Texas Governor Appoints Interim AG Following Paxton Impeachment

Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed an interim attorney general on Wednesday afternoon. The action by the governor followed the automatic suspension of Attorney General Ken Paxton that resulted from his impeachment by the Texas House of Representatives on Saturday.

Governor Abbott appointed former Texas Secretary of State John Scott to act as interim attorney general until the conclusion of an impeachment trial in the Senate. He will serve in the position until the conclusion of a court of impeachment in the Texas Senate that is scheduled to begin not later than August 28.

“John Scott has the background and experience needed to step in as a short-term interim Attorney General during the time the Attorney General has been suspended from duty,” Governor Abbott said in a written statement. “He served under me in the Texas Attorney General’s Office and knows how the Office of the Attorney General operates.”

Governor Abbott previously appointed Scott to serve as his Secretary of State. Prior to that, Scott served as Texas Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation under then-Attorney General Abbott.

The governor said Scott aided in Abbott’s “efforts to hold the Obama Administration accountable and sue President Obama more than any other state Attorney General. Scott oversaw all civil litigation, including over 22,000 lawsuits involving Texas.”

Following the impeachment of Ken Paxton by the Texas House on Saturday, Paxton was immediately suspended from his elected position pending the outcome of the Senate trial, Breitbart Texas reported.

On Monday, the Texas House appointed 12 impeachment managers to present the evidence to an eventual trial in the Texas Senate. A short time later, the Senate began preparations for a trial.

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick appointed a committee to begin preparing a recommendation for the rules and procedures for a Court of Impeachment.

“When the rules are drafted, a date will be set for when the Senate will resolve into a court of impeachment to consider the articles,” Patrick explained.

Patrick will preside over the trial and the 31 senators will act as jurors. According to the Texas Constitution, all 31 senators, including Paxton’s wife, Senator Angela Paxton, are required to be present for the trial.

A guilty vote by two-thirds of the senators present is required for Paxton to be permanently removed as attorney general. If all 31 senators vote in the matter, nine Republicans would need to vote guilty along with the 12 Democrats for Paxton to be found guilty. Paxton is currently suspended from his role pending the outcome of the trial.

Following the swearing in of Acting Attorney General Scott, the governor sent a statement detailing the qualifications for Scott to serve in this position:

JOHN SCOTT of Fort Worth is an attorney with over 34 years of experience. Scott most recently served as Texas Secretary of State for Governor Abbott. Previously, he served as Texas Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation for then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, where he aided then-Attorney General Abbott’s efforts to hold the Obama Administration accountable and sue President Obama more than any other state Attorney General. Scott oversaw all civil litigation, including over 22,000 lawsuits involving Texas. Subsequently, Scott was appointed the first Chief Operating Officer of the Health and Human Services Commission. He oversaw the successful overhaul of the agency, its 56,000 employees, and its over $50 billion biannual budget. After returning to private practice, Governor Abbott appointed Scott as the Chair of the Board for the Department of Information Resources (DIR). At DIR, Scott developed the strategic plan for technology and security at Texas executive branch agencies and boards.

 

Scott has successfully tried over 100 lawsuits and has experience handling cases at the United States Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Texas, United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits, almost all Texas Courts of Appeals, United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western District Courts of Texas, Texas state courts, and the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The courtroom victories include the successful defense of a health maintenance organization (HMO), which the National Law Journal declared the U.S. Healthcare Victory of the Year. Scott lives in Fort Worth and has offices in Austin. He has been married to his wife, Talley, for 35 years and has two sons, a daughter, and two grandsons.