How Texas Republican leaders are reacting to Paxton's impeachment & potential political impact
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Before the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Ken Paxton, immediately suspending him from his duties, both former President Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz issued statements supporting the attorney general.
The question is how much of an impact their comments will have on Republican members of the Texas Senate who will be among those to decide whether to convict and remove Paxton permanently.
Dr. Joshua Blank, the research director for UT Austin's Texas Politics Project, told CBS News Texas that that's the million dollar question right now. "Ultimately, the senators are going to have to deal with the evidence when it's placed before them, but they're also going to have to deal with the fact that the [former] president of the United States is a very, very popular politician among Texas Republicans [and] has come out in defense of Ken Paxton."
WATCH: Can Ken Paxton survive the Senate? Dr. Joshua Blank shares thoughts
For his part, Paxton said he's confident he will receive a fair and just trial in the Senate and called the House impeachment against him "an ugly spectacle" and a "politically motivated sham."
The House General Investigating Committee members accused Paxton of misusing his office and power to benefit himself and one of his campaign's donors. The 20 articles of impeachment include obstruction of justice, abuse of public trust, and constitutional bribery.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has reportedly said while he will preside over Paxton's impeachment trial in the Senate, he won't vote.
But Blank said Trump's statement is interesting given how close he is to the lieutenant governor. "The lieutenant governor is one of the former president's closest advisors here in Texas, and it's hard to imagine the former president of the United States wouldn't have made a statement in support of Ken Paxton without the lieutenant governor being aware of it, if not endorsing it."
One unanswered question is if Paxton's wife, Senator Angela Paxton of McKinney, will recuse herself from the trial. CBS News Texas left a message with her Senate office Sunday, but has yet to hear back.
Trump also issued a statement calling out Governor Greg Abbott, who has remained silent on Paxton's impeachment, saying:
"MISSING IN ACTION! Where is the Governor of Texas on his Attorney General's impeachment?"
CBS News Texas reached out to the governor's office seeking comment but has not received a response.
Blank said, "It's really not surprising because for the most part, most people, most Republicans do not want to touch this with a 10-foot pole at the moment."
But the five Republican House members representing Collin County, where Paxton is based, had to take this issue head on.
They all voted to impeach him.
In a joint statement, Republican Representatives Jeff Leach of Allen, Matt Shaheen of Plano, Frederick Frazier of McKinney, Justin Holland of Heath, and Candy Noble of Murphy said "this was an incredibly difficult vote."
But they also said it became clear to them "that sufficient evidence indeed exists to vote to commend articles of impeachment to the Texas Senate for a full trial."
"The top law enforcement official in the State of Texas should be above reapproach and we can do better," Rep. Holland told CBS News Texas after the impeachment vote Saturday evening.
When asked if the Paxton brand is now tarnished, Blank said he thinks it's too early to tell. "Is it tarnished with the core constituency of Republicans and conservative Republican voters? If so, and if that is the case, I think many of his defenders will get a lot quieter, a lot quicker."
But in the short term, the next step will be finding out the date of which the Senate will set for Paxton's trial, where he will be able to defend himself against the articles of impeachment.
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