This article has been updated
A Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton over charges of bribery, disregard of official duties and abuse of public trust after hours of debate in an afternoon session. The case now goes to the state Senate.
The House voted 121-23 to impeach him on Saturday. He must now step down temporarily as he faces trial in the upper chamber. A simple majority was required to impeach him.
Earlier in the day, a Texas House of Representatives began to debate over whether to indict Paxton in his impeachment.
Republicans weighed in on Paxton’s pending impeachment, saying the efforts are politically motivated.
Former President Trump on Saturday said the Texas House’s decision was “election interference,” calling him “one of the most hard-working and effective Attorney Generals in the U.S.”
“The RINO Speaker of the House of Texas, Dade Phelan, who is barely a Republican at all and failed the test on voter integrity, wants to impeach one of the most hard-working and effective Attorney Generals in the United States, Ken Paxton, who just won re-election with a large number of American Patriots strongly voting for him,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
The former president threatened any House Republican who allowed the impeachment to move forward, saying, “I will fight you if it does.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also condemned the impeachment, calling it a “travesty.” However, he praised Paxton as one of the strongest conservative attorney generals who stood up against the Biden Administration’s anti-America agenda.
Sen. John Cornyn fired shots at the findings of what the committee uncovered, saying it was “deeply troubling.”
“The fact that this has come this far with the Republicans controlling both the House and the Senate and a Republican attorney general tells you that this is serious enough that people are looking past party labels to try to see what we need to do to preserve the public trust and integrity of the institution,” Cornyn told reporters.
However, other top Texas officials have been silent on the issue. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has not said anything regarding the state’s efforts, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has only said that he believes members of his Senate will fulfill their responsibilities if a trial occurs there.
On Thursday, the Texas House Investigative Committee unanimously voted 5-0 to adopt articles of impeachment for Paxton.
The five-member GOP-led investigative committee met on Wednesday to discuss the allegations of wrongdoing against Paxton, who is accused of breaking several laws and misusing his power to help a political donor, including abusing the use of official information, official capacity, and retaliating.