Paxton says he’ll stop wasteful spending. Taxpayers covered $3.3 million in security for his travel, most of it with no stated state business.
Taxpayers are also paying $6.6 million for his office’s illegal firings, and his office answered a 3% cut order by asking for $58 million more.
Paxton says he is a strong fiscal conservative who will stop wasteful spending.
Source: Campaign issues page, Oct. 18, 2026 · Ken Paxton for SenateWhat the record shows
Paxton says he will stop wasteful spending. 01 Since 2015 he has taken nearly 1,000 trips with a state-paid security detail costing $3.3 million; reporters could tie only 138 of them to state business, and there is no record that he or his campaign repaid any of it. 07 08
Texas is paying $6.6 million to the four aides his office illegally fired for reporting him to the FBI, after he first asked lawmakers to fund a $3.3 million settlement. 02 03 His office handed outside law firms contingency-fee contracts, including one that billed $97 million and employs a former Paxton aide. 04
When state leaders ordered every agency to cut its budget request by 3% in July 2026, his office’s top request was to reverse its cut, part of $58.1 million in extra funding and 152 new positions. 05 06
The record behind this
- Paxton asks lawmakers to pay a $3.3 million settlement with the aides who reported him
Lawmakers declined, and the House opened the inquiry that led to his impeachment.
- Paxton drops his appeal; taxpayers will pay the whistleblowers $6.6 million
- Paxton’s office hands more work to costly private lawyers, including a firm employing a former aide
Keller Postman billed $97 million on the Meta case.
- Ordered to cut 3%, Paxton’s office asks for $58.1 million more and 152 new positions
Its top extra request is $14.86 million to reverse the cut.
- Paxton’s state-paid security detail cost $3.3 million; 1 in 6 trips had a stated business purpose
Records tie 138 of nearly 1,000 trips to state business. He took at least 17 trips while suspended in 2023, and state officials have no record of reimbursement.
Paxton’s response
His office said he has faced security threats tied to his work against cartels and violent criminals, but did not answer reporters’ questions about specific trips. 07 He has defended the outside-counsel contracts as worth it for the state. 04
Sources
- 01The Fight at Hand (campaign issues page)Ken Paxton for Senate · Oct. 18, 2026
- 02Attorney General Ken Paxton agrees to apologize and pay $3.3 million to whistleblowers in settlementThe Texas Tribune · Feb. 10, 2023
- 03Paxton drops appeal: Texas to pay $6.6 million to whistleblowersThe Texas Tribune · July 3, 2025
- 04Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is handing more of his office’s work to costly private lawyersThe Texas Tribune / ProPublica · July 24, 2025
- 05Legislative Appropriations Request for Fiscal Years 2028 and 2029Office of the Attorney General of Texas · Sept. 2, 2026
- 06Texas GOP leaders order state agencies to cut spending by 3%The Texas Tribune · July 15, 2026
- 07Ken Paxton took nearly 1,000 trips with state-funded security detail costing millions of dollarsThe Texas Tribune · Oct. 9, 2026
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