Paxton’s Travel Security Costs Millions, but Most Trips Lacked Listed State Business
A review of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s travel records found nearly 1,000 trips during his tenure and $3.3 million in security expenses, with only 138 trips and $553,000 tied to state business. During his 2023 impeachment suspension, he took at least 17 trips, including to resort areas and properties he owned, while state police accompanied him. The analysis found just one in six trips had a stated business purpose and that security costs were higher than previously reported.
Ken Paxton, Texas’s attorney general and a Republican now seeking a U.S. Senate seat, has used a publicly financed security team on almost 1,000 trips since taking office in 2015. Those trips carried $3.3 million in security costs; the newsrooms linked only 138 trips and $553,000 to documented state work.
While suspended after his 2023 impeachment, Paxton made at least 17 trips, including to Park City, Vail, an Oklahoma lodge he owns, and a Utah golf-resort area where he later bought four condominiums. State police traveled with him. Records rarely list a purpose, including visits to Hawaii, Utah, and Florida, where he or a family trust holds property.
The findings could intensify scrutiny of how elected officials use security details and public funds, potentially affecting taxpayers, state law enforcement resources, and voters assessing Paxton’s Senate bid. They may also prompt broader questions about disclosure rules for travel by attorneys general and other state leaders. If such spending is seen as personal benefit rather than necessary protection, public trust in state government could suffer, though security needs and official duties can complicate simple judgments.