Trump's endorsement in the Texas Senate race may hinge on passage of the SAVE America Act

WASHINGTON — A week ago, President Donald Trump had seemed ready to endorse Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas over a GOP primary challenger, potentially clearing the field so the party could shift focus to defeating the Democratic opponent in November.

The endorsement didn’t come. A senior Trump administration official said Tuesday that Trump’s decision about whom to endorse, Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is in “a holding pattern.” As the days pass, Republicans are growing anxious.

“You’ve got to ask yourself: Why is he waiting?” a Republican senator said in an interview.

One reason seems to be that Trump has linked his endorsement to the fate of a bill that would impose stricter voting requirements. Trump appears to be using his endorsement — considered the most powerful in Republican politics — as leverage to prod Republican lawmakers to pass a measure that is stalled in the Senate.

A senior administration official didn’t dispute that Trump is tying his endorsement to legislation he sorely wants passed.

In a pair of recent phone interviews, NBC News asked Trump about his endorsement plans. In neither case did he answer directly. Instead, he pivoted to the status of the SAVE America Act. The measure needs 60 votes to get to Trump’s desk under the Senate’s filibuster rule.

Asked whether he can get the bill passed, Trump said Monday: “I don’t know. Nobody is doing much on it. And until they do, I’m not doing anything.”

He repeated, with added emphasis: “I’m not doing anything until they get it done.”

Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who is the chamber’s majority leader, said he was concerned that Trump’s endorsement might now be contingent on passing the bill.

“Yeah,” Thune told reporters. “It’s probably not a linkage that is in anybody’s best interests.”

Though the Senate is prepared to vote on the measure that Trump has made an overriding priority, passage “is not guaranteed,” he cautioned.

“You have to make political decisions independent of what the final disposition of that [the SAVE America Act] might be on the floor.”

Both Cornyn and Paxton have come out in favor of the bill, which would require photo identification to vote in federal elections, along with documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, among other changes.

Trump also wants to attach unrelated provisions: One would ban transgender athletes from taking part in women’s sports, and another would restrict gender-affirming treatment for minors.

Not long ago, the path to a Cornyn endorsement had seemed smoother. So long as Cornyn kept the primary race close, Trump was likely to endorse him over Paxton, said two people familiar with the White House’s thinking, including a close Cornyn ally.

Cornyn, indeed, kept it close. He advanced to a Republican runoff set for May 26 by edging Paxton 42%-41% in the primary March 3.

The day after, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would endorse a candidate “soon,” writing that the man who doesn’t get his backing should bow out, thus sparing Republicans a bruising intraparty fight ahead of a tough race against the Democratic candidate, James Talarico, 36.

Trump wrote that the primary contest “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!”

After he initially vowed to stay in the race following the primary, Paxton posted on X that he would consider dropping out if Senate leadership agreed to scrap the filibuster rule that requires a 60-vote majority and pass the voting bill.

“The SAVE America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate could ever pass, and I’m committed to helping President Trump get it done,” Paxton wrote.

The endorsement poses a dilemma for Trump. Whatever he decides could swing the outcome, with control of the Senate potentially in the balance.

A Texas Public Opinion Research survey of likely GOP primary voters found Paxton initially leading a runoff against Cornyn by 8 points, with the contest narrowing to a dead heat if Trump were to back Cornyn. The poll was conducted Saturday and Sunday.

Advisers have given Trump data showing that Cornyn stands the best chance of defeating Talarico, according to a person familiar with White House internal discussions. But Trump has also seen data that his MAGA base is with Paxton, according to this person.

Flipping the Texas Senate seat would be a coup for Democrats. They need to net four seats in November to wrest control of the Senate.

Cornyn and his allies have argued that he represents the party’s best chance to hold on to the Senate seat in light of Paxton’s personal and professional difficulties.

Paxton was impeached on bribery and corruption charges in 2023; the state Senate acquitted him. Last year, Paxton’s wife announced that she was divorcing him on “biblical grounds.”

“If he [Trump] endorses Paxton, we have major-league problems,” the Republican senator said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I’m not sure Cornyn can beat him [Talarico], but I know Paxton can’t.”

Paxton has dismissed suggestions that he would jeopardize the seat, arguing that he can energize Trump voters who have been less likely to turn out when the president isn’t on the ballot.

Inside Trump’s MAGA movement, some harbor suspicions of Cornyn dating back years. He stayed neutral in the 2016 Republican primaries — Trump’s first bid for the presidency.

In 2023, Cornyn, who is in his fourth term, said Trump’s “time has passed him by,” suggesting Trump wasn’t the most electable presidential candidate in ’24. He eventually endorsed Trump, though.

“President Trump’s most dedicated supporters detest Cornyn — for the very reason he detests the president and the MAGA movement,” Steve Bannon, a senior White House official in Trump’s last term, told NBC News on Tuesday.

As the wait for an endorsement continues, Cornyn is doing what he can to reassure Texas voters that he’s a true Trump loyalist.

“I would love for the president to endorse,” Cornyn told NBC News on Tuesday, noting the runoff is weeks away.

“If he does, then that’ll make our job a little easier,” he added. “But if he doesn’t, well, that doesn’t change our plans.”

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com