Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the makers of Tylenol for “betraying America” and “poisoning our people,” according to a Tuesday morning statement from his office.
In the statement, Paxton — a prominent ally of President Donald Trump who’s running for U.S. Senate — parroted Trump’s debunked claim that Tylenol can cause autism.
“Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue for deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers despite knowing that early exposure to acetaminophen, Tylenol’s only active ingredient, leads to a significantly increased risk of autism and other disorders,” Paxton stated, disregarding scientific studies disproving the theory.
During a Sept. 22 press conference, Trump issued the unsubstantiated claim that pregnant people can give their babies autism by taking Tylenol and adding without proof that “there’s no downside” to avoiding use of the drug while pregnant.
The press conference was held to announce Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s updated guidance discouraging the use of Tylenol, particularly while pregnant. Kennedy, who has no medical training, also recently claimed circumcision causes autism.
“Don’t take it,” the president said. “You’ll be uncomfortable. It won’t be as easy, maybe, but don’t take it. If you’re pregnant, don’t take Tylenol.”
The unsolicited medical advice from a president who can’t pronounce acetaminophen and doesn’t know the difference between an IQ test and a cognitive test to detect Alzheimer’s — which he considered “very hard” — faced instant pushback from the medical community.
“[Trump’s] advice has no clear basis in research and contradicts long-standing science and medical guidance,” medical journal Jama Network wrote in response. “And there are downsides to avoiding acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, when it is needed. Untreated fever during pregnancy can harm a mom and baby, medical experts warn. Untreated pain is a drawback, too.”
So, why does Trump have his sights set on attacking the makers of Tylenol? The reasons behind the target remain unclear, but his lack of loyalty to the brand is no mystery.
The makers of Tylenol donated far more to Kamala Harris than Trump in the 2024 presidential election, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Johnson & Johnson’s political donations to Harris vastly surpassed those to Trump — $270,314 compared to $43,308. Meanwhile, individuals tied to Kenvue, one of the manufacturers behind Tylenol, donated $21,368 to Harris’ campaign as opposed to just $1,516 for Trump.
Given the president’s routine use of policy to punish political rivals, it’s an open question how much of the White House’s Tylenol guidance was a game of political retribution.
For his part, Paxton promised in Tuesday’s statement to unleash a “day of reckoning” for Big Pharma, which he claims has been “pushing pills regardless of the risks.” Unmentioned by the AG were the frequent criticisms of big drug companies’ exorbitant drug pricing, which force U.S. patients to spend more on the same prescriptions than those in any other country.
Paxton further claimed Johnson & Johnson violated the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act by illegally transferring Tylenol’s liabilities to a separate company, Kenvue, to shield its assets from consumer lawsuits.
“These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said. “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”
Make America Healthy Again, of course, is a slogan frequently used by both Trump and Kennedy.
Paxton has ramped up his ongoing campaign to cozy up to Trump as he runs for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s seat in the 2026 Republican primary. Despite his campaign already being riddled with scandal, Paxton is counting on his proximity to Trump — as the more extreme MAGA adherent in the race — to put him over the finish line.
However, Cornyn has vastly outraised Paxton, and has nearly double the war chest going into the primary.
After the bloodbath that this campaign is sure to become, Paxton may want to take something to ease his own pain.
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