Attorney General Ken Paxton, alongside the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) on behalf of Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, sued the Biden Administration for its illegal mask mandate for airlines and airports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) mandate was unlawfully issued. It was not authorized by Congress, and the CDC did not put the mandate up for notice and comment, which is ordinarily required for regulations like this. Yet a person’s failure to comply with the Administration’s mask mandate carries criminal penalties. “Biden’s repeated disregard of the individual liberties of Texans is not […]
Attorney General Ken Paxton
Paxton Sues Biden Admin for Unconstitutional, Illegal Minimum Wage Hike for Federal Contractors
Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Biden Administration for unilaterally and unlawfully imposing an increase in the minimum wage for all federal contractors by executive order. The president has no authority to overrule Congress, which has sole authority to set the minimum wage and which already rejected a minimum wage increase. This disastrous policy will lead to countless layoffs, inflation, and economic harm to Texans. “President Biden has chosen to ignore the Constitution, federal law, […]
Paxton Files Preliminary Injunction to Halt Unlawful Vaccine Mandate for Texas State Troops
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to halt the Biden Administration’s unlawful vaccine mandate imposed on the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The Texas Governor, not the President nor any federal military official, possesses the power to direct disciplinary actions for any non-federalized Texas Guardsmen. This latest example of federal overreach threatens to undermine the Governor’s chain of command, blur the lines of accountability, […]
AG Paxton Hosts Border Summit for Twelve Attorneys General
Attorney General Ken Paxton is hosting a two-day border summit for 12 state attorneys general in McAllen, Edinburg, Weslaco and Rio Grande City. Attorney General Paxton invited the attorneys general to witness first-hand accounts of the massive influx of illegal immigrants that are currently affecting, not only Texas, but our entire country. The attorneys general are meeting with top officials from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and […]
Paxton Sues Google for Misleading Endorsements
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Google LLC, for engaging in false and misleading practices in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices—Consumer Protection Act. In the lawsuit, Texas seeks a temporary and permanent injunction ordering Google to cease its misleading practices, and civil monetary penalties for past misconduct. The basis for the lawsuit is Google’s employment of iHeartMedia to record and broadcast advertisements in the Dallas-Fort Worth and the Greater Houston markets to promote a Google brand smartphone, the “Pixel 4.” Google provided the script for the ads which included […]
Paxton Joins Letter Against OSHA Mandate
Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined several states in a comment letter opposing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which requires companies with 100+ employees to force them to be vaccinated or to test negative on a weekly basis. OSHA’s proposal was issued less than a year after it concluded that COVID-19 did not merit a workplace safety rule. The Biden Administration has not withdrawn the proposed ETS despite the U.S. Supreme […]
Paxton Joins Comment Letter Against Vaccine Mandate for CMS Healthcare Employees
Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined several states in a comment letter against the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which requires vaccination of all healthcare workers at CMS facilities throughout the country. It is estimated that this vaccine mandate would affect more than 17 million people and approximately 76,000 healthcare providers and would include essential care facilities such as hospice providers, emergency care hospitals in rural areas, federally-qualified health care clinics, and care facilities for those with intellectual disabilities. In addition to […]
Paxton Joins Multi-State Effort to Stop Amendments that Benefit Sex Traffickers
Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a multi-state letter with other attorneys general objecting to the American Law Institute (ALI) proposed amendments to the Model Penal Code (MPC). If adopted, the amendments would negatively affect human trafficking victims by reducing legal protections and reducing criminal liability for human traffickers. The amendments would also increase the risk that those purchasing sex or profiting from it could escape responsibility for their role in sex trafficking. In addition, ALI’s proposed amendments would remove sex offender registration requirements – which are intended to protect the public and especially children – from several felonies: sex trafficking, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, online enticement, sexual assaults not involving aggravated force, sexual assault of minors that are age 13 or older, and possession, distribution, or production […]
Paxton Joins Multistate Coalition to Stop Experimentation on Youth
Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a multistate coalition to defend against a challenge to Arkansas’ law that stops experimentation on children experiencing gender dysphoria. In the scientific community, the general consensus has been that more research is needed before providing children with potentially irreversible “gender-affirming care,” such as providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgical interventions. Multiple studies show that most childhood gender-identity issues resolve naturally with time, and that it is impossible to know ahead of time which child’s symptoms may persist into adulthood, warranting further treatment. The medical evidence also shows that nearly all children whose gender dysphoria is treated with puberty blockers to “buy […]
Paxton Files Lawsuit Against Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration challenging its “Vaccine Mandate Rule.” This mandate imposes an unprecedented federal vaccine decree on nearly every full-time employee, part-time employee, student, intern, volunteer, and contractor working at a wide range of healthcare facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding. “At a time when we need healthcare workers more than ever before, amid a harrowing worker shortage, the Biden Administration has prioritized this unlawful vaccine mandate over the healthcare of all Americans,” Attorney […]