The Games They Play

So, I guess my questions:

• What is making Paxton think that fighting over the filibuster is a good issue for him?
• Has something come up that tells him he's going to lose, and so this is a Hail Mary of some kind?
• Is this his claim to Über MAGA status?

Paxton offers conditions for potential exit from Texas Senate race

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) suggested Thursday that he would be open to dropping out of the hotly contested Texas Senate primary against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) if Senate Republicans met several conditions.

Paxton said on Thursday he would consider exiting the race if Senate leadership eliminated the filibuster — the 60-vote threshold needed to clear most legislation in the upper chamber — and passed a bill that would require voters to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.

The shift from Paxton comes after President Trump on Wednesday said he plans to endorse in the Senate GOP primary “soon” and called for whomever he doesn’t endorse to drop out of the race.

“John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill. Now, Fake News reporters and the establishment are trying to destroy me with misinformation,” Paxton wrote on the social media platform X.

“The truth is clear: No one has been more loyal to Donald Trump than me—fighting the stolen 2020 election, being in Mar-a-Lago when he announced his 2024 campaign, and standing with him in NY in the face of lawfare,” he added. “For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump’s agenda, I am determined to help him get this done.”

Cornyn responded to Paxton’s statement and argued he’s been supportive of getting the voter registration legislation passed.

“I repeat what I have consistently said: I support the bill and have encouraged Senate Republicans to get it done,” Cornyn wrote on X.

However, Paxton’s conditions were quickly shot down by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

“You guys know where the votes are on the filibuster. That’s not going to happen,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Cornyn has expressed some openness to changing the filibuster rules — which Trump backed as lawmakers looked to reopen the government during its shutdown last year. However, Cornyn also expressed concern that eliminating the 60-vote threshold rule could be abused by Democrats if they were to return to power.

The incumbent senator has also supported the SAVE America Act, the legislation that would require voters to show proof of citizenship in order to vote in addition to a photo ID requirement to cast a ballot.

The legislation has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate as Republicans don’t have the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. Some Republicans have floated a “talking filibuster,” which would require Democrats to continue talking on the floor in order to halt its passage. The talking filibuster would only require 51 votes in order to pass legislation once Democrats finished on the floor.

Senate GOP leadership has pressed Trump to endorse Cornyn in the May 26 runoff in an effort to avoid an ugly contest against Paxton.