Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is backing off a push to dedicate a Texas highway after President Trump, signaling that it may no longer be high on his priority list following his defeat in last month’s GOP Senate primary runoff.
Cornyn introduced legislation in May to rename U.S. Highway 287 as Interstate 47 in honor of the 47th president, as he was trying to court Trump’s endorsement in a hotly contested race against Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).
Paxton ultimately won Trump’s support in the closing days of the race and went on to crush Cornyn, an outcome that cemented the president’s influence over Republican voters. Paxton is set to face Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) in November.
Now, the four-term senator says the highway bill “may not make it into my priorities” in the final seven months of his term. Instead, a Texas state representative is angling to push the idea forward.
“During the U.S. 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 that he plans to file a resolution next legislative session to rename the Dallas North Tollway — a roughly 30-mile stretch from Dallas through Collin and Denton counties — 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.
Cornyn told Hearst Newspapers this week that while he was not “looking for confrontation,” he would challenge the president on “areas where we differ” — a shift for a senator who often touted his conservative voting record as proof of his MAGA credentials and close 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.”
But he has already demonstrated more of a willingness to openly defy the president, even as recently as this week, when he criticized Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to succeed Tulsi Gabbard as the acting director of national intelligence.
“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, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said.
