In recent years, Republican officials at the national level have been largely content to look the other way on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s many scandals. When the scandal-plagued Texan became a problem for the party, however, that changed in a hurry.
Paxton first became a problem a few months ago when the state attorney general announced that he would take on incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a GOP primary. Paxton became an even bigger problem for Republicans when polls showed him leading Cornyn — by a wide margin.
For a party establishment that not only supports Cornyn but that also believes a Paxton primary victory might put Cornyn’s Senate seat in play, there was only one option: It was time for Republican leaders and officials to go after the incumbent senator’s intraparty rival.
It was against this backdrop that NBC News reported:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee sharply criticized Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton … amid a public divorce from his wife — state Sen. Angela Paxton. ‘What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez wrote on X. ‘No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.’
On the surface, all of this makes a degree of sense. Last week, Angela Paxton issued a statement saying she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds” and “in light of recent discoveries,” suggesting that there were new and relevant developments in their lives.
The New York Times reported, “The divorce petition said that the couple had not been living together since June 2024 and that the grounds for divorce included that Mr. Paxton ‘has committed adultery.’”
While those claims have not been definitively proven, they weren’t altogether surprising, either: When Ken Paxton faced a state House investigation, the probe accused him of repeatedly breaking the law by, among other things, abusing his office to hide an extramarital affair.
It’s possible this will have an influence on primary voters in Texas; time will tell. But the National Republican Senatorial Committee should probably be prepared for some uncomfortable questions about its standards.
As of last week, according to the NRSC, Paxton alleged infidelities deserved to be seen as “truly repulsive and disgusting,” and that no one should have to “endure” what his wife has had to put up with. OK, but Donald Trump, who’s been married three times, has also repeatedly been accused of adultery. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who’s also been married three times, has faced similar accusations. Should the public see them as “truly repulsive” too? As MSNBC’s Chris Hayes asked the NRSC’s communications director via social media, “Is the idea here that cheating on your wife in a way that later becomes humiliatingly public is disqualifying for public office? Do I have this right?” As best as I can tell, the NRSC has not yet responded to this line of inquiry.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
