By Patrick Svitek, CNN
(CNN) — Sen. John Cornyn’s landslide defeat immediately raises a pressing question for his GOP colleagues: Will he join the ranks of other Republicans recently vanquished by President Donald Trump and begin bucking the president more?
Cornyn suggested prior to Tuesday’s loss that he will continue to be a team player, but that has not stopped Republicans from speculating about whether he will go the way of Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Tillis abandoned his reelection campaign last year after Trump threatened to back a primary challenger, while Cassidy lost reelection earlier this month after Trump endorsed against him. Both have since become more outspoken against Trump, complicating his legislative agenda.
Already, a small and eclectic bloc of Republicans has been increasingly outspoken against key Trump policies, from the war in Iran to a government settlement fund that could benefit MAGA loyalists.
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas’ junior senator, said on his podcast recently that it is “fair to expect John’s going to be less than thrilled” if he loses reelection — and could become more of a problem for GOP vote-counters.
“Bill Cassidy, Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, Rand Paul,” Cruz said, counting the Kentucky senator who is also sometimes critical of Trump. “Those are four senators. We have a 53-47 majority. If you lose four senators, you’re below 50 and you can’t get anything done. That is going to be a complicating factor for the rest of the year.”
But it’s not just that group that’s posing problems for the White House. Tensions between Trump and Hill Republicans have spiked in recent weeks as lawmakers have grumbled that his recent decisions — from endorsing Cornyn’s opponent to pushing politically toxic projects like funding for his East Wing ballroom to that “anti-weaponization” settlement fund — could cost them control of Congress.
Trump still needs to get at least one major legislative package through the Hill this year: A package of tens of billions of dollars to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border enforcement that Democrats rejected in the most recent spending deal.
But that immigration measure is now roiled by so many internal problems that some in the party aren’t completely convinced it can be done by the midterms.
Cornyn has long been a party stalwart. He has held multiple roles in Senate leadership, including majority whip and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
On the campaign trail, he regularly spoke about his passion for the state Republican Party and wanting to protect the brand from someone like Paxton, who has a history of criminal and civil cases, allegations of official misconduct, and a nasty and public divorce.
Still, for all his criticism of Paxton, Cornyn always promised to support the Republican ticket in November, even if he would not be on it, and reiterated that in the first lines of his concession speech.
In the days before the runoff, he was asked if a “different John Cornyn” would return to the Senate if he lost.
“I don’t think so,” Cornyn told NewsNation. “I think I would certainly do what I always try to do, is pick my fights on a case-by-case basis.”
In the days after his defeat in Louisiana, Cassidy bucked Trump on three major issues — including backing a measure to rein in the president’s war powers in Iran — as he made clear he was not a guaranteed “yes” on any White House-pushed bill.
Paxton had long argued that Cornyn’s support for Trump was only motivated by his desire for political survival. He did not hesitate to compare Cornyn to Cassidy after the latter lost reelection two days before early voting began in Texas.
“I think there’s nothing different about John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy,” Paxton said in a radio interview on May 18. “As soon as this race is over, one way or the other, John Cornyn will go back to being John Cornyn, which is very liberal, not supporting Trump. He’ll be a thorn in his side.”
Cornyn had argued in the final days of the runoff that he was no Cassidy, who, unlike Cornyn, voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment. Rather, Cornyn argued that he was a casualty of Trump’s frustration with a lack of progress on his agenda in the Senate.
Paxton was far more gracious toward Cornyn in victory Tuesday night, thanking him for his long record of public service in Texas. At the same time, Paxton made clear he was prepared to align more with Trump if elected in November.
“In the Senate,” Paxton said, “I’ll support Donald Trump’s America First agenda.”
In his concession speech, Cornyn spoke only generally about how he plans to navigate the rest of his term, saying he would “continue my work to help make this nation a better place for all Texans and all Americans.” Yet when reporters tried to ask questions after the speech, Cornyn declined to answer and raised intrigue for the future.
“I’ll have more to say later,” he said.
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John Cornyn’s defeat raises a new question: Will he join the Senate Republicans rebelling against Trump? News Channel 3-12.
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