ROOKE: Cornyn’s Panicked Flip On Filibuster Aimed Straight At Trump’s Inbox
In a calculated political stunt, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is attempting to reinvent himself as a fighter for election integrity and America First priorities.
Cornyn faces a tough re-election in Texas as he faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a Republican primary runoff. In a shrewd political move, Paxton tied his primary campaign to passage of the SAVE America Act, promising to concede the race to Cornyn (avoiding a bloody and costly primary battle) but only if the Senate passes the legislation.
In his desperation to gain support from President Donald Trump and outflank Paxton, Cornyn wrote an article in the New York Post, titled “Why the SAVE Act is more important than the filibuster.”
Democrats are using Senate rules as a weapon to block the SAVE America Act and defund it. @DHSgovand hurt the American people despite @POTUS.
@SenateGOP We can either let the Democrats continue to filibuster and break the filibuster at the first opportunity, or we can act now and use the mandate on…– Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) March 11, 2026
The article gives the impression that he wants to convince Trump and Texas voters that he has changed his colors. Cornyn says Democrats have already “dealt a fatal blow to the filibuster” by repeatedly threatening to eliminate it. He argues that Republicans should not let Democrats block the SAVE America Act now, but that Democrats would neutralize the filibuster later, when they are in power. (Subscribe to Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
“Today, Democrats are using Senate rules as a weapon to block the SAVE America Act, defund the Department of Homeland Security, and harm the American people – all in spite of President Donald Trump. But they are openly saying that if these same rules ever get in the way of Democrats, they will not hesitate to destroy them. A rule is only a rule if both parties follow it,” Cornyn said.
“I believe that Democrats, with their votes and their statements, have already dealt a fatal blow to the filibuster: the rules of the Senate will eventually change, whether Republicans like it or not. That leaves conservatives with two options. We can either unilaterally disarm or stand up and fight,” he said.
Cornyn highlights Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s drive in 2022 to end the filibuster on his election takeover bill, and how only former Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (later independents) stopped him before being kicked out of DC by their party. He even notes Schumer’s comments in 2024 that it would have to start again if Democrats regain the majority.
Schumer & Democrats leader says he wants to end the filibuster. They don’t care about good governance or the common-sense traditions of the Senate.
Just watch: they will do a 180 with the Republicans in the majority and Trump in the White House and drop this requirement like…
– Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) August 21, 2024
On the surface, Cornyn appears to have experienced a political awakening. But where was that fighting spirit in 2024, when Cornyn was begging fellow Republicans to support his leadership bid by promising to protect the filibuster?
In September 2024, Cornyn wrote a letter to GOP senators informing them that he was interested in taking over the majority leader position, which would soon be vacated by retiring Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. In it, he calls anyone who wants to get rid of the filibuster rule a “liberal activist.”
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 07: U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) speaks to the press after meeting with nominee for Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott in the Hart Senate Office Building April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC. Scott served in the Trump and Biden administrations as the 24th chief of the United States Border Patrol from 2020 to 2024. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“We must reject all attempts to neutralize the legislative filibuster in the Senate. Liberal activists may like the idea of neutralizing the filibuster today, but they will rue the day the shoe is on the other foot,” he wrote.
The problem for Cornyn is that his record over the past two decades in the Senate would be very different if he believed what he says.
During Trump’s first term in 2017, he wanted to get rid of the filibuster to pass bigger tax cuts and fund the wall faster, but Cornyn and his establishment friends like McConnell said no, it’s too important for “minority rights.”
Now that his seat is on the line, Cornyn is singing a different tune. Cornyn’s New York op-ed is not the first time this midterm election cycle that primary pressure from Paxton’s campaign has caused him to soften his stance on protecting the filibuster.
Today, Democrats are trying to blow up the Senate for their own political gain by effectively eliminating the filibuster.
This important rule was designed to help senators from both parties do something that doesn’t always come naturally: work together. pic.twitter.com/afkIOFoTcN
– Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) January 19, 2022
In November 2025, in the midst of a government shutdown, when Trump intensified his calls for Republicans to drop or eliminate the filibuster to pass spending bills, Paxton insisted that the Senate eliminate the filibuster rule.
Cornyn later told the Dallas Morning News that he was “open to changes” regarding appropriations and continuing resolutions (CR), while insisting that Republicans lacked the votes for broader reform and presenting total elimination as something he was not ready to fully embrace.
