Former President Donald Trump has expressed his support for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a potential candidate to lead the Justice Department in a future Trump administration. Speaking at the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas-Fort Worth, Trump described Paxton as a “very talented guy” and indicated he would be a strong choice for the role.
“We have a lot of people who want that one and will be very good at it. But he’s a very talented guy,” Trump stated in his conversation with Fox 4.
Trump also referenced Paxton’s acquittal in last year’s impeachment trial by the Texas House, framing it as a joint victory. “I fought for him when he had the difficulty, and we won,” Trump said. “He had some people really after him, and I thought it was very unfair. He’s been a good attorney general.”
The two politicians have supported each other through various legal challenges. Paxton attended Trump’s hush money trial in New York last month, where Trump faces accusations of making improper payments to silence an adult film actor. Paxton voiced his support on social media, writing, “With President Trump in NYC to sit through this sham of a trial. This trial is a travesty of justice. I stand with Trump.”
Trump has claimed credit for Paxton’s acquittal on charges of bribery and abuse of office, asserting on Truth Social that his intervention “saved Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from going down at the hands of Democrats and some Republicans.”
Paxton has been active in legal battles against the Biden administration. Recently, he won a temporary restraining order from a Texas court in a lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, preventing the agency from regulating the private gun market while the case is litigated.
It seems that Trump and Paxton have been on the same page for a while now, and that Paxton would make for a great Attorney General alongside a 2024 Trump administration