Sen. John Cornyn signaled a major shift in his stance on one of the Senate’s most powerful procedural tools this week, saying he would support eliminating or reforming the filibuster if necessary to pass the GOP-backed SAVE America Act. The announcement marks a significant change for the Texas Republican, who has long defended the filibuster as a cornerstone of Senate procedure.
Cornyn outlined his new position in an op-ed published in the New York Post, arguing that Democrats have already weakened the longstanding rule through past efforts to modify Senate procedures. The filibuster requires 60 votes to end debate on most legislation, effectively allowing the minority party to block bills that do not have broad bipartisan support.
“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,” Cornyn wrote. “This could be a ‘talking filibuster’ that removes the obstructionists’ free pass and makes them defend their indefensible views on the Senate floor, or it could be a different reform.”
Cornyn’s comments come as he faces a tough Republican primary runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The race has intensified scrutiny on issues important to conservative voters and has fueled a broader debate within the GOP about whether maintaining the filibuster helps or hinders Republican priorities.
The SAVE America Act, which has already passed the U.S. House, would require documentary proof of citizenship — such as a birth certificate or passport — to register to vote, along with photo identification when casting a ballot. Republicans argue the measure is necessary to secure elections, while critics say it could restrict voter access.
President Donald Trump has made the bill a central priority. Trump has warned he may refuse to sign other legislation until the measure reaches his desk, framing the issue as critical to the GOP’s electoral prospects.
According to Trump, passage of the bill would “guarantee the midterms” for Republicans. Without it, he warned, there would be “big trouble.” The party is seeking to maintain its narrow majorities in Congress heading into the November elections.
The Senate race between Cornyn and Paxton has added further pressure to the debate. Neither candidate secured more than 50 percent of the vote in last week’s primary, sending the contest to a runoff and intensifying efforts to win Trump’s endorsement. Trump said shortly after the primary that he would announce his endorsement “soon,” but has not yet done so.
Paxton seized on Cornyn’s shift, claiming credit for pushing the senator toward a more aggressive stance on the issue.
“In one week, I’ve made him more conservative than in the past 24 years,” Paxton said. “The historic flip-flop’s great and all, but why aren’t you calling out your buddies like [Sen. Mitch] McConnell opposing the bill?”
His reference was to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has historically supported maintaining the filibuster.
Cornyn rejected Paxton’s suggestion that the attorney general influenced his position. He dismissed the claim with a metaphor, saying Paxton’s argument was “just like the rooster crowing thinks he is the reason the sun came up.”
For years, Cornyn had warned against dismantling the filibuster, including during debates in 2022 when Democrats considered eliminating it to pass voting legislation. At the time, he argued that removing the 60-vote threshold would fundamentally damage the Senate.
But in his latest remarks, Cornyn said political conditions have changed.
“I spent years defending the filibuster because the 60-vote threshold was a net benefit to Texas and our nation,” he wrote. “Before moderate Democrats went extinct, the rules worked. But as President Abraham Lincoln once warned Congress, ‘the dogmas of the quiet past’ can become ‘inadequate to the stormy present.’ The Democrats’ recklessness and radicalism have changed the landscape.”
The debate is unfolding as Republicans also push to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, another legislative priority that could face Democratic opposition in the Senate.
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