Texas governor names interim attorney general

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday named John Scott, a longtime ally, to serve as an interim replacement for the suspended attorney general, Ken Paxton, while Mr Paxton faces trial in the state Senate.

Mr Paxton was impeached by the state House on Saturday over charges that he had used his elected position to benefit himself and a campaign donor.

Mr Abbott in a statement said he chose Mr Scott to “step in as a shortterm” replacement while Mr Paxton battles 20 articles of impeachment in a Senate trial expected to start late this summer. Mr Scott served as a deputy AG under Mr Abbott.

In announcing his choice, Mr Abbott cited Mr Scott’s past experience as a former deputy AG who “knows how the Office of Attorney General operates”.

Mr Scott served as Mr Abbott’s top deputy for civil litigation when the GOP governor served as AG before becoming the state’s chief executive in 2015. Mr Scott also served on an interim basis as Texas secretary of state, the chief elections officer appointed by the governor, for just over a year before stepping down in December.

“His decade of experience and expertise in litigation will help guide him while serving as the state’s top law enforcement officer,” Mr Abbott said. The statement did not include Mr Paxton’s name or offer any comments on the accusations against him.

Mr Scott, who has more than three decades of legal experience, also served as the CEO of the state’s health commission.

During the political turbulence following Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Donald Trump, Mr Scott briefly represented Mr Trump in an unsuccessful lawsuit against the certification of Pennsylvania’s vote after other attorneys quit. Mr Scott stepped away from the litigation three days later, saying in a court filing “that Plaintiffs will be best served” by his withdrawal, according to news accounts.

As Mr Scott steps into the AG’s position, six top staff members have taken a leave of absence to help defend Paxton in the upcoming impeachment trial, according to reports in The Daily Wire and The Texas Tribune.

The employees include the office’s top appellate lawyer, Solicitor General Judd Stone, who served as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and was later chief counsel to Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and litigation chief Chris Hilton, who has made news recently by denouncing lawmakers’ moves toward impeachment.

As secretary of state, Mr Scott had a “close working relationship” with Mr Paxton and the AG’s office as a defendant in litigation against the state’s voting laws, said Sam Taylor, who served as assistant secretary of state for communications under Mr Scott. “That was true regardless of who the secretary was, including John Scott,” Mr Taylor said.

The Texas Senate, which will decide whether to convict Mr Paxton and remove him from office, adopted a resolution this week that calls for Lt Governor Dan Patrick, the Senate’s presiding officer, to choose a date “no later than” Aug 28 to convene the court of impeachment.