Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a furious attack on state appeals court judges on Wednesday after they temporarily halted discovery in his lawsuit against Powered By People, a political group founded by former Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke.
The dispute centers on Paxton’s attempt to block the organization from helping Democratic state lawmakers cover fines, travel, and lost wages incurred during their 2021 walkout from the Texas Legislature. The lawmakers left the state for two weeks in protest of a Donald Trump-backed Republican redistricting plan that Democrats argued would weaken five of their seats.
Despite the protest, Republicans ultimately passed the map after Democrats returned. The plan is now the subject of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit. At the same time, Paxton moved to stop O’Rourke’s group from supporting the lawmakers financially, arguing it amounted to an illegal bribery scheme.
With the appeals court pausing discovery, Paxton erupted online, accusing the judges of siding with Democrats. “What we are witnessing in Texas right now is a constitutional crisis being orchestrated by activist judges on the Beto-loving Fifteenth Court of Appeals,” Paxton wrote on X.
“Beto said, ‘f*** the rules,’ and these unelected justices — Scott Brister, Scott Field, and April Farris — are helping him do just that with his unlawful bribery scheme. What’s worse is that the Texas Supreme Court just made a ruling refusing to stop the appeals court’s insane decision to help Beto.”
He continued, “We must stop Beto from buying off our politicians and the judicial activism allowing it to happen.” O’Rourke responded sharply but briefly, mocking Paxton’s claim that judges appointed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott were working on his behalf.
“You think the 15th appeals court judges appointed by Greg Abbott are working for me?” O’Rourke wrote. “You okay?” The clash adds fuel to an already heated political season in Texas. Paxton is running in the Republican Senate primary against longtime incumbent John Cornyn.
The race has turned personal, with both men attacking each other’s records, and Paxton has also faced headlines after reports that his wife is divorcing him over infidelity. The appeals court decision does not end Paxton’s lawsuit but delays its progress, leaving Powered By People free, for now, to continue assisting Democratic lawmakers.
The pause underscores the broader legal and political battles playing out in Texas, where partisan fights over redistricting, election rules, and judicial authority have become defining issues ahead of the 2026 election cycle.