Sen. John Cornyn threw his support behind scrapping the filibuster to pass a voting restrictions bill President Donald Trump has called his “No. 1 priority” in Congress, as the Texas Republican continues to seek the president’s endorsement and stave off a bruising primary runoff election.
Trump has held off on endorsing Cornyn, the pick of top Senate Republicans, over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a bid to pressure leadership to lower the threshold of votes needed to pass the SAVE America Act, which would enact citizenship and photo ID restrictions in elections while also targeting transgender rights. Paxton has said he would suspend his bid if the bill passes.
Cornyn, long a supporter of the Senate filibuster, came out forcefully for repealing the rule in a Wednesday morning New York Post op-ed.
“After careful consideration, I support 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, through the Senate, and on the president’s desk for his signature,” he wrote.
Trump called on Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act in a speech at his golf club in Doral, Florida, on Monday, arguing, “I don’t think we should approve anything until this is approved.”
“It will guarantee the midterms,” he said. “If you don’t get it, big trouble, my opinion.”
Asked Tuesday about the talking filibuster, Cornyn indicated to reporters he would support it to pass the SAVE America Act and teased he would be making a longer announcement Wednesday.
“On these critical issues, at this critical hour, the old procedures no longer align with the core American principles we must defend,” he wrote. “ It is time for our Senate Republican Conference, led by our strong and strategic Majority Leader John Thune, to retake the initiative, rebuild momentum and get results.”
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
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