President Donald Trump is delaying his endorsement in the Texas Senate GOP primary to ramp up pressure on Republican senators to pass his high-priority voting restrictions bill, according to two people close to the White House granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Trump had been prepared to quickly endorse John Cornyn after the Texas senator outperformed expectations and finished ahead of Paxton, Texas’ attorney general, in last week’s primary, the people said. But Paxton managed to at least forestall that outcome when he announced Friday that if the Senate passes the bill he would drop his campaign.
Paxton’s last-ditch gamble highlighted an area where he agrees with Trump while poking at a sore spot between the president and Senate Republican leaders who have been begging Trump for months to back Cornyn. And it changed the dynamics inside the White House, according to the two people, an operative close to the White House and an administration ally.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
“I think that was a very smart strategy because it bought time. Because now, if you’re the White House or Trump, why would you now weigh in?’’ said the Republican operative. “Trump has remained very steadfast that he wants this done, and that is a huge priority, and he’s getting pissed off at these members and at [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune.”
Trump posted last Wednesday, the day after the primary, that he would endorse “soon” in the race — and wanted to see whoever he didn’t back drop out of the runoff.
He told House Republicans Monday in a speech at their annual legislative retreat in Florida that SAVE America is his “No. 1 priority” on the congressional agenda this year
Paxton, a favorite of the far right with strong MAGA grassroots backing, initially said he would not end his campaigneven if Trump backed Cornyn. Trump responded in an interview with POLITICO last week that the comment was “bad for him to say,” and reiterated he would announce his pick soon.
But Paxton soon came up with an offer: He would step aside if the Senate moved the voting restrictions bill that passed the House but has stalled in the Senate. Republicans lack the necessary 60 votes to break the filibuster to pass the bill and don’t have the bare majority needed to alter Senate rules. Cornyn has long been one of the Republicans who hasn’t supported ending the filibuster but has said he backs the SAVE America Act.
Paxton’s gambit caught the attention of the president, who on Monday declared the SAVE America Act should be the GOP’s “No. 1 priority”during a speech to House Republicans in which he dedicated 13 minutes to the issue.
The president also was irritated when news articles from Axios and The Atlantic published Wednesday declaring that Trump was “expected” to endorse Cornyn, according to the Republican operative. A POLITICO story stated earlier that morning that Trump would likely endorse soon, with a source predicting he wouldn’t back Paxton. Trump and others in his orbit hate when stories get out ahead of official announcements.
The move paid off for Paxton by giving his allies more time to voice their displeasure to the White House at the possibility that Trump would be swayed by pro-Cornyn establishment Republicans in Washington.
That pressure campaign has ramped up in recent days since reports surfaced Trump was close to backing Cornyn. The administration ally said Paxton’s allies are mounting a “big counter-offensive.”
Those pushing against a Cornyn endorsement include Texas donors, according to a Paxton campaign aide.
“The grassroots donor community in Texas did not believe or realize how close Trump was endorsing Cornyn,” said a Paxton campaign aide, granted anonymity in order to speak freely. “Once they realized that the threat was real, they went very hard in the paint.”
A Cornyn campaign aide declined to comment.
While donors work the White House behind the scenes, Paxton also has allies making their case online like conservative influencers Laura Loomer, Jack Posobiec and Caroline Wren, who have blasted Cornyn and touted Paxton. They have warned that a Trump endorsement for Cornyn would mark a betrayal to the MAGA base.
“The Republican establishment is just as guilty as controlled opposition in the destruction of this republic, and exhibit one is John Cornyn,” Steve Bannon, longtime MAGA whisperer, said on Monday on his latest War Room podcast.
Cornyn and his allies have scrambled to respond. On Saturday, Cornyn posted on X, while tagging Trump’s account, that he had supported the SAVE America Act “from day one.” Cornyn declared he “will happily support the ‘talking filibuster’ if that’s what it takes to pass this into law” — a shift from the skepticism he voiced about the feasibility of the talking filibuster just a few weeks ago. He got backup from other Republicans — including from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a MAGA ally who is leading the charge for the bill in the Senate, who vouched for Cornyn’s support.
But on Monday, Thune poured cold water on Trump’s hopes once again, stating that formally nuking the legislative filibuster is “not going to happen” and arguing that a talking filibuster without forcing through a rules change is “way more complicated” than people realize.
Cornyn’s supporters believe he still remains in a strong position to receive the president’s backing, especially since Democrats nominated state Rep. James Talarico, a pick that even Republicans say is a formidable general election candidate. Many national Republicans say putting forward Paxton would be an expensive endeavor that would risk the seat and could cost them the Senate, as his past ethics issues and personal scandals make him a vulnerable candidate.
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