By Brian Freeman | Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Some Senate Republicans openly expressed their disagreement with President Donald Trump’s decision to endorse Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the state’s Republican Senate primary on Tuesday.
The Hill reported that several GOP senators warned the move could weaken the party’s hold on a crucial seat. The endorsement dealt a major political setback to Cornyn, a four-term senator and longtime member of the GOP leadership team, as he heads toward a May 26 runoff election against Democrat candidate James Talarico.
Several Senate Republicans raised concerns about Paxton’s past legal troubles and his general election viability.
“I don’t understand. He is an ethically challenged individual,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said of Paxton, who previously faced securities fraud charges tied to allegations he misled investors in a Dallas-area technology startup before later completing a pretrial diversion agreement.
Collins added: “John Cornyn is an outstanding senator and deserved, in my judgment, the president’s support. Obviously, it’s the president’s call, but I’m disappointed that he did it.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she was “supremely disappointed” by Trump’s endorsement and questioned the political wisdom behind the move, warning it could make it harder for Republicans to hold the seat against Talarico.
“Based on the numbers that I’ve seen, yeah,” Murkowski said when asked whether the endorsement complicates Republican chances. “How does that help strengthen the president’s hand when we lose a state like Texas?”
Trump announced his endorsement of Paxton in a post on Truth Social, where he praised Cornyn as “a good man” but criticized the senator for not standing by him during politically difficult periods.
“[Cornyn] was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump wrote, while touting the economic accomplishments of his first administration.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who had privately lobbied Trump for months to support Cornyn, appeared visibly subdued Tuesday as he headed into the weekly Republican lunch meeting at the Capitol.
“It’s his decision,” Thune said when asked about the president’s endorsement.
