Dem
51
GOP
49
Should Donald Trump be reelected, there are several things he'll be looking for in an attorney general. Experience would be nice, if only because that will grant a veneer of legitimacy. A track record of corrupt behavior is a major selling point, of course. And a demonstrated commitment to being a Trump toady is essential.
If you think about it for a couple of minutes, there is someone who most certainly checks all the boxes. That would be Texas AG Ken Paxton, who does have experience, who is as corrupt a politician as any in office today (non-U.S. Senate division), and who is one of the biggest Trump sycophants in the country. In the off-the-rack world of political appointments, Paxton fits like a custom-made suit.
It would appear that Donald Trump is well aware of Paxton's "qualifications." This weekend, a reporter in Texas asked the former president if he would consider Paxton for AG in a second Trump administration, and Trump said: "I would, actually. He's very, very talented. I mean, we have a lot of people that want that one and will be very good at it. But he's a very talented guy." "Talented" is not the word that we would use for it, but it's exactly the word Trump would use.
Trump has a long history of dangling appointment carrots, only to yank them away, for various reasons. After all, who can forget this image?
Sometimes Trump does it for sadistic purposes, sometimes he does it because it's a way of buying "loyalty" without having to actually pay anything. That said, Paxton makes so very much sense, since he's so very sleazy, and since he would so obviously tote whatever water Trump ordered him to tote. The only real problem is that some Senate Republicans might rebel against confirming him. But that's only a maybe, and if Trump turns the screws... (Z)