WASHINGTON \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The endorsement didn\u2019t come. A senior Trump administration official said Tuesday that Trump\u2019s decision about whom to endorse, Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is in \u201ca holding pattern.\u201d As the days pass, Republicans are growing anxious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to ask yourself: Why is he waiting?\u201d a Republican senator said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u2014 considered the most powerful in Republican politics \u2014 as leverage to prod Republican lawmakers to pass a measure that is stalled in the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A senior administration official didn\u2019t dispute that Trump is tying his endorsement to legislation he sorely wants passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s desk under the Senate\u2019s filibuster rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether he can get the bill passed, Trump said Monday: \u201cI don\u2019t know. Nobody is doing much on it. And until they do, I\u2019m not doing anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He repeated, with added emphasis: \u201cI\u2019m not doing anything until they get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who is the chamber\u2019s majority leader, said he was concerned that Trump\u2019s endorsement might now be contingent on passing the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Thune told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s probably not a linkage that is in anybody\u2019s best interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the Senate is prepared to vote on the measure that Trump has made an overriding priority, passage \u201cis not guaranteed,\u201d he cautioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to make political decisions independent of what the final disposition of that [the SAVE America Act] might be on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also wants to attach unrelated provisions: One would ban transgender athletes from taking part in women\u2019s sports, and another would restrict gender-affirming treatment for minors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s thinking, including a close Cornyn ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The day after, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would endorse a candidate \u201csoon,\u201d writing that the man who doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump wrote that the primary contest \u201ccannot, 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!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe SAVE America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate could ever pass, and I\u2019m committed to helping President Trump get it done,\u201d Paxton wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The endorsement poses a dilemma for Trump. Whatever he decides could swing the outcome, with control of the Senate potentially in the balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cornyn and his allies have argued that he represents the party\u2019s best chance to hold on to the Senate seat in light of Paxton\u2019s personal and professional difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paxton was impeached on bribery and corruption charges in 2023; the state Senate acquitted him. Last year, Paxton\u2019s wife announced that she was divorcing him on \u201cbiblical grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf he [Trump] endorses Paxton, we have major-league problems,\u201d the Republican senator said, speaking on condition of anonymity. \u201cI\u2019m not sure Cornyn can beat him [Talarico], but I know Paxton can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019t on the ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inside Trump\u2019s MAGA movement, some harbor suspicions of Cornyn dating back years. He stayed neutral in the 2016 Republican primaries \u2014 Trump\u2019s first bid for the presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2023, Cornyn, who is in his fourth term, said Trump\u2019s \u201ctime has passed him by,\u201d suggesting Trump wasn\u2019t the most electable presidential candidate in \u201924. He eventually endorsed Trump, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s most dedicated supporters detest Cornyn \u2014 for the very reason he detests the president and the MAGA movement,\u201d Steve Bannon, a senior White House official in Trump\u2019s last term, told NBC News on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the wait for an endorsement continues, Cornyn is doing what he can to reassure Texas voters that he\u2019s a true Trump loyalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would love for the president to endorse,\u201d Cornyn told NBC News on Tuesday, noting the runoff is weeks away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf he does, then that\u2019ll make our job a little easier,\u201d he added. \u201cBut if he doesn\u2019t, well, that doesn\u2019t change our plans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n