What began as a policy dispute over the SAVE America Act has turned into a full-on brawl, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn continuing to trade insults.

The latest clash was ignited by the question of whether Congress should cancel its upcoming recess until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act – the election-integrity bill that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration, restrict mail-in voting, and ban gender-transition procedures for minors. The legislation remains a top priority that has greatly impacted Texas’s Senate runoff.

Round One

Paxton fired one of the opening shots, accusing Cornyn of creating unnecessary procedural delays to avoid accountability, calling Cornyn a “total coward.”

Earlier that same morning, March 23, Paxton posted that Cornyn was “silent” on the recess question and questioned the senator’s willingness to stand firm for Trump’s agenda, again calling Cornyn a “coward.”

Round Two

Cornyn did not stay silent, hitting below the belt.

 

The reference to Paxton’s personal life was pointed. The attorney general has faced years of scrutiny over allegations of infidelity, which were aired publicly during his 2023 impeachment proceedings in the Texas House.

The exchange drew viral attention from the online peanut gallery, with Cornyn’s reply accumulating nearly 60,000 views in the first few hours it went live.

Round Three

The outbursts arrive as the SAVE America Act debate in the Senate enters a critical phase. The Senate opened debate on the bill last week, with Cornyn voting alongside 50 other Republicans to push the measure to the floor, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.

Paxton and his allies continue to argue that Cornyn’s reluctance to eliminate the filibuster, rather than pursue a modified “talking filibuster” approach, amounts to a direct block on Trump.

Cornyn, however, pushed back, writing on March 11 that he would support “whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to get the bill to Trump’s desk.

Paxton responded at the time with the same skepticism, arguing that Cornyn’s primary conversion was a political move driven by runoff pressure rather than principle, as The Dallas Express reported.

The two men have been locked in a bitter runoff since neither cleared the 50-percent threshold in the March 3 Republican primary. With the May 26 runoff now set, both candidates are standing firm in the ring to claim the title.

The Republican nominee, whomever it may be, will later face Democrat James Talarico, a contentious candidate some have labeled “100% wolf in sheep’s clothing,” in the November general election.