Aaron Reitz, whom President Donald Trump tapped to help lead the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy, announced a bid on Thursday to become Texas’s next attorney general. 

Reitz, also a close ally to outgoing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, touted his ties to the Trump administration in a campaign announcement in which he vowed to “be on the frontlines defending the MAGA movement.” Pointing to his record, including suing the “lawless and crooked” Biden administration 46 times while he was Paxton’s right-hand man, Reitz suggested he would “use every ounce of legal firepower to defend President Trump, crush the radical Left, advance the America and Texas First agenda, and look out for everyday Texans.”

He also cast himself as the “true MAGA attorney [general]” Texas needs to target progressive district attorneys viewed by Republicans as soft on crime. Super PACs funded by George Soros are pouring millions of dollars into supporting Democratic candidates ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 

Reitz, a former Marine who saw deployments to Afghanistan, was Paxton’s deputy attorney general for legal strategy and chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). 

Reitz’s announcement came a day after he resigned as the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for legal policy. 

“As Texas Attorney General, I’ll ensure the full weight of the office is behind President Trump and his agenda,” he said in a statement. “We’ll be on the frontlines defending the MAGA movement and leading the charge to oppose the blue state lawfare being waged against the Trump Administration.”

“I know that if the president doesn’t get a true MAGA attorney in that spot, all kinds of dominoes are going to fall, and it’s going to be very bad for the nation,” Reitz added. 

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Reitz will likely face competition during the Republican primary. 

James E. “Trey” Trainor, the Federal Election Commission’s acting chairman and a strong Trump ally, is also strongly considering a bid for the Texas attorney general’s seat next year.