Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), once eager to emblazon President Donald Trumps name on a Texas highway, is now signaling a sharp change of course after losing his primary to Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
As reported by Mediaite, Cornyn had championed legislation to redesignate U.S. Highway 287 as Interstate 47 in tribute to the 47th president while he was still vying for Trumps endorsement in a heated runoff. That effort appears to have cooled in the wake of his defeat, with Cornyn now conceding the bill may not make it into my priorities the next seven months.
The symbolic fight over infrastructure naming rights has not ended, however, as Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson (R) has stepped in to carry the pro-Trump banner. Patterson announced he will introduce a resolution to rename the Dallas North Tollway after Trump, underscoring the enduring strength of the presidents brand among Texas conservatives.
Cornyns highway proposal was only one of several gestures aimed at currying favor with Trump and his base. He also circulated a photo of himself on social media reading Trumps ghostwritten bestseller, a move that paled beside Paxtons more aggressive alignment with Trump on the Save America Act.
That strategy paid off for Paxton when Trump endorsed the scandal-plagued attorney general just days before Texas Republicans went to the polls. The Associated Press called the race last Tuesday night with about 49% of the vote tallied and Paxton ahead by more than 25 percentage points, part of a broader primary wave in which Trumps backing also helped unseat Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
In the aftermath, Cornyn posted what he described as [a]n old, but apt fable, sharing the story of the scorpion and the frog, a parable that mirrors The Snake poem Trump frequently recites on the campaign trail. The post was widely read as a veiled rebuke of Trumps political instincts and loyalty, suggesting Cornyn is recalibrating his posture toward the partys dominant figure.
Cornyn has since indicated he will not simply fall in line, telling Hearst Newspapers he intends to challenge Trump where they differ. On Tuesday, he joined Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) in questioning the qualifications of Bill Pulte, Trumps choice for acting director of national intelligence.
I have yet to see any evidence that he meets that statutory requirement, Cornyn said of Pulte, who currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and lacks intelligence experience or a security clearance. Emphasizing the stakes, Cornyn added, Its very important to have true national security professionals in charge of the intelligence community, a reminder that even in a party reshaped by Trump, some Republicans still insist on traditional standards for critical national security posts.
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