Texas Republican, gun rights groups oppose Cornyn as Senate majority leader

(The Center Square) – Ahead of the U.S. Senate choosing its new majority leader, several Republican and advocacy groups in Texas issued statements opposing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, from being considered.

Long-time Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is stepping down. He called for a vote on Wednesday by secret ballot. Three senators are being considered: Cornyn, and Sens. Rick Scott, R-FL, and John Thune, R-SD.

Cornyn is believed to be McConnell’s pick as he and Scott have clashed.

In 2022, Scott challenged McConnell for the leadership role. McConnell then removed Scott from the Senate Commerce Committee. He also ensured in the 2024 election cycle that no money from the U.S. Senate Campaign Committee, the GOP’s Senate fundraising arm, went toward Scott’s reelection campaign. It also sent no money to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign.

Scott, considered a conservative stalwart and beloved former Florida governor, is also running to head the USCC. Despite no USCC support from McConnell, Scott beat his Democratic opponent by 14 points. Cruz neat his by 7 points.

On Tuesday, Cornyn sent a letter to his colleagues making his case to be their leader, saying, “It’s imperative that Republicans hit the ground running to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda for the American people. That means the Senate must take swift action to confirm his cabinet from day one.” He also said he spoke to Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and the president’s team “about their prior priorities and I look forward to working with them to revitalize America.”

Trump disagrees, as do many conservative leaders nationwide, who’ve endorsed Scott.

Cornyn said in order to “Make America Great Again, we must Make the Senate Work Again.” This involves “reinvesting in a Senate committee process to drive an aggressive legislative agenda that secures our border, reduces federal spending, boosts our economy, unleashes the nation’s energy potential, and reverses Biden-Harris policies,” he said.

Cornyn’s letter was sent as conservatives in Texas called on Senate Republicans to reject him. Many Texas Republicans have blasted Cornyn after he joined Democrats to author a gun-control bill and supported a failed border bill that critics say would not have secured the border, The Center Square reported.

After President Joe Biden signed Cornyn’s gun control bill into law, Republican delegates stood, booed, jeered and shouted at him at the 2022 Republican Party of Texas Convention in Houston. Gun rights groups also demanded he apologize for referring to them as an angry mob, The Center Square reported. He has yet to do so.

Biden cited Cornyn’s gun control bill as the authorization needed to push through gun restrictions. One was through a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule requiring anyone who sells firearms to register as federal firearm licensees. In response, 26 states sued. In a Texas-Kansas lawsuit, a federal judge in Texas said the rule was “almost certainly violative of – at the least – the APA,” The Center Square reported.

In response to the ATF action, Cornyn said he would fight “this lawless rule tooth and nail to ensure the God-given right to keep and bear arms is preserved and this flagrant distortion of congressional intent of our landmark mental health and school safety law is struck down.” He also joined 44 of his colleagues to sign a resolution to block it.

But that was too little too late, gun rights groups argue. The National Association for Gun Rights opposes Cornyn, saying bills he authored “undermined the Second Amendment rights of thousands of honorable veterans.”

It points to Cornyn’s ‘FIX-NICS’ Act, included in a 2018 spending bill, that resulted in an additional 70,568 veterans having “their gun rights stripped without due process because of this reckless act,” NAGR communications director Taylor Rhodes said. “The rush to strip gun rights from law-abiding Americans by adding more names to this flawed federal no-guns list – without due process – is the wrong approach.”

Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt agreed, saying, “Not only did Cornyn strip gun rights from our nation’s heroes, but he also doubled down on his assault on our constitutional rights by putting a federal ‘Red Flag’ gun confiscation funding bill on Joe Biden’s desk in 2022 – and then attacked gun rights activists for standing against his actions. … We need a leader who will repeal Red Flag funding and dismantle the NICS system, not expand it. John Cornyn is not just the wrong choice; he’s the worst choice.”

The Dallas County Republican Party urged senators not to vote for Cornyn or Thune saying they “have consistently aligned themselves with Democrats and voted for omnibus bills that fail to serve the interests of America and its citizens.”

“The American people have made their expectations clear. They demand strong, principled leadership in the Senate – leadership that upholds conservative values and supports the America First agenda. The U.S. Senate needs a Majority Leader who is fully committed to conservative principles and who will champion the policies of President Trump,” the DCRP said. “Scott embodies the values of President Trump and the America First agenda.”

Tarrant County GOP’s Executive Committee also passed a resolution condemning Cornyn, saying he “repeatedly has stood against Republicans and sided with the Democrats pushing omnibus bills that do not benefit Americans.” They said they reject Cornyn as a majority leader, saying Scott and Sen. John Kennedy, R-LA, better represent the America First agenda.