Dem
51
GOP
49
There's pretty stiff competition for the title of "most corrupt officeholder in America today." However, any shortlist of candidates certainly has to include Texas AG Ken Paxton (R). He's used his ostensibly non-partisan office to advance partisan goals (that's par for the course for most state AGs these days, but Paxton has taken it to extremes). There is also credible evidence that he used his power to assist multiple fat-cat donors who found themselves in legal trouble. Oh, and he's also been under indictment for securities fraud for the last 8 years (the trial is still pending due to his being a sitting officeholder).
Even Texas politics has its limits, though. Paxton's misbehavior grew so problematic that the Republican-dominated Texas state House appointed a committee to look into the matter. Yesterday, that committee voted unanimously to recommend that Paxton be impeached. The matter will go before the entire state House very soon, perhaps even today.
Given that the vote of the select committee was unanimous, and given that the airing of Paxton's dirty laundry this week has embarrassed the entire Texas GOP, the odds are pretty good he's going to lose his job. At that point, he'd be available to face trial for the securities fraud, and possibly for other crimes. Meanwhile, his replacement would be chosen by Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX), who may well pick the guy who lost to Paxton in the last election, namely George P. Bush. The Bushes are like vampires; you can't actually kill them, you can only slow them down. (Z)