Sen. John Cornyn of Texas — a Republican, allegedly — just publicly torpedoed the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, declaring it's "not gonna happen." A Republican senator. From Texas. Killing a voter integrity bill that President Trump supports.
Three weeks after Donald Trump helped end his Senate career, Cornyn is returning the favor.
Let's not pretend this is about vote counts.
On May 26th, Texas Republican primary voters ousted John Cornyn in favor of Ken Paxton — the Trump-endorsed challenger Trump called "a true MAGA Warrior." Trump had made his feelings about Cornyn plain: "John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough." That's presidential for: you're on your own.
Three weeks later, Cornyn is on social media torpedoing the President's signature election integrity legislation. If you think the timing is a coincidence, John Cornyn has a Senate seat he'd like to sell you — except he doesn't have one anymore.
Somewhere, every illegal voter in America just breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks, John.
Cornyn didn't just quietly vote no in committee. He went online Thursday night and Friday morning to broadcast his surrender, writing that the bill is "not gonna happen, and every one (except the naive or misinformed) knows it." That's a lame-duck senator — one who just got bounced by Trump's endorsement of his rival — calling his own colleagues naive for wanting to make sure only American citizens vote in American elections. The Democrats didn't even have to do their own dirty work this time. They had a man with a grudge to do it for them.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wasn't having it. Lee fired back with the kind of spine we wish more Republicans came equipped with: "It could happen if we put the SAVE America Act on the floor with strong resolve to continue debating it until it passes. I'm neither naive nor misinformed."
That's the line right there. Lee is saying the votes are gettable if leadership actually fights for them instead of pre-surrendering on social media. What he didn't say — but everyone in Washington understands — is that a senator who just got politically executed by the President has very little incentive to fight for that President's legislative priorities. He has every incentive to do the opposite.
Cornyn tried to weasel out by claiming he's technically a co-sponsor. "Mike, I am a co-sponsor and have repeatedly voted for this but you don't have the votes," he wrote. So he co-sponsors a bill he publicly says will never pass. That's not legislating. That's resume padding from a man who no longer has a resume to pad. When you're a lame duck with a score to settle, co-sponsoring a bill costs you nothing. Killing it publicly costs Trump something. Do the math.
When pressed further, Cornyn blamed math. "@LeaderJohnThune can't change that. It is math," he posted, dragging Senate Majority Leader John Thune into it. Translation: don't blame me, blame the leader. It's a circular firing squad of excuses from a man who has already collected his walking papers and has nothing left to lose — except the opportunity to make noise on the way out the door.
Then came the cherry on top. Cornyn had the audacity to complain that "Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November." Let me get this straight — Mike Lee fights for election integrity, Cornyn publicly kneecaps him, and then Cornyn blames Lee for the party infighting? This from the man who just spent months fighting Trump's chosen candidate in the most expensive Senate primary in American history, only to lose? That takes a special kind of brass, as reported by Breitbart.
Here's what this comes down to. The SAVE America Act asks one simple question: should you have to prove you're an American citizen before you vote in an American election? That's it. That's the whole bill. And John Cornyn thinks fighting for that makes you "naive." Or maybe — just maybe — he thinks making Trump look weak on the issue makes it worth it.
We've got 50 votes. Cornyn says that's not enough. Mike Lee says fight harder. One of those men is acting like a senator. The other is acting like a man who got his wings clipped by the President and decided the SAVE America Act was the perfect place to clip back.
Trump said Cornyn wasn't supportive "when times were tough." Cornyn's apparently decided he's going to prove him right one more time on the way out. Texas deserves better than a senator legislating from a grudge. So does the rest of the country.