Donald Trump has floated the possibility of nominating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to be U.S. Attorney General if he wins the presidency in November.
Speaking with a local television station at the NRA conference in Dallas over the weekend, Trump was asked whether he would consider Paxton for the role.
“I would, actually,” Trump responded. “He’s very, very talented. I mean, we have a lot of people that want that one and will be very good at it. But he’s a very talented guy.”
“I fought for him when he had the difficulty and we won,” he continued. “He had some people really after him, and I thought it was really unfair.”
Paxton has long been a steadfast ally of Trump, having previously launched legal challenges against the 2020 presidential election results in four key states. He was also present at the "Stop The Steal" rally that took place before the January 6th Capitol protests.
Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Paxton's reelection campaign in 2022, describing him as someone who "advances America First policies in order to Make America Great Again.”
“Attorney General Ken Paxton has been bravely on the front line in the fight for Texas, and America, against the vicious and very dangerous Radical Left Democrats, and the foolish and unsuspecting RINOs that are destroying our Country,” Trump said at the time. “Ken is strong on Crime, Border Security, the Second Amendment, Election Integrity and, above all, our Constitution.”
Yet even if Trump were to nominate Paxton, he would still need to be confirmed by the Senate. Texas Senator John Cornyn, who is seeking to become the Republican leader in the Senate, has been an outspoken critic of Paxton, with the two men openly clashing on social media.
Paxton, meanwhile, has floated the possibility of launching a primary challenge against Cornyn in 2026, when he is next up for reelection.
Last year, Trump claimed credit for Paxton's acquittal by Texas lawmakers on a variety of impeachment charges that could have ended his political career and accused figures such as former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of being responsible for the trial.
"Yes, it is true that my intervention through TRUTH SOCIAL saved Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from going down at the hands of Democrats and some Republicans, headed by PAUL RINO (Ryan), Karl Rove, and others, almost all of whom came back to reason when confronted with the facts," Trump wrote at the time. "Ken has been a great A.G., and now he can go back to work for the wonderful people of Texas. It was my honor to have helped correct this injustice!"