Donald Trump fought to save Texas ally Ken Paxton from impeachment. It didn't work.

Donald Trump fought to save Texas ally Ken Paxton from impeachment. It didn't work.Show more

Trump had repeatedly warned Republicans against backing the impeachment of Paxton, arguing it was a 'very unfair process."

WASHINGTON – In the hours before the GOP-controlled legislature in Texas voted to impeach fellow Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, former President Donald Trump repeatedly took to social media with a warning for anyone − and especially members of his own party − who opposed his longtime ally.

Trump lamented what he called the “very unfair process” used last weekend to oust one of the nation's most active state legal officials and vowed that he would "fight" any lawmakers who supported the impeachment.

In the end, a majority of Texas Republicans in the state's House of Representatives ignored the admonishments of a former president and party leader and voted overwhelmingly to impeach Paxton anyway. Of 85 Republicans in the chamber, 60 supported Paxton's impeachment.

Impeached:Texas House impeaches AG Ken Paxton with overwhelming GOP support. Senate trial is next.

Vote:Here's how Texas lawmakers voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton

The decision by many Republicans to wave off Trump's warnings fueled questions about the former president’s political power in one of the nation's reddest states. The episode comes as the field of candidates entering the race to challenge Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination grows.
A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump vows to ‘fight’ for ally Paxton. Will it matter?
Paxton has been a nationally prominent conservative legal voice for years as well as an ally to Trump. In addition to filing high-profile suits against President Joe Biden over immigration and other issues, it was Paxton who brought an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the 2020 election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The nation's highest court ultimately denied that request in late 2020.

Leading up to Saturday's impeachment, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to slam GOP lawmakers in Texas, encouraging them to let the voters decide Paxton's fate, instead. “Hopefully Republicans in the Texas House will agree that this is a very unfair process that should not be allowed to happen or proceed,” he wrote. “I will fight you if it does.”
The former president and other national conservative figures doubled down after the vote as focus in Texas shifted toward a Senate trial. Trump accused Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow of Republican, of being “MISSING IN ACTION!” during the impeachment fight.