Long Before Impeachment, G.O.P. Rifts Were Growing in Texas
The impeachment of the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, by a majority of his fellow Republicans has exposed an undercurrent of division and discontent that is roiling the Republican Party in the most populous state where it still enjoys near total political control.
While the vote in the House of Representatives on Saturday tore suddenly through the heart of Texas politics, the underlying resentments had been gathering force for months, if not years, not over individual personalities but over how Republicans should use their power and what shape the party should take in the future.
The fight over Mr. Paxton’s impeachment, which drew in national Republican figures including former President Donald J. Trump, offered a stark demonstration of two increasingly warring currents in Republican politics.
Though the eruption was unexpected — as of a week ago there was little public indication that an impeachment could be imminent — it was the culmination of a session of the Texas Legislature, where Republicans dominate both chambers, that was defined by steadily increasing intraparty acrimony.
Source: The New York Times
