Pauken is a former member and chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. A former long-term resident of Dallas, who now resides in the resort community of Port Aransas in Nueces County on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Pauken is a businessman, lawyer, and the author of two books. He served as chairman of the Texas Republican Party from 1994 to 1997 during the transition period when the party leaped quickly from minority to majority status at the statewide level. A staunch conservative, Pauken also served on President Ronald W. Reagan’s White House staff.