Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) criticized Senator John Cornyn (R) during a recent interview on conservative radio host Dana Loesch's podcast, accusing Senator Cornyn of failing Texas conservatives on both gun rights and border security. The comments come as Attorney General Paxton looks to unseat Senator Cornyn in what is shaping up to be a fierce 2026 Republican primary race.
“He definitely participated with Joe Biden in restricting gun ownership rights,” Attorney General Paxton said during the interview. “It actually created litigation for us because the ATF expanded their power and tried to do more with John Cornyn’s bill than we believed they could, so we had to sue ATF. We actually sued them twice.”
Attorney General Paxton was referring to Senator Cornyn’s involvement in crafting bipartisan gun legislation passed in the after the Uvalde school shooting. The law, among other measures, expanded background checks for buyers under 21 and clarified the definition of gun dealers. The attorney general and other conservatives argue that the law overstepped constitutional bounds.
"I want to make [@JohnCornyn] Senator of Ukraine because he spent more money protecting their border than ours" ~ @KenPaxtonTX pic.twitter.com/cDjxnYnOCC
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) April 14, 2025
“Joe Biden was proud of him, and he said it – ‘you know, doin’ great things, John,’” Attorney General Paxton said, referencing President Joe Biden’s (D) praise of the incumbent senator. “President Trump came out and criticized him as a RINO because that’s effectively what we have here.”
Attorney General Paxton also took aim at Senator Cornyn’s foreign policy priorities, particularly his support for aid to Ukraine.
“It may be fine for John Cornyn if he were coming from Maine or Vermont,” Paxton said. “But… I want to make him Senator of Ukraine because he spent more money protecting their border than he has ours.”
Regarding the primary race, Attorney General Paxton clarified that Senator Ted Cruz (R) is doing right by Texans and that Texans want a senator of that caliber to join the senate and work alongside Senator Cruz for the good of the Lone Star state.
