New Texas Solicitor General Inherits Platform to Change Federal Law and Policies

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s choice last week to be the state’s new solicitor general is a renowned scholar, zealous advocate and “a key member of the conservative legal movement” with expertise litigating against alleged regulatory overreach by federal authorities, according to lawyers and academics who know his past work and even those who have done battle with him in court.

Experts say that the selection of Brigham Young University law professor Aaron Nielson, who specializes in administrative law, civil procedure, antitrust law and the federal courts, to be the state’s top appellate lawyer is a signal that Paxton is doubling down on his commitment to bring litigation against regulatory policies of the Biden administration.