Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives seeking to stop the enforcement of federal regulations regarding firearm suppressors made in Texas. Texas House Bill 957, passed in 2021, expressly exempts from federal regulation firearm suppressors that are made in, and remain in Texas. Federal law regulates firearm suppressors, making it illegal to own a firearm suppressor for personal use without paying a tax. It is also […]
Attorney General
Paxton Joins Comment Letter Against Head Start Program Vaccine and Mask Mandates
Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined a comment letter challenging the “Head Start Rule” that gives all Head Start staff and volunteers until January 31, 2022 to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and also requires all staff and children over 2 years of age to wear a mask. Paxton has recently obtained a Texas-wide preliminary injunction from a federal judge to halt the Head Start vaccine and mask mandates. The Texas Attorney General has to date […]
Paxton Secures $63 Million Statewide Opioid Settlement
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a $63 million statewide opioid settlement with Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The agreement will largely track the terms of the Global Prescription Opioid Litigation Settlement Agreement that was announced on July 23, 2021. Pursuant to the settlement, Endo will pay $63 million into the Texas State Qualified Settlement Fund, without any requirement that the global deal first be finalized, and without any rebates or reductions to the payment amount. This is the third statewide opioid settlement Attorney General Paxton has secured for Texas. In addition to the funds from Endo, Johnson & […]
Paxton Asks Court to Require Biden to Build the Wall
On behalf of the State of Texas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with the State of Missouri, has submitted their motion for a preliminary injunction asking a federal court to order the Biden Administration to immediately resume the building of the southern border wall. This is a follow-on pleading to Attorney General Paxton’s border wall lawsuit filed in October. The lawsuit claims that the Biden Administration violated federal law when it prohibited the Department of Homeland Security from spending the money that Congress has appropriated to build a border wall. “The Biden Administration again and again refuses to aid Texans battling the […]
Paxton Joins Coalition to Stop Title X Funds from Being Used for Abortions
Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a multistate coalition filing an amicus brief in federal court, seeking to prevent Title X funds from being used to subsidize abortions under a rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Called the “Final Rule,” this Biden Administration regulation illegally allows funds appropriated under Title X of the Public Health Service Act to be used in programs where abortion is considered a method of family planning. This is a direct violation of the Public Health Service Act and the Administrative […]
Paxton Files Motion to Stop Biden’s Vaccine Contractor Mandate
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop President Biden’s unlawful vaccine mandate against federal contractors. This sweeping mandate is a part of the President’s unconstitutional efforts to revitalize his flagging vaccination campaign at the cost of individual liberty. “The President’s blatant disdain for those who choose to not receive a vaccine will not be allowed to seep into the great State of Texas,” Attorney General Ken Paxton […]
Paxton Joins Multistate Coalition to Stop Corporations from Forum Shopping
Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a coalition of 43 states and territories to support the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act. Currently, individuals can file for bankruptcy only in the district where they reside, but corporations are permitted to file wherever an affiliated entity is incorporated. This can lead to rampant forum shopping by corporations filing in bankruptcy court jurisdictions that feature favorable laws. Congressional passage of the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act would curb such abuse. Read the letter here.
Paxton Defends Senate Bill 8 in the U.S. Supreme Court
Attorney General Ken Paxton defended Texas’ Senate Bill 8 in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court will address whether the federal courts have jurisdiction over cases brought by Whole Woman’s Health and the United States seeking to enjoin the statute. Neither plaintiff can suffer injury from the State of Texas, however, because it does not enforce the law – only private citizens do. “The Biden Administration does not have the power to sue a state, such as Texas, just because it disagrees with a state law that protects the unborn,” Attorney General Paxton said. “This attempted federal overreach lacks […]
Paxton Sues Biden Administration Over Illegal Vaccine Mandates
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden Administration today to stop its efforts to force federal contractors’ employees to choose between being vaccinated for COVID-19 against their will or risk losing their jobs. President Biden has previously admitted that the federal government does not have such authority, but now he seeks to impose this unprecedented expansion of federal power and encroachment upon individual liberty by forcing employers to require vaccine mandates as a condition of doing business with the federal government. “The Biden Administration has repeatedly expressed its disdain for Americans who choose not to get a vaccine, and it has committed repeated and abusive federal overreach to force upon Americans something they do not […]
Paxton Joins Multistate Coalition to Hold Biden Admin Accountable for Threatening Parents’ First Amendment Rights
After a successful 17-state coalition obtained an apology from the National School Boards Association (NSBA), Attorney General Ken Paxton continued to push back to hold the Biden Administration accountable for colluding with the NSBA after threatening parents’ First Amendment rights. “Free speech is a critical part of our constitution. It’s a human right to be heard, to be understood, and to be respected,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Parents are responsible for their child’s safety, well-being, […]