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The State of Texas reported $5,110,038 in costs for preparing for and conducting Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2023 impeachment trial. The Texas State Auditor’s Office published that total on March 19, 2025. The House accounted for most of it, and the audit’s scope includes specified public entities’ expenditures, encumbrances and future unpaid obligations—not a forecast for future trials.
How much did the Paxton impeachment trial cost?
The Texas State Auditor’s Office reported a total of $5,110,038 for the 2023 proceeding in its March 19, 2025, report, A Special Audit of Expenses Related to the Impeachment Trial, Report No. 25-021. The amount covers costs reported by the entities included in the audit, including expenditures, encumbrances and future unpaid obligations related to preparing for and conducting the trial.
Which Texas entities reported costs?
The audit attributed costs to five public entities. The House’s total was by far the largest.
| Entity | Reported cost |
|---|---|
| Texas House of Representatives | $4,436,498 |
| Texas Senate | $435,087 |
| Office of the Attorney General | $229,871 |
| Texas Legislative Reference Library | $4,686 |
| Texas Legislative Council | $3,896 |
These figures are from the State Auditor’s 2025 report. The two supporting legislative entities together accounted for $8,582.
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What drove the spending?
Contracted professional services were the largest cost category: $4,403,729, or 86 percent of the reported total. The audit says this category included attorneys, investigators and related costs. Other reported categories were salaries and wages, legislative per diem, travel and supplies.
| Cost category | Reported cost |
|---|---|
| Contracted professional services | $4,403,729 |
| Salaries and wages | $479,470 |
| Legislative per diem | $150,344 |
| Travel | $61,277 |
| Supplies | $15,218 |
Category totals are from the State Auditor’s 2025 report. Within the House’s $4,436,498 total, the audit lists $4,049,122 for professional services, $274,419 for salaries and wages, $79,624 for per diem, $29,425 for travel and $3,908 for supplies. The Senate’s $435,087 includes $325,101 for professional services, $70,720 for per diem, $31,852 for travel and $7,414 for supplies. Its professional-services figure includes a future obligation for trial-journal production estimated by the Senate.
The Attorney General’s Office total included $200,365 in salaries and wages and $29,506 in contracted professional services; the audit notes that some wage costs were estimates.
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Who pays for a Texas impeachment trial?
The audited costs were reported by the Texas House, Texas Senate, Office of the Attorney General, Texas Legislative Reference Library and Texas Legislative Council. The evidence supports describing $5,110,038 as the State’s reported cost. It does not establish that every dollar came from one dedicated impeachment-trial fund or a single budget line.
The distribution reflects the institutional roles involved. The Senate’s official impeachment information explains that the House has the power of impeachment and the Senate the duty to try an impeachment. Supporting legislative offices and the Attorney General’s Office also appear in the auditor’s defined scope.
What the total does—and does not—tell you
This is a specific accounting of the Paxton proceeding that began in 2023, not a standard price for Texas impeachment trials or an estimate of what a future proceeding would cost. The audit covered specified state entities and their related costs; it does not establish a total for every private expense associated with the trial.
The State Auditor’s Office says it reviewed documentation and analyzed transactions in the Uniform Statewide Accounting System, the State’s accounting system of record, and followed generally accepted government auditing standards. Its report is the primary source for the published cost figures.
How the Senate conducted the trial
The Senate’s Paxton trial rules said senators sat as the court of impeachment and assigned the Senate clerk to ensure necessary court reporters. The rules also allowed each party to have its own reporter at that party’s expense; they do not provide a separate total for reporter costs.
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In a June 22, 2023, release, the Senate described impeachment this way: “Impeachment is not a judicial procedure, though its protocols and conduct closely resemble those of a court of law.” The release also quoted Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was to preside: “The citizens of Texas can count on the Senate of Texas to have a fair and just trial.” That was Patrick’s assurance before the trial, not evidence about its cost or an independent assessment of its fairness. (Texas Senate, June 22, 2023.)
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