Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reportedly launched a new lawsuit Wednesday against President Biden for what he calls the “illegal” signing of the $1.7 trillion omnibus budget measure.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 was enacted days before Christmas with more than half of the members absent or voting by proxy.
Paxton’s argument maintains that the United States Constitution requires a quorum to vote on legislation, without which the House may only “djourn from day to day and compel the presence of absent Members, rendering the bill’s passage illegal.
“Nowhere does the U.S. Constitution authorize the House to pass trillion-dollar bills when more than half the members are in their homes, vacationing, or are anywhere physically other than the United States Capitol Building. Our Founders would be turning over in their graves if they could see how former Speaker Nancy Pelosi used proxy voting to upend our constitutional system. That is especially true regarding the 1.7 trillion-dollar bill that should have never been ‘passed.’” Paxton said in a statement.
Paxton has been in office since 2015 and has been a reliable advocate for conservative ideals since that time.
Since that time Paxton has also been involved in legal battles over immigration, voting rights, and the Affordable Care Act.
He has been a strong advocate for stricter immigration policies and has worked to support Texas’s efforts to enforce its own immigration laws.
He has also been involved in lawsuits challenging voting rights, including a high-profile case in which he argued that the Texas Voter ID law was necessary to prevent voter fraud.
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