Paxton for AG pick
- Analysis
Since Biden took office, nearly 70 lawsuits have been filed against this administration. Ken Paxton has led about a dozen of them and joined numerous other lawsuits led by various states.
Paxton has more or less turned himself into Trump’s hitman of sorts against the Biden administration. If there is an issue that challenges any aspect of Trump’s overall agenda, Paxton has been the man to get dirty and go after Biden for it, dragging some of these cases all the way to the Supreme Court.
Paxton has also had to fight off personal legal challenges, beating an effort by the GOP-run Texas State Legislature to impeach him. The House passed the impeachment, but it stalled in the Senate, with all charges being dismissed. Paxton is not out of legal trouble just yet, but he is back in his office after the failed impeachment and back to being a thorn in Biden’s side and hammering the campaign trail for Trump.
Donald Trump was recently asked about his possible Attorney General pick, as some pretty big names are being thrown around for this position. At the top of that list is Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Trump torched Cruz in the 2016 election, but he and Trump eventually made up even though Trump had attacked not only Cruz but also Cruz’s wife and father. Cruz has been a top surrogate for Trump ever since, with many believing he cherishes either the AG spot or that he would like to be nominated as a Supreme Court justice to follow in the steps of his hero, the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Trump may be looking at Texas for his AG, but it may not be Cruz. Trump attended the National Rifle Association convention on Sunday in Dallas, where he was asked about Paxton as a possible Attorney General if he wins the election. Trump responded:
"I would, actually. He's very, very talented.
"I mean, we have a lot of people that want that one and will be very good at it. But he's a very talented guy."
Trump then reminded everyone that when Paxton was up against it, Trump continued to support him, stating:
"I fought for him when he had the difficulty, and we won.
"He had some people really after him, and I thought it was very unfair. He's been a good attorney general."
There is no doubt that Paxton is a fighter, and many people would love to see him as AG to go after Democrats on every front. Paxton would also have no problem protecting Trump. To that point, you better believe that one of Paxton’s first acts would be to drop every federal case against Trump as soon as he took office, and he would do it knowing full well that Democrats would probably try to impeach them both the second it happened.
I really have no feeling one way or the other about Paxton being the AG other than noting that the DOJ would become like a combat sport if he gets in there. I would also have to question how Cruz would feel about getting stiffed for a position he has arguably been campaigning for since the 2016 election.
