Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s divorce trial—scheduled for June 24 through 26 at the Collin County Courthouse—has been canceled, easing pressure as he heads into a Senate campaign. The case was set to be open to the public after months of legal fights ove
Ken Paxton is headed into a high-stakes stretch of Texas politics with one less public fight to worry about. The divorce trial looming over his Senate bid—scheduled to run June 24 through June 26 at the Collin County Courthouse—has been cancelled.
The decision. first reported by Bloomberg Law’s Texas court reporter Ryan Autullo in a post dated June 2. comes after Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in a runoff victory last month. Cornyn had been widely viewed as the more durable choice for the general election. largely because Paxton’s political rise has been shadowed by a series of scandals. lawsuits. and controversies. Still. Paxton secured support from the MAGA wing of the GOP during the runoff and drew President Donald Trump’s endorsement late in that contest.
For Paxton, the divorce case had taken on its own political weight. His pending divorce from State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-TX) became public after she announced last July that she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds” in a social media post. Her divorce filing listed adultery as the grounds for the split.
The couple had initially fought to keep the divorce proceedings private. Several state and national news organizations sought to intervene. arguing that the records should be unsealed because both Paxtons are elected officials. They also pointed out that divorce proceedings are normally publicly available in court records by default. and argued that “[t]he grounds alleged for divorce and the disposition of property are of substantial public interest because they bear on integrity in public office. potential use of public resources. and transparency in judicial proceedings.”.
After months of dispute, the Paxtons agreed in late December to allow the records to be unsealed, with privacy redactions such as Social Security Numbers and home addresses.
What made the scheduled June trial especially sensitive was its openness. It was set to take place at the Collin County Courthouse and would have been open to the public and media—prompting speculation that further damaging details could emerge about Paxton at the worst possible moment for a candidate trying to maintain control of his narrative.
On Tuesday, Autullo reported that the trial had been cancelled, writing, “New: Ken and Angela Paxton divorce trial scheduled for June 24-26 is canceled.”
Paxton’s divorce attorneys then issued a statement to reporters, including CNN politics reporter Patrick Svitek. In it. they said: “The parties have jointly agreed that a trial setting is no longer necessary and the Court has removed the case from the trial docket. The parties have made substantial progress toward an amicable resolution of all issues and remain engaged in productive discussions. We are optimistic that a final agreement will be reached in the near future. Out of respect for the family and the ongoing process. no further comment will be made at this time.” The statement was attributed to Laura Roach and Jared Julian. attorneys for Ken Paxton.
Still, the cancellation does not automatically settle the bigger dispute. Lauren McGaughy. Texas politics correspondent for The New York Times. pointed to the court docket showing that the trial had been cancelled—but added that the pause does not necessarily mean the Paxtons have agreed to a final divorce settlement. She noted that if negotiations break down, a new trial date could be scheduled. Angela Paxton’s legal counsel has not yet commented.
The sequence is stark: Paxton’s courtroom vulnerability was set to become public in late June, and then, just as his electoral momentum is taking shape, the trial setting was removed from the docket. The question now is not whether the scrutiny has stopped, but whether it has merely been postponed.
Ken Paxton Angela Paxton divorce trial cancelled Collin County Courthouse Texas politics Senate campaign John Cornyn runoff victory Trump endorsement