Rejected by Texas Republican voters after two decades in Washington, Sen. John Cornyn is using his remaining months in the Senate to take potshots at President Trump — the same man he spent years courting with cringe-inducing displays of loyalty.
Cornyn's sudden independence isn't principle. It's the luxury of a politician with nothing left to lose. For years, the Texas senator groveled for Trump's favor. Now, spurned by the voters who chose Ken Paxton over him, he's settling scores on his way out — while still signaling he won't rock the boat too hard.
"The president seems to revel in chaos, which is so different from any other leader that I've ever seen. I don't know about you, but I like to minimize the chaos in my life," Cornyn told Semafor. He added that he never found conversations with Trump "particularly useful" because "he can and will change his mind depending on the next person he talks to on the phone."
This from the same senator who, as Rolling Stone reported, once proposed renaming nearly 1,800 miles of highway as "Trump Interstate," calling Trump "the most consequential president of our lifetime." He posted photos of himself reading The Art of the Deal. He flipped his position on the filibuster to back a Trump push on voting restrictions. After losing, the highway bill "may not make it into my priorities the next seven months," Cornyn told the Houston Chronicle.
Cornyn told Semafor he won't help Paxton, Trump's endorsed pick, in the general election against Democrat James Talarico. "The president picked Paxton, and he's got $350 million. I think he can spend his money," Cornyn said. "I'm going to try to help in other places." He added: "I don't know how Paxton raises the money he's going to need to run against Talarico — who's got unlimited resources — in the next four and a half months. And while Talarico is definitely a weirdo, you know, take your pick."
Instead, Cornyn plans to fundraise for establishment Republicans: Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, plus challengers John Sununu in New Hampshire and Mike Rogers in Michigan. He says he's "very worried about the midterms," noting polls show the GOP struggling in "places where we should be kind of running away with it."
Cornyn did extract one concession from the White House: he told the administration he'd withhold his vote unless they released federal money to reimburse Texas for border security measures. "That's one example I think of what you can do when you have some cards to play," he told Semafor.
But Cornyn's rebellion has limits. He told Semafor he still believes Trump is "due a little deference on his Cabinet" and insisted, "I am free to disagree." He hasn't spoken to the president since his primary loss.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called Cornyn a "sore loser" for refusing to back Paxton. Cornyn dismissed him, saying the Texas GOP is "continuing to alienate what I would call traditional conservative Republicans like me, and the people who voted for me. Makes no sense whatsoever."
The people who voted for him were outnumbered — which is why he's heading home. The question is whether Cornyn's parting shots amount to anything more than a rejected politician's bruised ego, or whether the establishment wing he's now fundraising for can slow the populist takeover that already cost him his seat.
