Cornyn trolls Paxton after Senate leadership speculation remarks

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), seen as a possible successor to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), fired back at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Wednesday after he took aim at Cornyn’s prospects for the leadership post.

“Hard to run from prison, Ken,” Cornyn wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Cornyn’s post came in response to a post from Paxton, who was acquitted last year of corruption charges after facing an historic impeachment led by members of his own party.

A close ally of former President Trump, Paxton is scheduled to head to trial on securities fraud charges in April in Houston, a case that began in 2015. He also remains under FBI investigation over allegations of abuse of office, according to The Associated Press.

In his post, Paxton blasted Cornyn for lacking the ultraconservative political chops Paxton suggested is necessary to be the next leader of the Senate GOP, writing: “Republicans deserve better in their next leader and Texans deserve another conservative Senator.”

Cornyn, a high-ranking member with a reputation as a serious legislator, has often found himself at odds with Paxton, the top legal official in Texas.

After the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Cornyn worked across the aisle to negotiate a significant bipartisan gun package that included broadly popular provisions, including more funding for school security and mental health, state incentives to pass red flag laws and the closing of the “boyfriend loophole.”

Paxton attacked Cornyn for working on the bill, however, labeling him “anti-gun” and calling for him to be primaried. They have feuded at various moments since, including earlier this month when Cornyn fired back at Paxton for criticizing his support for Ukraine, saying Paxton was “pushing Russian propaganda.”

“It will be difficult for @JohnCornyn to be an effective leader since he is anti-Trump, anti-gun, and will be focused on his highly competitive primary campaign in 2026,” Paxton wrote in his post Wednesday.

Cornyn has endorsed Trump for president, but only after he won the New Hampshire primary.

Paxton, on Wednesday, also reposted an anti-Cornyn video that labeled him a “traitor” and said, “JOHN CORNYN wants to run for Senate Leader He would be even WORSE than Mitch McConnell.”

The Hill has reached out to Paxton’s office for a response.