Ken Paxton

Led a multistate lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act after Congress reduced the individual-mandate penalty to zero; the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the challenge because Texas and the individual plaintiffs lacked standing.

June 17, 2021Opposes Healthcare Affordability

Source: supremecourt.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Announced that Kellogg's and General Mills had taken synthetic dyes out of the cereals they supply to schools before the 2026 school year, under settlements his office reached with both companies. Kellogg's also agreed to take artificial colorings out of all its cereal sold in the United States by the end of 2027.

August 19, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched September 5, 2026

Committed Texas to the national opioid-distributor settlement, allocating up to $1.1 billion to Texas and its local governments for opioid-abatement and related uses.

August 5, 2021Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

The Texas Tribune reported that Paxton voted in six elections over two years, including May's Senate runoff, using a Collin County address he had left. Three election lawyers said this may break Texas law, which requires voters to register where they live. His wife's 2025 divorce filing said he moved out a year earlier, and his office had opened a voter-fraud tip line weeks before the March primary.

July 7, 2026Opposes Anti-Corruption

Source: texastribune.org · researched September 5, 2026

Sued a municipal utility district and its officers to invalidate a board turnover and attempted annexation connected to the proposed East Plano Islamic Center development, alleging the directors were unqualified and evaded state oversight.

February 16, 2026Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

His attorney general's office was ordered to pay about $6.6 million to four former aides after a state judge found that the office violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by retaliating against them for reporting alleged misconduct to law enforcement; Paxton denied the ruling's basis.

April 4, 2025Opposes Anti-Corruption

Source: apnews.com · researched August 18, 2026

Agreed to an eighteen-month deal that ended three felony securities fraud charges brought against him in 2015, less than three weeks before he was due to stand trial. Under it the special prosecutors would drop the charges if he paid full restitution to the investors, close to 300,000 dollars, and completed 100 hours of community service and 15 hours of legal ethics education. He did not plead guilty.

March 26, 2024Opposes Anti-Corruption

Source: apnews.com · researched July 12, 2026

As Texas attorney general, was impeached by the Texas House in May 2023 over allegations of bribery, abuse of office and retaliation against staff who reported him to law enforcement. The Texas Senate acquitted him on all sixteen articles it tried and he returned to office. Only two of the nineteen Republican senators voted to convict on any article, against more than 70 percent of House Republicans who had voted to impeach him.

September 16, 2023Opposes Anti-Corruption

Source: texastribune.org · researched July 3, 2026

Led the Texas challenge to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; a federal district court held the program unlawful while preserving protections temporarily for existing recipients during further proceedings.

July 16, 2021Opposes Immigration

Source: oag.state.tx.us · researched August 18, 2026

Successfully defended Texas's Human Life Protection Act before the Texas Supreme Court, which vacated a lower-court injunction and rejected a challenge concerning the law's medical-emergency exception.

May 31, 2024Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Won a Fifth Circuit ruling that blocked federal guidance requiring abortions as emergency stabilizing care under EMTALA when that guidance conflicted with Texas law.

January 2, 2024Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights

Source: ca5.uscourts.gov · researched August 18, 2026

As Texas Attorney General, announced a $1.4 billion settlement with Google on May 9, 2025 resolving state claims involving geolocation, incognito-search, and biometric-data collection; Google stated the settlement resolved older claims and required no new product changes.

May 9, 2025Supports Data Privacy

Source: apnews.com · researched July 12, 2026

Secured a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta over Texas claims that Facebook captured and used biometric data without legally required authorization; it was the first settlement under the state's biometric-identifier law.

July 30, 2024Supports Data Privacy

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Dropped his demand for Seattle Children's Hospital records concerning gender-affirming care for Texas minors under a settlement in which the hospital did not provide the requested patient information.

April 22, 2024Opposes Data Privacy

Source: apnews.com · researched August 18, 2026

Opened an investigation into a proposed sustainable-community development near Kaufman that he called a potential 'sharia city'; the developers later ended the project after receiving investigative demands from his office.

March 26, 2026Opposes Civil Rights

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Filed a state lawsuit seeking to bar the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Muslim Brotherhood affiliates from operating, owning property, or soliciting members in Texas; the defendants disputed his characterizations and the case remained litigation rather than an adjudicated finding.

