John Scott, who briefly joined former President Donald Trump‘s legal team that challenged the 2020 election results, was picked on Thursday by  Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott as the state’s new elections chief.

Scott is also a former state litigator. He is also known to defend Texas‘ strict voter ID law, which was eventually upheld after a federal judge found it was designed to intentionally discriminate against minorities.

Scott’s appointment as secretary of state comes towards the end of an already highly charged year in Texas over elections. Voter Rights groups are troubled by his appointment. He will enter the office as Trump and GOP activists continue to pressure Abbott to perform a full audit of the 2020 election results — even though Trump won the state by 300,000 votes.

“In what world does it make sense to appoint someone who took an active role to discredit the will of voters?” the Associated Press quoted Stephanie Gomez, associate director of Common Cause Texas as saying.

Scott has served in other roles for Abbott over the past decade. He is yet to comment on the new role.

Shortly after President Joe Biden’s victory last November, Scott filed notice in federal court that he was joining the Trump campaign’s legal team as it challenged the outcome in Pennsylvania. Biden beat Trump in the state by more than 80,000 votes, according to certified results.

Scott withdrew from the case after just three days, along with fellow Texas attorney Bryan Hughes, a Republican state senator. Hughes was the main author behind a sweeping new elections law in Texas that imposes new voter restrictions and led to Democrats walking out of the state Capitol in protest.

Abbott made no mention of Scott’s brief stint with Trump’s legal team in announcing the appointment.

“John understands the importance of protecting the integrity of our elections and building the Texas brand on an international stage,” Abbott said in a statement.

As Abbott waited to reveal his pick until after the Legislature was no longer in session — lawmakers went home Tuesday — Scott can take the job without immediately submitting to a confirmation process that derailed one of Abbott’s former elections chiefs in 2019.

State Representative Chris Turner, the Democratic leader in the Texas House, said the timing denies Texans “the fair and transparent process they deserve.”

Abbott, who is up for reelection in 2022, has not given in to Trump’s demands for a full audit. In September, hours after Trump first prodded Abbott, the Texas secretary of state’s office said it would audit four large counties — three of which were won by Democrats — but those efforts include standard post-election reviews.

Still, Abbott said Scott’s experience “will enhance his oversight and leadership over the biggest and most thorough election audit in the country.”

(With AP input)