Sen. John Cornyn Launches Bid to Become New GOP Senate Leader After McConnell Departure

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in Washington, on Dec. 5, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has officially begun his bid to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the Senate Republican leader, becoming the first senator to enter the fray in what could be a fiercely competitive race.

Mr. McConnell, who has been the Senate Republican leader since 2007, announced on Feb. 28 that his leadership role in the upper chamber would reach its “sunset” in November, although he plans to remain in the Senate in a different role.

As speculation mounts as to who will succeed Mr. McConnell, one candidate has thrown his hat in the ring.

“I am asking my Republican colleagues to give me the opportunity to succeed Leader McConnell,” Mr. Cornyn said in a statement obtained by The Epoch Times.

Mr. Cornyn, who once served as Mr. McConnell’s second-in-command in the Senate leadership role, cited his experience, including as a consensus-seeker, in announcing his candidacy.

“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,” he said.

Mr. Cornyn noted that he believes that the Senate is “broken” and that he could play a “major role” in reviving the upper chamber. Mr. Cornyn is a former Texas attorney general who was first elected to the Senate in 2002.

Last summer, he led a bipartisan effort to increase access to fentanyl testing strips in a bid to prevent poisoning deaths from the potentially deadly opioid.

“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,” Mr. Cornyn said.

“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.”

He is widely expected to continue Mr. McConnell’s approach of reaching across the aisle to get major legislation passed, although his role in negotiating the first major gun control measure after the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde has raised questions about his commitment to standing up for Second Amendment rights.

A critic of his candidacy has already emerged, as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, took to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to say Mr. Cornyn is “anti-Trump” and “anti-gun” and that Texans deserve better because Mr. Cornyn “will be focused on his highly competitive primary campaign in 2026.”

McConnell Departing

Mr. McConnell announced on Feb. 28 that he will step down as Senate GOP leader in November.

“As I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work,” he said on the Senate floor. “A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.”

Under Mr. McConnell, the GOP was able to put its conservative imprint on the federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court, which led to landmark decisions such as overturning of Roe. v. Wade and deeming affirmative action in college admissions unconstitutional.

He has been in the Senate since 1985 and is up for reelection in 2026. It’s unclear whether he will run again.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 28, 2024. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

News of his departure was met with various reactions.

President Joe Biden praised Mr. McConnell as an honorable political adversary.

“He and I have trust, we’ve got a great relationship, we fight like hell but he never, never, never misrepresented anything,” President Biden said during an event at the White House. “I’m sorry to hear he’s stepping down.”

President Biden and Mr. McConnell served together in the Senate for more than 20 years.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the two of them had their differences but at key junctures joined forces on issues such as COVID-19 stimulus, certifying President Biden’s 2020 victory, and sending money to Ukraine.

A number of Republican lawmakers struck a similar tone to those of President Biden and Mr. Schumer in reacting to Mr. McConnell’s announcement.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) praised Mr. McConnell for being “steadfast in his defense of conservative values, promoting a conservative judiciary, invigorating economic growth, insisting on America’s defense of freedom, and protecting the rights of all Americans.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Mr. McConnell would be remembered as “one of the most effective leaders in the history of the U.S. Senate,” while praising him for shaping the federal judiciary “in a conservative fashion” thanks to “sheer force of will.”

Some Republicans on the party’s right flank, such as the House Freedom Caucus, had words of criticism.

“No need to wait till November ... Senate Republicans should IMMEDIATELY elect a *Republican* Minority Leader,” the House Freedom Caucus wrote in a post on social media platform X while singling out Mr. McConnell’s support for more Ukraine funding by labeling him as the Democrats’ “Co-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ukraine).”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has opposed Mr. McConnell on various issues, expressed a similar sentiment.

“I called on McConnell to step down over a year ago. This is good news. But why wait so long—we need new leadership now,” he wrote in a post on X.

Jackson Richman contributed to this report.