AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Before the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Ken Paxton, immediately suspending him from office, both former President Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz issued statements supporting the attorney general.
The question is what impact his comments will have on Republican members of the Texas Senate, who will be among those deciding whether to convict and permanently impeach Paxton.
Dr. Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project at UT Austin, told CBS News Texas that’s the million dollar question right now. “Ultimately, senators will have to deal with the evidence when it comes, but they will also have to deal with the fact that the [former] The President of the United States is a very, very popular politician among Texas Republicans [and] has come to Ken Paxton’s defense.”
WATCH: Can Ken Paxton survive in the Senate? Dr. Joshua Blank shares thoughts
For his part, Paxton said he is confident he will receive a fair and just trial in the Senate and called the House impeachment against him “an ugly show” and a “political farce.”
Members of the General House Investigative Committee accused Paxton of abusing his position and power to benefit himself and one of his campaign donors. The 20 articles of impeachment include obstruction of justice, abuse of public trust and constitutional bribery.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has reportedly said that while he will preside over Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Senate, he will not vote.
But Blank said Trump’s statement is interesting given how close he is to the lieutenant governor. “The lieutenant governor is one of the former president’s closest advisers here in Texas, and it’s hard to imagine that the former president of the United States would not have made a statement in support of Ken Paxton without the lieutenant governor’s knowledge. , if you don’t endorse it.”
One unanswered question is whether Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton of McKinney, will recuse herself from the trial. CBS News Texas left a message with his Senate office on Sunday, but has yet to hear back.
Trump also issued a statement calling out Gov. Greg Abbott, who has remained silent on Paxton’s impeachment, saying:
“MISSING IN ACTION! Where is the Texas governor on firing his attorney general?”
CBS News Texas reached out to the governor’s office for comment, but has not heard back.
Blank said, “It’s really not surprising because for the most part, most people, most Republicans don’t want to touch this with a 10-foot stick at this point.”
But the five Republican House members representing Collin County, where Paxton is based, had to grapple with the issue.
They all voted to impeach him.
In a joint statement, Republican Reps. Jeff Leach of Allen, Matt Shaheen of Plano, Frederick Frazier of McKinney, Justin Holland of Heath and Candy Noble of Murphy said “this was an incredibly difficult vote.”
But they also said it was clear to them “that sufficient evidence actually exists to vote to recommend articles of impeachment to the Texas Senate for a full trial.”
“The top law enforcement official in the state of Texas should be above and beyond the call of duty, and we can do better,” Rep. Holland told CBS News Texas after the vote impeachment Saturday evening.
When asked if the Paxton brand is now tarnished, Blank said he thinks it’s too early to tell. “Is it tainted with the core Republican constituency and conservative Republican voters? If so, and if so, I think a lot of his advocates are going to be a lot quieter, a lot quicker.”
But in the short term, the next step will be to figure out what date the Senate will set for Paxton’s trial, where he can defend himself against the articles of impeachment.
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