February 5, 2026Opposes Civil Rights

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Successfully defended Texas's pornography-site age-verification law before the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the requirement against a First Amendment challenge.

June 27, 2025Opposes Civil Rights

Source: supremecourt.gov · researched August 18, 2026

As Texas Attorney General, filed Texas v. Pennsylvania at the U.S. Supreme Court in December 2020 seeking to overturn the presidential-election results in four other states; the Court rejected it for lack of standing.

December 11, 2020Opposes Civil Rights

Source: supremecourt.gov · researched July 3, 2026

Opened an investigation into TriWest Healthcare Alliance, which administers the TRICARE health plan for military families, over reports and an admission that it wrongly denied health care claims.

September 1, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched September 5, 2026

Sued Amazon over how it prices the advertising it sells. His office says Amazon told advertisers they would pay only the lowest amount needed to win an auction, then quietly added hidden surcharges and reserve prices. It says those pushed advertisers' costs up by about 17 percent on ordinary days and more than 25 percent during events such as Prime Day, and came to roughly 4.5 billion dollars in 2024 alone.

August 31, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched September 5, 2026

Settled with Meta for more than one billion dollars over child safety on its platforms, money the state will spend on youth mental health services, crisis help, digital literacy and school grants. The settlement also requires Meta to check users' ages more strictly, cap teenage accounts at two hours a day, and turn off notifications during school hours unless a parent changes the setting.

August 26, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched September 5, 2026

Sued Discord under Texas consumer-protection and online-safety laws, seeking age verification, stronger default safety settings, disgorgement, and civil penalties over alleged risks to minors.

May 22, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

As Texas Attorney General, announced a $1.4 billion settlement with Google on May 9, 2025 resolving state claims involving geolocation, incognito-search, and biometric-data collection; Google stated the settlement resolved older claims and required no new product changes.

May 9, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: apnews.com · researched July 12, 2026

Secured a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta over Texas claims that Facebook captured and used biometric data without legally required authorization; it was the first settlement under the state's biometric-identifier law.

July 30, 2024Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Committed Texas to the national opioid-distributor settlement, allocating up to $1.1 billion to Texas and its local governments for opioid-abatement and related uses.

August 5, 2021Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Filed an appeal against a Massachusetts federal court order that blocked his office from pursuing its Texas lawsuit against ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform. He sued ActBlue in April 2026 under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, saying it kept processing certain gift card donations after telling investigators it had stopped, and the Massachusetts court ordered the Texas case halted in June.

August 18, 2026

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched September 5, 2026

Sued Discord under Texas consumer-protection and online-safety laws, seeking age verification, stronger default safety settings, disgorgement, and civil penalties over alleged risks to minors.

May 22, 2026

Source: texasattorneygeneral.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Received President Donald Trump's endorsement in the Republican U.S. Senate runoff against incumbent John Cornyn.

May 19, 2026

Source: apnews.com · researched August 18, 2026

Had a State Bar disciplinary case over alleged misrepresentations in Texas's 2020 election lawsuit dismissed as moot by the Texas Supreme Court after the disciplinary commission abandoned the case.

February 14, 2025

Source: txcourts.gov · researched August 18, 2026

His attorney general's office was ordered to pay about $6.6 million to four former aides after a state judge found that the office violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by retaliating against them for reporting alleged misconduct to law enforcement; Paxton denied the ruling's basis.

April 4, 2025

Source: apnews.com · researched August 18, 2026

Agreed to an eighteen-month deal that ended three felony securities fraud charges brought against him in 2015, less than three weeks before he was due to stand trial. Under it the special prosecutors would drop the charges if he paid full restitution to the investors, close to 300,000 dollars, and completed 100 hours of community service and 15 hours of legal ethics education. He did not plead guilty.

March 26, 2024

Source: apnews.com · researched July 12, 2026

Consented to a Texas State Securities Board disciplinary order finding that he received investment-client referral fees while unregistered; the board reprimanded him and imposed a $1,000 fine.

May 2, 2014

Source: ssb.texas.gov · researched August 18, 2026

The Texas Ethics Commission found credible evidence that Paxton's campaign finance reports failed to properly disclose some credit-card, personal-fund, mileage and staff-reimbursement spending, and fined him $200. On other allegations it found no violation, and he filed corrected reports.

March 12, 2008

Source: ethics.state.tx.us · researched July 12, 2026