Sen. John Cornyn has officially announced that he will campaign to take over as the Republican Party leader in the Senate just one day after Mitch McConnell announced he will be stepping down in November.
Cornyn (R-TX) released a written statement asking his Republican colleagues to allow him the “opportunity to succeed Leader McConnell.”
“I believe the Senate is broken — that is not news to anyone. The good news is that it can be fixed, and I intend to play a major role in fixing it. From experience, I have learned what works in the Senate and what does not, and I am confident Senate Republicans can restore our institution to the essential role it serves in our constitutional republic,” Cornyn wrote, according to a social media post from a reporter with The Washington Post.
“We will improve communication, increase transparency, and ensure inclusion of every Member’s expertise and opinion. We will restore the important role of Senate committees and reestablish the regular appropriations process, rather than lurch from one crisis to another. And we will return power back to our members; there will be no more backroom deals or forced votes on bills without adequate time for review, debate, and amendment,” the senator added.
Cornyn pointed back to his time working as Republican whip from 2013 to 2019, claiming that he “helped President Trump advance his agenda through the Senate, including passing historic tax reform and remaking our judiciary — including two Supreme Court Justices.”
“I have learned a lot during my time both in and out of Senate leadership. During my two terms as [National Republican Senate Committee] Chair, we shrunk Democrats’ majority by five seats and laid the foundation to retake the majority in 2014,” he added. “Throughout my time I’ve built a track record of listening to colleagues and seeking consensus while leading the fight to stop bad policies that are harmful to our nation and the conservative cause.”
The senator currently serves as a member of the Committee on Finance, Committee on the Judiciary, Select Committee on Intelligence, and the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control.
Cornyn’s announcement came shortly after McConnell, who has served in the Senate since 1985, said he would be stepping down as Senate minority leader in November.
McConnell said on the Senate floor on Wednesday that he was prepared to make the decision but was waiting for “a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The current minority leader also clarified that he will remain a senator until the conclusion of his term in January 2027 and is only stepping down from his role as leader of Republicans in the Senate.
Cornyn’s decision comes as no surprise since he had previously discussed the possibility of taking over for McConnell when the latter stepped down, saying that if “there’s an opportunity to do that, I would like to do that.”
“But should he decide to step down and no longer serve as leader, I’ve made it no secret that I would like to succeed him,” he explained in 2021, as reported by DX.
