Paxton’s Tepid Tweets Fail to Justify his Escape to Utah

After leaving Texas in the cold to face an unprecedented winter storm and one of the largest power outages in recent history, Attorney General Ken Paxton has finally made an appearance to explain his most recent trip.

It was previously reported that both Paxton and his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton traveled to Utah this past few days to discuss an antitrust lawsuit against Google with the Utah AG. The trip was supposedly previously planned, but still, an unsympathetic move considering the crisis the state was facing.

Today, the GOP Attorney General sent out a series of tweets regarding his recent absence.

This past week Texas saw some of the coldest temperatures and many, if not most, went without critical supplies. Angela and I also sat in our dark home with no power for most of 72 hours. We grilled food outside and sat by the fire for warmth as so many Texans did. (1/3) #Texas

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) February 23, 2021

“I had previously planned meetings in Utah to meet with the Utah Attorney General on imminent legal issues that required my physical presence to complete,” wrote Paxton, in hopes to redeem himself.

The series of tweets doesn’t explain why a planned trip to Colorado was not cancelled to help Texans dealing with unprecedented price gouging, ongoing outages, and the aftermath of the winter storm. 

It does seem like a strange coincidence that so many Republican leaders picked a time like this to flee the state, while other non-elected Texas officials chose to find ways to help, the attitude shown by people like AG Paxton, Senator Ted Cruz, and State Rep. Gary Gates makes us question whether their commitment to the people of Texas is genuine. 

“This is a pattern,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa. “Texas Republicans do not give a damn about the people they were elected to represent, and they continue to focus on issues that don’t affect the lives of everyday Texans to gaslight them into thinking they are doing their jobs.”

It’s worth noting that Paxton’s life has been surrounded by scandal recently, with recent reports of his alleged bribery involving his mistress and even accusations of his wife being in the loop about his husband’s dirty businesses.