DALLAS — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is likely to have John Scott, a Fort Worth attorney and lobbyist, on speed dial by now.
Scott has become a go-to for the governor. He's the man Abbott called a couple months ago to take over at the Attorney General’s office after Ken Paxton was impeached and suspended from his position.
“I took the smallest office I could find on the floor,” Scott said in an upcoming episode of the Y’all-itics political podcast. “A lot of that was to make sure they understand that I was last and least among the equals there. I was there to help serve them, serve the state, and I wanted to make sure they knew I was there in a humble role.”
For the first time, Scott revealed what the morale is like inside the Texas Attorney General’s Office after Paxton was suspended.
“The real goal at that point in time was to visit with folks who worked there. So, those first two weeks over there, there was a lot of talk about what happens with the impeachment. And it was always about the same subject,” Scott explained. “After about two weeks people were back talking completely about cases, what is our next step. And that is what’s going on today. They’re back as close to normal as possible since the impeachment.”
This is Scott’s second high-profile appointment by the governor in the last few years.
Abbott appointed him as Texas secretary of state in 2021 as some were suspicious of voting systems after the 2020 election. Scott led an audit that found no widespread fraud.
He left as secretary of state in January only to have Abbott call him back as attorney general in May.
But Scott, 61, said this temporary assignment ends on Friday morning after six weeks in the position because he said he needs to return to his law practice.
“It’s hard to disengage from clients who need you for a purpose and say I’ll see you when I see you. I at least wanted to let them know when I might be back able to represent them again,” he added.
Angela Colmenero takes over on Friday morning at 10 a.m. as the interim attorney general. She spent a decade in the office but most recently served as Abbott’s deputy chief of staff.
Scott has helped calm some sticky situations. What remains uncertain with his departure, though, is when and why the governor will call on him again.