Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, impeached by state House of Representatives

Austin, Texas — The GOP-led Texas House of Representatives on Saturday voted decisively to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, who had 20 articles of impeachment brought up against him earlier this week. 

The final vote was 121 voting to impeach, with 23 voting against impeachment and two voting present. Paxton will now be immediately removed from his job pending a Senate trial. 

The 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton included accusations of bribery, obstruction of justice and abuse of the public trust. Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over accusations that he used his office to help a donor and was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015. 

Paxton released a statement immediately after the vote calling it an “ugly spectacle” and said it was a “politically motivated sham since the beginning.” 

“[House Speaker Dade] Phelan’s coalition of Democrats and liberal Republicans is now in lockstep with the Biden Administration, the abortion industry, anti-gun zealots, and woke corporations to sabotage my work as Attorney General, including our ongoing litigation to stop illegal immigration, uphold the rule of law and protect the constitutional right of every Texan,” Paxton said.

Paxton’s wife, Angela Paxton, is a state senator and could preside over the trial.