An attorney with over 34 years of experience, Scott most recently served as Texas Secretary of State
AUSTIN, Texas (Texas Insider Report) — “John Scott has the background and experience needed to step in as a short-term Interim Attorney General during the time the Attorney General has been suspended from duty. He served under me in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and knows how the Office of the Attorney General operates,” said Governor Greg Abbott yesterday, naming Mr. Scott as the short-term interim Attorney General of Texas, under Article 15, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution.
"Mr. Scott was the Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation and has handled cases at all levels of the justice system. His decades of experience and expertise in litigation will help guide him while serving as the state’s top law enforcement officer.
"I appoint John Scott for this role based on the Texas Constitution to serve for a temporary period during the Texas Senate’s resolution of the impeachment proceedings.”
Mr. Scott, of Ft. Worth, is an attorney with over 34 years of experience. Scott most recently served as Texas Secretary of State for Governor Abbott.
Previously, he served as Texas Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation for then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, where he aided then-Attorney General Abbott’s efforts to hold the Obama Administration accountable and sue President Obama more than any other state Attorney General. Scott oversaw all civil litigation, including over 22,000 lawsuits involving Texas.
Subsequently, Scott was appointed the first Chief Operating Officer of the Health & Human Services Commission. He oversaw the successful overhaul of the agency, its 56,000 employees, and its over $50 billion biannual budget.
After returning to private practice, Governor Abbott appointed Scott as the Chair of the Board for the Department of Information Resources (DIR). At DIR, Scott developed the strategic plan for technology and security at Texas executive branch agencies and boards.
Scott has successfully tried over 100 lawsuits and has experience handling cases at the United States Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Texas, United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd, 5th, 7th and 10th Circuits, almost all Texas Courts of Appeals, United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western District Courts of Texas, Texas state courts, and the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
His courtroom victories include the successful defense of a health maintenance organization (HMO), which the National Law Journal declared the U.S. Healthcare Victory of the Year.
