AP reports Paxton’s 275 trips, 730 blank workdays

An Associated Press review of Texas and campaign records found that Attorney General Ken Paxton took more than 275 out-of-state trips since taking office in 2015, while about 730 workdays were blank on his official calendars. Taxpayers paid at least $1.9 million for his security detail’s travel, with expenses rising to nearly $400,000 in 2024; one trip to Augusta during the Masters, where Paxton launched his Senate campaign, cost at least $25,000. Records do not establish how Paxton financed much of his own travel, and Texas law does not require the attorney general to disclose his daily schedule, leaving the purposes and duration of many trips unclear. The pattern has drawn questions about how much attention he devoted to his state duties as his national political profile grew.