Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to stop the president from instituting a $15 an hour minimum wage for government contractors.
Paxton called President Joe Biden's executive order "unlawful federal overreach."
SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson said unlike suing over mask or vaccine mandates or the federal government's handling of the southern border, "those are areas where Paxton could get a lot of traction in the Texas electorate, especially among Texas Republicans. Trying to fight a $15 an hour minimum wage is not such a clear winner for him."
Wilson also noted that Paxton is involved in a reelection campaign and faces three Republican primary opponents. The primary election is on March 1.
"Positioning himself in an adversarial posture against the Biden administration can only help him in a Republican primary," Wilson said.
He added Paxton tended to favor more state and employer autonomy as opposed to federal mandates, and this Biden administration policy does increase federal control.
Wilson said the U.S. is de facto approaching a minimum wage hike anyway because of the tightness of the labor market.
"Good luck finding employees of any quality for less than $15 an hour. Tightness in the labor market has caused even traditionally low wage occupations to raise pay," he said.
He says the 5th Circuit court, which is generally conservative, could rule in favor of Paxton.
Louisiana and Mississippi have also joined the lawsuit.
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