A Dozen of the Most Disturbing Legal Actions Ken Paxton Took in 2024

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Ken Paxton’s (alleged) illegal actions are one thing. His legal actions are a whole other can of worms. Here we’ve compiled an incomplete list of some of the most upsetting legal maneuvers Paxton performed in 2024 to help make Texas a little worse.

Wait, Who’s Limiting Women’s Protections Here?

If you take Ken Paxton’s office at their word, this April lawsuit was intended to block the Biden administration’s “Assault on Women’s Rights and Title IX,” as the federal government sought to “remove protections for women,” per the office’s news release. In fact, the Biden administration’s new rule expanded protections. Specifically, it altered the definition of someone’s sex to include the gender they identify with, so that Title IX, a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools, would also protect trans students.

Less Overtime for Low-Income Workers

In June, Texas filed a lawsuit seeking to dismantle a Biden administration rule that would extend mandatory overtime pay to 4 million salaried workers. The new rule increased salary thresholds that determine employee eligibility for overtime. Paxton argued this compensation would “wreck state budgets.”

Why Should Foreigners Have Basic Workers’ Rights

Later in June, Paxton’s office took aim at a new federal rule that would allow certain foreign agricultural workers in America to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. A news release from the office characterized the new rule as one that grants foreign workers “more rights than Amer­i­can workers,” by “privileging aliens in the country ... with special treatment.”

Fear the Reefer

Paxton kicked off 2024 by filing lawsuits against the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, and Denton for their policies to not prosecute low-level marijuana possession. “I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities,” the A.G. – a real buzzkill – warned in a press release that weed is linked to “psychosis and other negative consequences.” Well, you know? That’s just, like, uh, your opinion, man.

No Discreet Birth Control for Teens

If you want to minimize abortions, minimizing teen pregnancy would seem to be a logical goal. Apparently not to Ken Paxton’s office. In July, the office sued the Biden administration over a rule that allowed teens to get contraception from federal clinics without alerting their parents. The Nixon-era Title X program has long been Texas teens’ only option for confidential contraception, but a court ruling in 2022 required new parental approval. As the court case was playing out, the Biden administration issued a new rule emphasizing that Title X providers couldn’t require parental consent. Paxton filed the new suit in Amarillo, so it would be heard by reliably right-wing federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who made the initial decision to require parental sign-offs.

Suing Doctors Over Gender-Affirming Care, Sure, Why Not

In the first test of Texas’ ban on gender-affirming care for minors (Senate Bill 14), Paxton sued a Dallas pediatrician for providing hormone treatments to teens. The suit describes the doctor as a “scofflaw” and a “radical gender activist.” A news release from his office promised, “Doctors who continue to provide these harmful 'gender transition’ drugs and treatments will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

You’re Really Not Free to Leave

Texas’s near-total abortion ban began in 2022. As part of the 2024-2025 budget, the city of Austin appropriated $400,000 to help city residents pay for travel and child care to make out-of-state trips for abortions easier. Paxton sued to end that, arguing in the filing that the budget item does not serve a “legitimate public purpose.”

Would You Like a Side of Firearms With Your Fried Twinkie?

In August, Paxton sued the city of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas over their decision to prohibit firearms at the state fair following a shooting at last year’s gathering. Despite being thrice denied a court order to block the firearm ban, the A.G.’s office signaled the matter wasn’t closed, even if the fair is for the year: “The state intends to continue litigating its case in the trial court.”

Not to Be Nazi Vibes But Please List All of Your Deviants

Back in 2022, Paxton’s office asked the Texas Dept. of Public Safety to compile a list of all Texans who changed the gender on their driver’s licenses in recent years. DPS didn’t provide the data. But in August this year, a DPS rule change surfaced: Texans can no longer change the sex on their driver’s license to match their gender identity – even if they present the state with a certified court order. An internal DPS email about the rule change also asked driver’s license staff to compile the names of people who seek to change their gender on their ID. Of course, the change was prompted by Ken Paxton. DPS explained the change, saying, “The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has recently raised concerns.”

Build the Wall, or Else

When he took office in 2021, Biden issued an executive order to block border wall construction and to direct the Department of Homeland Security to find a way to redirect the money earmarked for wall building. Six months after Biden took office, the Texas A.G. sued to stop that reallocation of money. This summer, the Biden administration’s deadline to appeal passed, securing Paxton a win. As the Attorney General’s Office announced that day, the Biden administration would be forced to continue building a border wall using roughly $1.4 billion Congress allocated for it during Trump’s presidency.

Lizards, Get Fucked

In a real WTF moment, last month Paxton’s office sued the Biden administration over listing a rare Texas lizard as endangered. Or, as the office put it in the title of its news release, “Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Biden Administration Over Attempt to Undermine Texas Oil and Gas Industries by Weaponizing Environmental Law.” In May, federal regulators decided that the oil industry’s expansion posed a massive threat to the lizard’s survival. Paxton argues regulators “failed to rely on the best scientific and commercial data.” (In 2023, the Fish and Wildlife Service found that the lizard is “functionally extinct” across half of its range.)

Let’s Do a Lawsuit to Make a Nonissue Seem Like an Issue

As part of his broader effort to sow doubt in the legitimacy of our presidential election, Paxton has been on the hunt for noncitizen voters. Oct. 22, Paxton sued the Biden administration for not providing data on noncitizens, even though noncitizen voting is illegal and, experts say, exceedingly rare.