A new Attorney General is set to replace Ken Paxton.
First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster will soon take the place of Ken Paxton. Webster’s appointment follows the impeachment proceeding for Paxton.
Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives on May 27. Lawmakers approved the impeachment by a vote of 121 to 23, with lawmakers such as Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), Richard Hayes (R-Denton), and Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth) speaking against the proceedings.
The 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton claim that he abused his office, concealed Department of Public Safety records, and illegally protected political allies by silencing whistleblowers.
The Texas Senate is now set to rule on Paxton’s office. Paxton will be removed if convicted by the Senate.
If convicted, Paxton will be the third elected official to be impeached in Texas history, with the last being District Judge O.P. Carrillo in 1975.
An internal agency memo obtained by The Dallas Morning News claims that Webster will serve in Paxton’s place in the meantime while proceedings continue.
Brent Webster was originally appointed by Ken Paxton as First Assistant Attorney General back in 2020. The AG’s office recorded that Webster had previously served as the First Assistant District Attorney in Williamson County and as a criminal prosecutor for a decade prior to his appointment.
The Attorney General’s office released a statement hours after the House proceedings. This office claimed that Paxton’s impeachment was based on “inaccuracies, falsehoods, and misstatements” from testimony at House General Investigating Committee.
“The General Investigating Committee’s politically motivated investigation against Attorney General Paxton is predicated on long-disproven claims grounded in hearsay and gossip,” said the statement. “In August of 2021, after nearly a year of diligent investigation into these claims from former employees, the Office of the Attorney General released an exhaustive report that ultimately refuted each of the former employees’ allegations.”
A two-thirds majority vote will be required for an impeachment conviction.