John Cornyn Lost With His Boots Off

Just like nearly every other Republican has gone once Donald Trump decided to terminate their political career, John Cornyn went quietly.The senator from Texas, one of his party’s most effective fundraisers and influential legislators, devoted his losing campaign and most of the past decade in politics to a wan effort to portray himself as the president’s faithful servant. He tweeted out a photo of himself reading The Art of the Deal, introduced a bill to rename a highway the “Trump Interstate,” and even set up a campaign page reiterating his fealty that boasted, among other facts, that he had a “more than 99.2% voting record with President Trump—higher than Ted Cruz.”Ah, but that 0.8 percent made all the difference. Cornyn had warned in 2016 that Trump’s presidential nomination could hurt the party. He voted to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. And he privately urged Trump not to run in 2024. Even though Cornyn opposed both impeachments of Trump, ultimately backed him in the 2024 primaries, faithfully advanced his legislative agenda, and supported all of his controversial nominees, Trump could smell the faintest signs of discomfort or reluctance.[Read: Ken Paxton is actually doing this]Ken Paxton, who defeated Cornyn in yesterday’s Republican primary, has pledged complete loyalty to the president. Paxton’s liabilities include a list of ethical and legal violations too lengthy to summarize. Senator Susan Collins of Maine fretted earlier this month over the political risks of nominating a candidate she delicately called an “ethically challenged individual.”Yet from Trump’s standpoint, Paxton’s record constitutes an advantage. The president seemingly both relates to, and badly needs to rely on, allies who share his predilection for violating laws and human decency. Throughout his career in business and politics, Trump has surrounded himself with what Collins might call Americans experiencing ethical challenges. Cornyn’s history of mild hesitation in the face