“I’m open to changes, but obviously we have to get agreement from 51 Republicans, and I don’t think we’re far from that,” Cornyn said.
Paxton announcing he would drop out if Congress passed the SAVE Act is political genius. It puts pressure on Republicans to act, shows he’s willing to make sacrifices for the cause and directly appeals to Trump, who has demanded the legislation pass. The move likely bought him time before Trump officially endorsed a candidate in the Texas primary runoff.
Cornyn appeared to be Trump’s choice before Paxton lobbed his political grenade onto the Senate floor. Cornyn tries to one-up him with his op-ed by saying, “Hey, I’m for the SAVE Act too, and I’ll even reform the filibuster to make it happen!” »
But Cornyn’s change of heart probably wasn’t due to Paxton’s simple defense of election law. A recent poll paints a bleak picture for the incumbent president, who trails Paxton in head-to-head matchups. A Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR) poll, conducted March 7-9, shows Paxton leading Cornyn 49 to 41 percent.
New survey #TXSEN Republican primary runoffs for Texas Public Opinion Research by Slingshot Strategies (D):
Paxton 49%
Cornyn 41
Undecided 11If Trump supports Cornyn: Paxton +1
If Trump supports Paxton: Paxton +26(March 7-8; 781 LV; +/-3.9%)https://t.co/kFG2AZukAa
-Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) March 9, 2026
A key element of the TPOR poll is potential support for Trump. If Trump supports Paxton, the attorney general’s lead will jump to 58 percent to Cornyn’s 32 percent. That’s a 26-point advantage that’s becoming almost impossible for Cornyn to overcome.
Yet even though Trump supports Cornyn, Paxton is still ahead 44 to 43 percent. While that puts Cornyn within a margin of error, it relies on a boost from moderate voters that may not materialize, given Paxton’s strength among voters of former Texas primary challenger Rep. Wesley Hunt. Among voters who supported Hunt in the March 3 primary, 48 percent now support Paxton in the runoff, compared to 31 percent for Cornyn, the TPOR poll reported.
Another Public Policy Polling survey, conducted March 4-5, finds no clear electability advantage for either Republican candidate over Democratic candidate James Talarico, who cruised through his primary. Talarico leads Cornyn 44 percent to 43 percent and Paxton 47 percent to 45 percent, both within the margin of error. These minimal deficits indicate that the GOP nominee will face a tough November regardless of who wins, but it undercuts Cornyn’s argument that he is the safer choice.
Cornyn’s camp has relied on this talk of electability, but polls show that it doesn’t sway primary voters, who see him as the establishment’s choice.
Cornyn also chose to use the NYP rather than a Texas-based publication, such as the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle or the Texas Tribune. These outlets would deliver Cornyn’s message directly to the voters who decide Senate primaries, giving him greater visibility among those he is trying to court, unless he seeks to influence Texas voters. The question arises: who is Cornyn really trying to reach here? The New York Times certainly has a broader audience, but it’s hard not to see this as a statement directed at influential figures in Republican circles, the likes of whom would send its article directly to Trump.
Interestingly, Cornyn’s op-ed went further than Paxton’s promise to drop out if the SAVE America Act passed. He also said it would help Republicans end “other aspects of far-left obstruction.”
“Americans are being forced to wait in line for three hours at airport security checkpoints because Democrats are blocking funding for Homeland Security and immigration enforcement. It’s bad enough that Democrats’ political anger is ruining travelers’ days — but in this time of hostilities with Iran, their financial siege of DHS is not only inconvenient, it’s dangerous,” Cornyn wrote.
Cornyn is likely hoping that adding an extra carrot to his promise to support ending the filibuster will be enough to nudge Trump into his camp. But Cornyn’s record on border security and national defense looks terrible to most true conservatives. He voted for almost all of the Biden administration’s bloated omnibus bills that fund sanctuary cities and open borders. (RELATED: Ken Paxton gives Trump and the Senate an ultimatum on the highest priority Senate race)
He chose the New York Times for his op-ed for the same reason he reversed his filibuster stance. He wants to whisper sweet nothings into Trump’s ear in the hopes that he becomes the chosen one. The president’s endorsement makes the race easier. But ultimately, voters will decide.
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