Sen. John Cornyn called Wednesday for his fellow Republicans to change the Senate’s filibuster rules to try and force through a voter ID bill that President Trump has called his “top priority” heading into the fall midterm elections.
“For many years, I believed that if the US Senate scrapped the filibuster, Texas and our nation would stand to lose more than we would gain,” Cornyn (R-Texas), who is set to face Lone Star State Attorney General Ken Paxton in a hotly contested May 26 primary runoff, wrote in an op-ed published by The Post.
“But when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.”
Cornyn called for the Senate to adopt a so-called “talking filibuster,” in which senators are required to physically hold the floor to prevent votes on legislation. Currently, most bills are blocked from passage if they fail to gain 60 votes under the so-called “cloture rule.”
“Today, Democrats are weaponizing the Senate’s rules to block the SAVE America Act, defund the Department of Homeland Security and hurt the American people — all to spite President Donald Trump,” the Republican wrote. “But they say openly that if these same rules ever get in Democrats’ way, they won’t hesitate to rip them up … A rule is only a rule if both sides follow it.
“I believe that Democrats, with their votes and statements, have already dealt the filibuster a fatal blow: The Senate rules will change eventually, whether Republicans like it or not.”
Last week, as rumors swirled that Trump was about to endorse Cornyn in the runoff and ask Paxton to quit the Senate race, the challenger said that he would drop out if the Senate scrapped the filibuster and passed the SAVE Act, which requires would-be voters in federal elections to present documentary proof of US citizenship when registering to cast ballots.
