John Cornyn signals dropping Trump highway bill after president backs primary foe

WASHINGTON, DC: John Cornyn's long-running effort to win over Donald Trump may have reached its breaking point after the president sided with his challenger, handing the Texas senator a painful setback.

The Republican Senator now seems to back off a project to rename a highway in Texas in honor of the President after his major primary loss.

In May, Cornyn introduced legislation to designate US Highway 287 as Interstate 47 and name it in honor of the president as 'Trump Interstate.'

“Texas is Trump Country, and this bill cements that legacy by designating nearly 1,800 miles of open road from Texas’ Gulf Coast to the edge of the US-Canadian border as I-47 to forever be remembered as Trump Interstate,” Cornyn said in a statement at that time.

John Cornyn says Trump highway bill 'isn’t my priority'

Cornyn's efforts to win Trump's favor through legislation ultimately fell flat, as the president threw his support behind Attorney General Ken Paxton in the hotly contested race's final stretch, paving the way for his crushing defeat.

The four-term senator now says the highway-renaming bill “may not make it into my priorities” in the final seven months of his term.

With Cornyn losing interest in the plan, Republican Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson has stepped up to push the idea forward.

“During the US Senate primary, we heard a lot of talk from the losing candidate about honoring President Trump with a named highway,” Rep Jared Patterson (R) wrote on social platform X.

“Apparently, the promise only held true when it was politically convenient, and it is no longer a priority based on today’s news.”

Patterson said he intends to introduce a resolution during the next legislative session to rename the Dallas North Tollway, a nearly 30-mile roadway running through Dallas, Collin, and Denton counties, as the "Donald J Trump Tollway."

“Naming this iconic roadway after President Trump would be a lasting tribute to a President whose leadership helped fuel unprecedented growth and prosperity across our region. I look forward to leading this effort and my commitment is unwavering,” he wrote.

John Cornyn not looking for confrontation

Cornyn told Hearst Newspapers this week that while he was not “looking for confrontation,” he would challenge the president on “areas where we differ,” marking a notable shift for a senator who has long highlighted his conservative voting record and alignment with Trump.

“I’m not part of the, what do they call that, the ‘Wounded Bear Caucus,'” he told the outlet. “I’ve always avoided being a member of any kind of gang here on Capitol Hill. So I’m going to continue operating that way.”

The senator has already begun putting distance between himself and Trump, including this week when he took issue with the president's choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence following Tulsi Gabbard's departure.

“The Senate doesn’t have any role to play in terms of confirming acting officials, but I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job,” Cornyn maintained.