Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently announced that he will be traveling to Washington D.C. next week to join a march with Trump supporters disputing the results of the presidential election.
In a Sunday tweet, Paxton called on “all patriots” to join him at the protest on January 6, the same day Congress will meet for a joint session to count the electoral votes certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes,” reads a website description for the rally. “It’s up to the American people to stop it. Along with President Trump, we will do whatever it takes to ensure the integrity of this election for the good of the nation.”
In Congress, Sen. Ted Cruz and 10 other Senate Republicans have promised to reject that electoral college count unless a commission is formed to investigate Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud. A similar effort involving some 30 House Republicans has also kicked off in the lower chamber.
With Democrats in charge of the House and some common sense left among Republicans in the Senate, both rightwing challenges to the certification of the electoral college count are doomed to fail, and amount to little more than a cheap publicity stunt.
It’s no surprise Paxton will be in Washington this week to soak up some attention.
Paxton has led the fruitless legal charge against the election results as a way to distract from his problems with the law at home, namely his FBI-investigated allegations of bribery and abuse of power, and his long-standing charges of securities fraud.
With some Republicans calling for Paxton’s resignation, and Gov. Greg Abbott remaining mute over the charges, Paxton will need all the political capital he can muster as he serves the remainder of his term under the Biden administration and with federal prosecutors knocking on his door.
Photo: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
