The Swamp just called the President to sell Texas down the river.
The Senate Majority Leader is on the phone with Trump right now – and he's using your election security as the bargaining chip.
What happens before May 26 decides whether Donald Trump controls the Senate or the Senate controls Donald Trump.
Thune Went on Fox News and Admitted the Whole Thing
John Thune didn't bother hiding it.
He went on Fox News with Martha MacCallum and told the country he's been personally calling President Trump to push an endorsement for John Cornyn in the Texas runoff.
"I've spoken with the president already today about Texas, and I'm certainly hopeful," Thune said.
He kept going.
"I've made no secret of the fact that I hope the president will endorse John Cornyn," Thune continued. "He represents by far our very best hope of making sure that Texas stays red in November."
This is the same John Thune who sat in that chamber two weeks ago while Trump pointed directly at him during the State of the Union and said "We have to do it, John" – a direct, public order to move the SAVE Act.
Thune heard the President call him out in front of Congress and the country.
His response was to bury the SAVE Act and spend his days lobbying for Cornyn.
That is not a coincidence.
The SAVE Act and Voter ID Are Dead Unless Trump Forces It
Here is exactly what Thune is doing to election integrity right now.
The SAVE Act – proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, plus voter ID at the ballot box – passed the House and has more than 50 Senate Republican co-sponsors.
Trump declared it the top legislative priority of the year.
Thune declared the talking filibuster "not possible," said there are "not anywhere close to the votes" to change the rules, and essentially guaranteed the bill dies at a 60-vote cloture threshold.
"Obviously, I think that's a very real possibility," Thune admitted when reporters pressed him.
The House Freedom Caucus is furious.
Rep. Chip Roy called Thune out publicly for fast-tracking Thune's own tribal housing bill while blocking election security legislation.
Sen. Mike Lee is fighting to force a real floor vote and getting nowhere.
Rep. Josh Brecheen warned his colleagues plainly that the bill is "dying a slow death in the Senate."
Thune controls the floor schedule.
Thune decides what moves and what dies.
And right now, the SAVE Act is dying – while Thune works the phones for Cornyn.
What the Texas Senate Runoff Actually Costs If Trump Gets It Wrong
John Cornyn isn't just any senator.
He's the man who said Trump's "time has passed him by" in 2024 and publicly doubted Trump could win.
He cut a bipartisan gun deal after Uvalde that earned him boos at the Texas GOP state convention.
He was openly skeptical of Trump's claims about the 2020 election.
The GOP establishment poured over $70 million into propping him up in this primary – and he still couldn't break 42 percent.
Ken Paxton, running on roughly $5 million, finished less than one point behind.
Paxton was the attorney general who filed the 2020 lawsuit challenging the election in four key battleground states when nobody else had the guts to do it.
https://twitter.com/Peoples_Pundit/status/2029750071059788062
He's fought Big Pharma, the medical transitioning of minors, and a federal government that spent years treating Texas families like enemies.
The runoff is May 26.
With Trump's endorsement, Paxton wins.
Without it, the Swamp spends another $50 million and buys the seat back.
What Trump Should Say to Both of Them
This is the moment that defines whether the America First movement controls Washington or Washington controls the movement.
Trump has the leverage.
He has the most valuable endorsement in American politics.
He has a base that turned out for him in Texas in record numbers three times.
He has a Senate majority that exists entirely because of him.
The message to Cornyn should be simple: your days in the Senate are numbered.
A senator who called Trump's time "past," who cut a bipartisan gun deal that got him booed at his own state convention, who publicly doubted Trump could win in 2024 – that senator does not deserve a Trump endorsement.
He deserves a primary loss.
The message to Thune should be equally clear: the SAVE Act moves or you become the next obstacle Trump runs over on the way to November.
This is not complicated.
A Senate Majority Leader who ignores a direct presidential order at the State of the Union – then spends his days lobbying for the establishment candidate Trump hasn't endorsed – is not a partner.
He's the problem.
The Pattern the Establishment Is Counting On You to Forget
This is how the establishment survives every populist wave.
They endorse the winner after the election, promise to carry the agenda, drag their feet on the priorities, protect their allies in the primaries, and wait for the base to get tired.
McConnell ran that playbook for years.
Thune learned it at McConnell's knee for two decades.
When Senate Republicans chose their leader in November 2024, Trump's allies – including Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson – pushed for Rick Scott, the only candidate who promised to run the Senate as an arm of the Trump agenda.
The establishment chose Thune over Scott and over Cornyn.
Now Thune is using the power of that job to keep Cornyn in the Senate as a reliable establishment vote alongside him.
Paxton said it best on primary night, staring down $70 million in attack ads: "We proved something they'll never understand in Washington."
He's right.
Endorse Paxton.
Tell Thune the SAVE Act moves or the endorsement doesn't.
The Swamp is not going to dismantle itself.
That has always been the whole point.
Sources:
- Jim Hoft, "RINO Thune 'Pressures' Trump to Back Establishment RINO Cornyn," The Gateway Pundit, March 4, 2026.
- Olivia Rondeau, "John Thune Refuses to Use Talking Filibuster to Pass SAVE America Act," Breitbart, March 1, 2026.
- Patrick Svitek and Gabby Birenbaum, "Cornyn and Paxton Prepare for 'Knife Fight' in Senate Runoff," The Texas Tribune, March 4, 2026.
- Haley Byrd Wilt, "House GOP Seemingly Relents In SAVE Act Standoff With Senate," The Daily Caller, March 5, 2026.
- Axios Austin, "John Cornyn and Ken Paxton Head to Runoff in Texas Republican Senate Primary," March 4, 2026.
