As Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton sued Harris County in April 2024 to stop Uplift Harris, a program that was to pay 1,928 low-income residents $500 a month for 18 months. At his request the Texas Supreme Court blocked the payments days before they were to begin, and the program has been paused since.
In July 2025 Paxton praised the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Congressional Budget Office found that the law lowers resources for the lowest-income tenth of households while the top tenth gains, and the law ended SNAP's exemption from work rules for people experiencing homelessness.
Ken Paxton's Lawsuit and Statements on Aid to Low-Income Texans
- Paxton Sued to Stop $500 Monthly Payments to 1,928 Low-Income Harris County Residents in 2024. On April 9, 2024, Ken Paxton sued Harris County over Uplift Harris, under which the program would randomly select 1,928 eligible Harris County residents by lottery to receive $500 cash payments each month for 18 months. Two lower courts in Houston denied his attempts to block the program; he then sought a writ of mandamus from the Texas Supreme Court, which kept the payments blocked in a June 2024 opinion. When the county tried a second version, Paxton obtained another stay blocking Harris County in December 2024. The program is currently paused indefinitely, so the families who were selected have not received the money. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said the ruling hit those families and "every one of the 750,000 people living under the crushing weight of poverty in Harris County."
- Paxton Praised a Law That Cuts Resources for the Lowest-Income Households by About $1,200 a Year. Ken Paxton posted on July 1, 2025 that the Senate-passed bill was "One step closer to massive tax cuts," and on July 3, 2025 that "President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is HISTORIC legislation that's going to unleash economic growth." Both posts endorsed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as enacted. The Congressional Budget Office found that, mostly because of the law's cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, resources for the lowest-income tenth of households will decrease by about $1,200 per year (in 2025 dollars), while the top tenth gains about $13,600.
- The Law Paxton Praised Ended SNAP's Exemption for Homeless People, Veterans and Former Foster Youth. The law Ken Paxton praised ended the exemptions from SNAP's three-month time limit for veterans, people experiencing homelessness and former foster youth, and applied the limit to adults through age 64 and to parents of children 14 and older. The Congressional Budget Office estimates a net reduction in SNAP participation of 300,000 people in those groups (veterans, homeless people and former foster youth) in an average month.
What Ken Paxton's Lawsuit and the Law He Praised Cost Low-Income Texans
- Guaranteed income blocked. The Harris County residents chosen for Uplift Harris were promised this money and were counting on these payments to stay afloat, the county said after the Texas Supreme Court ruling that kept the program on hold.
- Food aid. The Texas Tribune found nearly 500,000 fewer eligible Texans participating in SNAP by April 2026, after the law's new work rules and immigrant eligibility limits took effect, alongside other causes the Tribune reported.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ken Paxton on Homelessness and poverty
What is Ken Paxton's record on homelessness and poverty under Trump?
Ken Paxton's lawsuit against Harris County stopped a guaranteed-income program for low-income residents, which the Texas Supreme Court has kept paused since 2024. In July 2025 he praised the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the Congressional Budget Office found lowers resources for the poorest tenth of households and which ended SNAP's work-rule exemption for homeless people. In Texas, nearly 500,000 fewer eligible people were getting SNAP by April 2026.
Is Harris County's guaranteed income program still blocked?
Yes. Ken Paxton's lawsuit led the Texas Supreme Court to block Uplift Harris in June 2024, and the program is currently paused indefinitely, although that order was not a final ruling on the merits. When the county tried a second version, Paxton obtained another stay blocking Harris County in December 2024.
Do homeless people have to meet SNAP work requirements under the law Ken Paxton praised?
Yes. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Ken Paxton praised, people experiencing homelessness no longer have an exemption from SNAP's rule that adults without dependents must show 20 hours of work a week or lose benefits after three months. Civil Eats reported that the new rules went into effect in early November 2025 and are expected to make millions ineligible.
Last updated: 2026-10-25