Paxton's DOGE Loyalty Now Has a Cost, and Texas Cattle Are Paying It Ken Paxton has spent the last year positioning himself as the Trump administration's most reliable Texas ally. That positioning now sits alongside an active screwworm outbreak spreading through South and Central Texas ranch country. USDA has confirmed six cases of New World screwworm in Texas livestock since June 3, with confirmed infections in Zavala, La Salle, Gillespie, and Edwards counties. The Texas Ani