John Cornyn voted five times to fund the Department of Homeland Security – then left Washington on spring break while DHS stayed shut down.
Now Ken Paxton wants every Texas Republican to see exactly what that looks like.
Paxton just put it on video – and what he shows Cornyn doing will make your blood boil.
Cornyn Takes Spring Break as DHS Shutdown Drags On and SAVE America Act Stalls
The ad is devastating in its simplicity.
An AI-generated Cornyn kicks back on a beach in a sunhat, blasts down a waterslide, and wraps up at a luau – while the narrator explains that President Trump's agenda is sitting in neutral.
"President Trump is fighting to protect our nation and stop illegals from voting, but his agenda is on hold because John Cornyn is on spring break," the narrator says.
Paxton wasn't subtle in his own statement.
"It's anyone's guess exactly where in the world John Cornyn is, but I can tell you one thing: He's not in Washington trying to pass the Save America Act," Paxton said. "Instead of fully funding the Department of Homeland Security, fighting for the Save America Act, or working to pass President Trump's agenda, John Cornyn has decided to disappear on vacation."
"He's an embarrassment to the state of Texas," Paxton added, "and we deserve better than someone too lazy to show up for our state."
What the SAVE America Act Actually Does and Why Cornyn's Absence Matters
The SAVE America Act – Trump's self-described "Number 1 priority" – requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID before casting a ballot in a federal election.
The bill passed the House in February with full Republican support.
The Senate has been a different story – and Texans are paying for it.
DHS has been partially shut down for weeks. Airport wait times have shattered records, with some passengers stuck in TSA lines for more than four hours. The agency has bled hundreds of officers to attrition and walkouts. Cornyn himself voted five times to reopen DHS and went to the floor to blast Senate Democrats for blocking the SAVE Act.
Then he left town.
The Senate isn't scheduled to return until April 28.
Cornyn's office pushed back, telling the Washington Examiner the senator is spending the recess holding events across Texas.
Paxton's campaign is betting Texas Republican primary voters won't see the distinction.
Texas Senate Runoff 2026: Paxton Leads Cornyn in Latest Polling
The ad is a five-figure digital buy – modest by the standards of the most expensive Senate primary in Texas history.
Cornyn's campaign and allied super PACs spent north of $54 million attacking Paxton throughout the primary, yet couldn't finish the job. Cornyn led Paxton by barely more than one percentage point on March 3 – 41.9% to 40.7% – with neither clearing the 50% threshold needed to win outright. The runoff is set for May 26. The RealClearPolitics average now puts Paxton ahead by 2.3 points.
Political consultant Bill Miller sized up the runoff dynamic plainly: "The runoff will be the hardcore primary voters, and that's his base. So he'll be extraordinarily difficult to defeat in a runoff."
That base is exactly the audience Paxton is targeting – conservatives who view Cornyn as a Washington fixture that's forgotten why he was sent there.
Trump Has Not Endorsed in Texas Senate Race and Both Candidates Know It
One variable towers over everything else: Donald Trump hasn't endorsed either candidate.
Trump said he supports all three original candidates and hasn't named a preference. That neutrality may not hold through a two-man runoff with a Senate seat at stake.
Senate Republican leadership has privately backed Cornyn throughout, warning that Paxton – who avoided trial on multiple felony fraud charges by agreeing to pay restitution and perform community service, and went through a very public divorce – would be a liability in a general election against Democrat James Talarico in November.
Cornyn issued his own warning in February: "We will have an election day massacre. If Ken Paxton is at the top of the ticket, we risk losing the Senate seat, losing the majority in the House of Representatives, and it will take a toll on everybody on the ballot."
Paxton's answer to that argument is the ad playing on your screen right now.
One candidate is fighting for Trump's agenda. The other is at a water park.
Texas Republicans get to decide on May 26 which one they want representing them.
Sources:
- Washington Examiner, "Paxton says it's time for Cornyn's 'permanent vacation' in new ad," April 8, 2026.
- Breitbart, "Exclusive: Rep. Roy Introduces Bill Combining 60-Day DHS Funding with SAVE America Act," April 6, 2026.
- Texas Public Radio, "Cornyn and Paxton are headed to a May 26 runoff in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate," March 3, 2026.
- Fox News, "Reporter's Notebook: GOP's 'favorite bill' faces reality check as Senate stalls on SAVE America Act," March 2026.
- Senator John Cornyn official website, "Cornyn Sets the Record Straight on Democrat Opposition to SAVE America Act, DHS Funding," March 2026.
- National Association of Counties, "DHS funding impasse continues as House and Senate remain at odds," April 2026.
