Trump criticizes Texas Gov. Abbott for silence on impeachment of AG Ken Paxton

Former President Trump chided Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his silence on the impeachment of the state’s embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

“MISSING IN ACTION!,” Trump wrote Saturday in a Truth Social post. “Where is the Governor of Texas on his Attorney General’s Impeachment?”

Abbott has been a prominent GOP figure and a staunch ally of Trump. Recently, he has drawn the ire of the Biden administration as he and other Republican governors in southern states have been busing migrants to northern, Democrat-led cities. 

The Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton on Saturday. The vote was 121-23; five state lawmakers were either absent from the chamber or present but did not vote. With this result, Paxton will be suspended from office pending a trial in the state Senate.

The impeachment follows a report released Thursday from the state House investigative committee that recommended his impeachment. In its findings, the committee alleged that Paxton took bribes and fired the deputies who reported it, among other infractions. 

The 20-count resolution also includes allegations such as inappropriate favors done for donors, interference in federal investigations and retaliation against whistleblowers.

Paxton fought back the accusations against him, calling the allegations a politically motivated attack by state House Speaker Dade Phelan (R).

In a statement, Paxton said that Phelan “wants nothing more than to sabotage our legal challenges to Biden’s extremist agenda by taking me out as the state’s Attorney General.”