'He Thinks Working People Are a Joke': Ken Paxton Floats Social Security Cuts in Leaked Audio

Ken Paxton, the Republican Party’s nominee for the US Senate in Texas, expressed a willingness to cut programs such as Social Security in a leaked recording published by The Texas Tribune on Thursday.

In the recording, which was made during a private meeting with donors and lobbyists last month, Paxton said he'd target "mandatory spending" programs—which include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—when asked about addressing the US fiscal deficit.

“Making some reasonable cuts to mandatory spending—you’re gonna have to do it," Paxton said. "Or there is no solution. That’s just the reality. We have to suck it up."

The Texas attorney general, who is currently locked in a tight electoral battle against Democrat James Talarico, ruled out tax increases to close the fiscal gap and said he'd back cutting taxes even further.

When lobbyist Jeanne Haggerty told Paxton that she'd "really like to pay my fair share of taxes, which is less than I’m paying right now," Paxton replied, "I'm with you on that," adding that "I think tax cuts will actually generate more revenue."

Paxton's claim flies in the face of decades' worth of evidence showing showing tax cuts result in less revenue for the federal government.

In a statement given to The Texas Tribune, Paxton denied that he planned to support cuts to Social Security or Medicare, even though those two programs make up the bulk of mandatory spending.

“We have to solve the national debt while keeping the promises we made to everyone who paid into these programs,” Paxton said. “The fake news keeps spinning the same cherry-picked audio to mislead Texans and take my words out of context. I have never said I would take away entitlements from those who deserve or earned them.”

The social media account of the Texas Democratic Party pounced on Paxton's leaked remarks.

"Paxton is literally laughing with lobbyists while talking about cutting Social Security and healthcare for Texans," the Texas Democrats wrote. "This guy is just plain evil."

Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, delivered a similarly scathing assessment of the Texas Republican.

"This is a sick man who thinks it’s a joke to push over a million Texans into poverty by stealing their hard-earned benefits," Lawson said. "This 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."

This is now the fourth leaked recording of Paxton to emerge in recent weeks. Prior recordings have featured the Texas Republican complaining about President Donald Trump's Dallas midterm convention and his illegal war with Iran hurting his campaign, as well as griping about a lack of control over his own campaign's messaging.