Texas Republicans once impeached Paxton. Now his Senate run splits them

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate after defeating Sen. John Cornyn.
• Paxton's nomination comes three years after many Texas House Republicans voted to impeach him.
• The 2023 impeachment vote has created a lasting rift within the Texas Republican Party.
• Some Republicans who previously voted to impeach Paxton, like Speaker Dustin Burrows, now support his Senate bid.
• Other Republicans, like Rep. Jeff Leach and former Speaker Dade Phelan, have expressed continued concerns about Paxton.

Three years after a majority of Texas House Republicans voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, the divisions from that vote are resurfacing as he runs for U.S. Senate.

Paxton’s runoff victory over Sen. John Cornyn, backed by President Donald Trump, has prompted varied responses from Republican lawmakers. Some who voted to impeach him now support his campaign, while others have raised concerns about his candidacy.

The race comes as Republicans revisit the political impact of Paxton’s 2023 impeachment.

In that vote, 60 Republicans joined 61 Democrats in the Texas House to approve articles of impeachment against Paxton, making him the third state official in Texas history to be impeached — the others being District Judge O.P. Carrillo and Gov. James "Pa" Ferguson. Twenty-three Republicans voted against impeachment. The articles included allegations of abuse of office, bribery and misuse of taxpayer funds, but Paxton was later acquitted by the Texas Senate.

Now, as Paxton is the Republican nominee for Senate, House Republicans who supported impeachment have taken differing positions. One is supporting his campaign. Another has publicly questioned the implications of his candidacy. A third has raised the possibility of subpoenaing Paxton over a recent plea deal involving a man convicted of sexually abusing a child.

Burrows sings a different tune for Paxton after impeaching him

Dustin Burrows was not yet speaker in 2023. At the time, he represented House District 83 in Lubbock and was chairman of the House Calendars Committee.

On May 27, 2023, Burrows was among 60 Republican representatives who voted to impeach Paxton, saying it was a decision he did not take lightly, noting that the impeachment simply meant there was enough evidence for members to believe the issues needed to be tried by the Texas Senate.

In a statement on social media in May 2023, Burrows said: "The facts presented are serious and the laws that were allegedly broken serious enough to warrant his removal from office."

"The allegations, (which everyone I know believes to be true), suggest a pattern of him selling the power of his office for personal gain, including the issuing of subpoenas for someone who employed his mistress. Is this the conduct and character that Texans deserve as their representation?" Burrows asked.

At the time, Burrows said he knew Paxton personally and applauded everything he had done as attorney general up to that point, but said the ends don't always justify the means.

Paxton did not take kindly to Burrows voting to impeach him. As the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, part of USA TODAY Network, reported at the time, Paxton launched a revenge tour to replace Burrows — and other state lawmakers who voted to impeach him. Paxton ultimately failed to replace Burrows.

They have taken shots at each other since the impeachment, but Burrows has changed his tune about Paxton since he defeated Cornyn in the Republican runoff.

On Election Day on May 26, as results were coming in, Burrows posted to social media congratulating Paxton on his win — 30 minutes before the Associated Press called the race for Paxton.

In that social media post, Burrows called Paxton "a steadfast conservative fighter for Texas" and signaled his willingness to support Paxton in the months leading up to the November general election.

"With so much at stake for our state and our country, Republicans are united and ready for the fight ahead. Looking forward to supporting Ken Paxton as we work to protect the values and freedoms that make Texas exceptional," read the post.

Leach won't move on from Paxton — and a Waco plea deal

If Burrows flipped, Rep. Jeff Leach did so out of party loyalty.

The Plano Republican, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee — which has jurisdiction over Paxton's office — voted to impeach Paxton and survived Paxton's attempt to replace him in the House with another candidate in his 2024 election.

He backed Cornyn in the runoff and threatened to subpoena Paxton over a plea deal unrelated to the Senate race. Instead, Leach raised the question days before the runoff of what kind of attorney general the party would nominate for the U.S. Senate and asked voters to "vote accordingly."

During the runoff election, Paxton was taking heat from Cornyn's camp over a "sweetheart" deal his office had given to Waco attorney Adam Hoffman.

In that case, as the El Paso Times, part of USA TODAY Network, reported, Hoffman was facing a life sentence for the sexual abuse of a child that lasted three years. However, Paxton's office intervened and offered a plea deal:

• 60 days in county jail.
• No mandatory registration as a sex offender.
• No permanent loss of Hoffman’s law license.

Leach called the deal "incomprehensible" and sent a letter to Paxton on May 6 demanding answers about how it came about.

"This inquiry is not about politics. It is about accountability, transparency, and restoring public confidence in a justice system that victims are asked to trust during the most painful moments of their lives," Leach wrote.

As KWTX in Waco reported, Hoffman was released early from McLennan County Jail on May 25 after serving 29 days of his 60-day sentence.

In a post later that day, Leach again demanded answers from Paxton.

"If my House Judiciary Committee has to subpoena Ken Paxton himself to explain this — be assured that we will do so. We deserve answers. And this is not going away," Leach said in his post.

After Paxton won the runoff, Leach posted on social media saying, "You can be sure I’ll be supporting every Republican from top to bottom this November."

"Bottom line: We Republicans must quickly heal and unite from these bruising primaries — and I promise to do my part to help make that happen. The Texas we know and love is worth it," read the post.

Phelan warns Paxton could cost Republicans the state

Former Speaker Dade Phelan led the House during the Paxton impeachment.

But he lost his bid to remain speaker after backlash from hard-line conservatives over the impeachment trial, among other reasons. Burrows was elected to the role in his place.

Phelan still serves in the House as the representative for District 21 in Beaumont, Texas.

During the trial, Phelan led the chamber through the impeachment, defended the process and survived Paxton's attempt to replace him in the House and the Texas Republican Party's censure. Phelan even backed Cornyn during the runoff.

Recently, the former speaker spoke to Newsweek about Paxton taking on Talarico, issuing a warning to Texans and the state's Republican party.

"I've said this a million times—Paxton’s lazy. So, with this Talarico-Paxton as the matchup, we have a problem in Texas because the guy's never been at the top of the ticket and had to run a major race. He's always been coattails,” Phelan said to Newsweek.

Phelan also suggested that there is a faction of Republicans who would not vote for Paxton under any circumstances, and warned that under those conditions, Republicans could lose their edge in the state's legislature and judiciary.

The split among Burrows, Phelan and Leach reflects a Republican Party in Texas that has tried over the past three years to put the Paxton impeachment and allegations behind it, only to confront them head-on once more in a race Republicans thought they could coast through.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at [email protected].