In June 2022, Ken Paxton's office asked the Texas Department of Public Safety to compile a list of individuals who had changed their gender on their Texas driver's licenses, and staff compiled 16,466 gender changes. In February 2025, as 19 other states' attorneys general sued over DOGE's access to Treasury records, Paxton said he had no concerns about Elon Musk's staff accessing Americans' private data.
Paxton signed a January 2025 letter urging the Senate to confirm Kristi Noem at Homeland Security; her department then signed a deal under which the IRS turned over more than 47,000 taxpayer records to ICE before courts stopped it. Texas also stayed out of the 22-state lawsuit over Medicaid data, and ICE has no limits on what Texas Medicaid data it can receive.
Ken Paxton's Actions and Statements on Texans' Private Data
- Paxton's Office Asked Texas Police to Count, Then List, Texans Who Changed Their Gender. In June 2022, Ken Paxton's office sent employees at the Texas Department of Public Safety a sweeping request to compile a list of individuals who had changed their gender on their Texas driver's licenses and other department records during the past two years; a state employee said staff were told the office wanted "numbers" and later would want "a list" of names. DPS staff members compiled a list of 16,466 gender changes between June 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022, public records show. Alexis Salkeld Garcia, a transgender woman in Austin who had changed her license, said the inquiry made her feel "terrified."
- Paxton Said He Had No Privacy Concerns About DOGE as It Reached Into Americans' Records. On February 11, 2025, after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued over DOGE's access to a sensitive Treasury payment system, Ken Paxton told the San Antonio Express-News he has no concerns that Elon Musk and his staffers have accessed Americans' private data, and said: "Elon Musk and the DOGE team are doing incredible work to cut the wasteful spending." A judge later found that federal personnel records went to individuals who had no legal right of access to those records. At the Social Security Administration, a whistleblower said a former DOGE employee copied the Social Security numbers, names and birthdays of over 300 million Americans to a cloud environment; the government conceded that DOGE associates may have improperly accessed sensitive data at the agency, and in April 2026 an appeals court vacated a court order limiting DOGE's access.
- Paxton Urged Noem's Confirmation; Her Department Then Obtained 47,000 Taxpayers' Records From the IRS. On January 15, 2025, Ken Paxton was one of 18 state attorneys general who signed a letter asking the Senate "to confirm as soon as possible Governor Kristi Noem" to lead the Department of Homeland Security. In April 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Noem signed a data-sharing agreement for ICE to obtain taxpayers' addresses. The IRS had turned over more than 47,000 records by the time a court stayed it, and a court found the IRS violated its own code approximately 42,695 times; the D.C. Circuit held the agreement indisputably contravenes the requirements of tax privacy law.
- Texas Stayed Out of the Suit That Limited ICE's Use of Medicaid Data, Leaving Texas Enrollees' Records Open. Twenty-two states sued to stop federal health agencies from sharing Medicaid data with the Department of Homeland Security; Ken Paxton's office did not join them, and NPR named Texas among the 28 states where there are no limits on what Medicaid data can be shared. Medicare and Medicaid officials agreed in 2025 to give ICE officials direct access to a Medicaid database that includes enrollees' addresses and citizenship status, and deportation officials have access to personal Medicaid information of all enrollees in the remaining 28 states, KFF Health News reported.
What Ken Paxton's Privacy Record Means for Texans' Records
- Transgender Texans' records. Alexis Salkeld Garcia, a transgender woman in Austin, told the Texas Tribune that learning Paxton's office had sought the records of Texans like her made her feel "terrified."
- Medicaid records. Because Texas did not sue, ICE's access to Medicaid records in Texas is not limited by the court order that covers the 22 suing states, NPR reported in March 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ken Paxton on Big Tech and privacy
What is Ken Paxton's record on big tech and privacy under Trump?
Ken Paxton's office asked Texas police in 2022 to compile a list of people who changed their gender on their licenses. In 2025 he praised DOGE and said he had no concerns about its access to Americans' private data, and he urged the confirmation of Kristi Noem, whose department obtained taxpayer records from the IRS in a deal courts later blocked. Texas stayed out of the suit that limited ICE's access to Medicaid data.
Did Ken Paxton's office try to get a list of transgender Texans?
Ken Paxton's office asked the Texas Department of Public Safety in June 2022 to compile a list of individuals who had changed their gender on their driver's licenses, the Texas Tribune reported, and DPS staff compiled the count. A state employee said staff were told the office later would want "a list" of names.
Does ICE have access to Texans' Medicaid data?
Yes. Ken Paxton's office did not join the 22 states that sued over Medicaid data sharing, and NPR reported that in the remaining 28 states including Texas there are no limits on what Medicaid data can be shared with immigration authorities. A coalition of 22 states told a federal court in March 2026 that ICE appears to have pulled Medicaid data despite the court order in the suing states as well, the Florida Phoenix reported.
Last updated: 2026-10-25