Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is offering to consider dropping his primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) if the Senate GOP leadership skirts the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act.
Paxton, who narrowly placed second to Cornyn in Tuesday’s GOP primary, said he was a loyalist to President Donald Trump and would do anything possible to pass the White House’s agenda.
“The Save America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate could ever pass, and I’m committed to helping President Trump get it done,” Paxton wrote in a statement on X. “I would consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act.”
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Spearheaded by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), the SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship and voter ID to register to vote. The legislation is an edited version of the SAVE Act, which has passed the House twice but has been stalled in the Senate chamber as it has been unable to pass the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
“For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump’s agenda, I am determined to help him get this done,” said Paxton.
The attorney general also accused Cornyn of being a “coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill.” Cornyn supports the SAVE America Act, but has expressed discomfort with weakening the filibuster.
Proponents of the SAVE America Act are pushing for the Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to adopt a talking filibuster to get the legislation across the finish line. The standard Senate filibuster only requires a lawmaker to express opposition to a bill before 60 votes are required to advance the legislation.
A talking filibuster, in comparison, requires lawmakers opposing a bill to speak on the Senate floor for as long as possible. Once all lawmakers yield and amendments are voted on, a simple-majority vote is needed to advance legislation.
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Cornyn and Paxton have been locked in a bitter primary race, and are set to faceoff again in a runoff election on May 26 after neither candidate reached the 50% majority vote needed to secure the GOP nomination in the March 3 primary election. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) , who received the third most votes, was eliminated from the race.
Trump, who previously refused to endorse anyone in the race, said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday that he would be making an endorsement “soon.”
“IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!” Trump posted. “I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!”
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The runoff race between Cornyn, who is the favored candidate by GOP leadership, and Paxton is expected to be costly. It could hamstring the party in the general election, where the winner would face Democratic candidate, state Rep. James Talarico.
“The truth is clear: No one has been more loyal to Donald Trump than me—fighting the stolen 2020 election, being in Mar-a-Lago when he announced his 2024 campaign, and standing with him in NY in the face of lawfare,” Paxton said. “For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump’s agenda, I am determined to help him get this done.”
