Up until today, establishment poster boy Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was a chief obstacle to killing the filibuster so that Republicans could pass the SAVE Act, which would require photo ID to be able to vote in US elections.
Now, Cornyn has suddenly abandoned his sacred cow - which he called the last bastion of "minority rights" and do "whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary for us to get the SAVE America Act and homeland security funding past the Democrats’ obstruction," which also happens to be Trump's top priority.
In a groveling op-ed in the NY Post, Cornyn declared that "process matters, but outcomes matter more: The Democrats’ assault on election integrity and national security must be stopped," adding that the nation is at a "critical hour" where "old procedures no longer align with the core American principles we must defend."
Translation: His political hide is on the line, and he's willing to torch Senate traditions - which Democrats will shred as soon as they can anyway - to save it.
Cornyn vs. Paxton
Cornyn is also looking for an endorsement from Trump, which would go a long way towards staving off a bruising primary runoff election against Texas AG Ken Paxton set for May 26. That said, a new poll shows that wouldn't matter much.
After Paxton and Cornyn advanced to a runoff last week, Trump finally weighed in on the race, saying he would make an endorsement "soon."
According to the Texas Public Opinion Research poll, that endorsement doesn't close the gap for Cornyn.
Based on those polled, if Trump endorsed Paxton, then 58% of voters said they would vote for Paxton, while just 32% would vote for Cornyn. -Fox4
This isn't Cornyn's first dance with filibuster hypocrisy. As ZeroHedge detailed last October, Senate Republicans, including Cornyn, were already mulling filibuster reforms to end a government shutdown, showing cracks in the so-called "institutionalist" facade. But now, with his back against the wall, the flip is complete as Cornyn faces the fight of his life in the Texas runoff. As we noted after their March 3 primary, Paxton edged out a polling lead, framing the race as a battle between "America First" populism and Cornyn's establishment cronyism. RealClearPolitics averages had Paxton up by 3.8 points pre-primary, and with Trump yet to weigh in, Cornyn's scrambling to prove his loyalty.
Saving the SAVE Act
As we noted yesterday, on Sunday, Trump issued a blunt legislative ultimatum, declaring on Truth Social that he would refuse to sign any bill until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act. "It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE," Trump posted. The legislation would require physical proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, a photo ID to vote, and would restrict mail-in voting to military personnel and a narrow set of extenuating circumstances.
Democrats in Washington, DC, have blasted the legislation as voter suppression, but a Harvard/Harris poll found that 71% of Americans support the bill, including 69% of independents, and 50% of Democrats.
Poll after poll shows overwhelming support for voter ID laws across the political spectrum. According to the Pew Research Center, 83% of Americans support voter ID requirements, including large majorities of Democrats, independents, whites, blacks, and Latinos. Gallup reports similar findings, with 84% backing voter ID—98% of Republicans, 84% of independents, and even 67% of Democrats. The same survey found that 83% support requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. Rasmussen Reports puts support at 75%, noting that backing for voter ID has steadily increased over the past decade.
While support for the SAVE Act is bipartisan, Democrats in Congress are rabidly opposed to it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly called the SAVE Act “Jim Crow 2.0,” and made unsubstantiated claims that it would “disenfranchise tens of millions of people.”