{"id":460805,"date":"2026-10-09T04:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T04:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/460805\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T04:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T04:04:19","slug":"ken-paxton-laughs-while-he-proposes-defunding-social-security-in-latest-leaked-audio-clip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/460805\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken Paxton laughs while he proposes defunding Social Security in latest leaked audio clip"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ThereKen Paxton speaks during a conservative rally. Credit: Wikimedia Commons \/ Gage Skidmore<\/p>\n

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2019s campaign seems to have a hot mic problem. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, another leaked audio recording of the Republican U.S. Senate candidate surfaced, this one capturing remarks that appear to contradict his campaign\u2019s earlier position that he wouldn\u2019t cut Social Security. <\/p>\n

In the clip, Paxton is heard talking with D.C. lobbyists about slashing \u201cmandatory spending,\u201d a category of federal expenditures that includes Social Security along with Medicare and Medicaid. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaking some reasonable cuts to mandatory spending \u2014 you\u2019re gonna have to do it,\u201d Paxton said in the recording obtained by the Texas Tribune. \u201cOr there is no solution. That\u2019s just the reality. We have to suck it up. And we, from Republican presidents to Democrats, we\u2019ve been spending like crazy. And no one seems to care. And it\u2019s gonna bankrupt us. It\u2019s just a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

NEW @TexasTribune<\/a>: Ken Paxton privately suggested he’d support cutting federal benefit programs, per new leaked audio.<\/p>\n

Asked about reducing the deficit, he said: \u201cMaking some reasonable cuts to mandatory spending \u2013 you’re gonna have to do it.”<\/p>\n

“We have to suck it up.” pic.twitter.com\/mxmb45Me2o<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kayla Guo (@kaylaguo_) October 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Paxton is then heard laughing alongside D.C. lobbyist Jeanne Haggerty, who was joking about paying too much in taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would really like to pay my fair share of taxes, which is less than I\u2019m paying right now,\u201d Haggerty says as Paxton chuckles.<\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s stance in the audio recording differs sharply from a statement his campaign gave the Current in August. At that time, the campaign\u2019s deputy communications manager, Noah Jennings, said his boss was against any cuts to Social Security<\/a>.\u200b<\/p>\n

\u201cSeniors worked their entire lives and paid into Social Security with every paycheck,\u201d Jennings told the Current. \u201cThey earned these benefits, and Washington has no business cutting them. Attorney General Paxton will fight to protect Social Security for today\u2019s retirees and keep that promise for our children and grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

One person who didn\u2019t find Paxton\u2019s audio recording worth a chuckle is Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, a political group that campaigns to protect retirees\u2019 Social Security benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a sick man who thinks it\u2019s a joke to push over a million Texans into poverty by stealing their hard-earned benefits,\u201d Lawson said. \u201cThis is a man who should not be allowed anywhere near the levers of power, since clearly he thinks working people are a joke to be laughed at with the billionaire donors he works for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The leaked audio is the latest headache for Paxton, who is in a virtual tie with his Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump campaigned alongside Paxton in San Antonio on Wednesday in an effort to boost the attorney general\u2019s poll numbers. After the rally, Trump ordered Paxton in a Truth Social post to debate Talarico<\/a> before Election Day.<\/p>\n

Talarico, who is recovering from the flu<\/a>, quickly accepted the challenge. But the attorney general\u2019s campaign still hasn\u2019t said whether it plans to obey Trump\u2019s directive.<\/p>\n

Election Day is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

Texas politics is a mess. We make it a readable mess.<\/p>\n

Sign up for San Antonio Current\u2019s new \u201cTexas Politics This Week\u201d newsletter.<\/p>\n

Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ken\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe recording also contradicts what Paxton\u2019s campaign told the Current about his stance on Social Security in August. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Gov\u2019t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tHaynes and Gov\u2019t Mule will play San Antonio\u2019s Majestic Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 14, with Ziggy Marley. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Trump\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tCuellar and his wife, charged with bribery, money laundering and conspiracy, were pardoned in December. In a social media post, Trump indicated he expected Cuellar to run as a Republican.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>\n

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