Texas AG Ken Paxton denies critique of Gov. Abbott: 'Fake News New York Times strikes again'

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton pushed back on a New York Times report that quoted him hedging on whether he supports the state's GOP governor, Greg Abbott.

Paxton, a rising conservative star in the Lone Star State, has been a fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump, and as the paper noted -- and led an ultimately unsuccessful multi-state lawsuit seeking to overturn presidential election tallies in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump is "clearly still the leader of the [Republican] Party," Paxton told the Times, as the paper described the state's lead position in the election lawsuit as "invigorating" his political career ahead of the 2022 statewide elections when Abbott is likely to seek a third term. The Times had reported that Paxton "seemed careful to distance himself from a governor whose legacy he once tried to emulate" -- noting the criticisms of Abbott's since-repealed pandemic-related economic lockdown orders.