"[69], In June 2020, amid reports that Russia had paid the Taliban bounties to kill American soldiers and that Trump had been briefed on the subject months earlier, Cornyn defended an assertion by Trump that he had never been briefed on the subject. [92], While serving on the Texas Supreme Court in the 1990s, Cornyn ruled with the majority to overturn a lower court ruling, State v. Morales, that had found Texas's anti-sodomy laws to be unconstitutional. [68] They wrote: "The detention of as many as a million or more Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in "political reeducation” centers or camps requires a tough, targeted, and global response. WI: R. Johnson (R), Baldwin (D) [38], Cornyn was named Senate Majority Whip after the 2014 election, in which Republicans gained a Senate majority. Cornyn also previously served as Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2007 to 2011. Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the seat, and Gorsuch was confirmed. "[90] He was rated "A" by the National Rifle Association (NRA) as of 2003[71] and 2014;[90] as of 2018[update] his NRA rating was "A+". [74], In February 2019, Cornyn was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urging them "to work with all federal, state and local regulators, as well as the hundreds of independent power producers and electricity distributors nation-wide to ensure our systems are protected" and affirming that they were "ready and willing to provide any assistance you need to secure our critical electricity infrastructure. [73], On July 24, 2009, Cornyn announced his intention to vote against President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, saying that she might rule "from a liberal, activist perspective". RI: Reed (D) , Whitehouse (D) ,

In the speech, he wrote, "It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. [104] Cornyn opposed adoption of children by gay couples. He has said, "I don't think we can go back and erase our history by removing statues".

[27] Cornyn later said that the statement was taken out of context and for that reason he regretted the statement. At the time, the consensus among researchers was that coronavirus had originated at a wet market in Wuhan, China. "[75], Cornyn voted to permanently repeal the estate tax and to raise the estate tax exemption to $5 million. [citation needed], In a February 24, 2019 tweet, Cornyn mocked dictatorship, centralized power and democratic socialism by quoting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini as saying "We were the first to assert that the more complicated the forms assumed by civilization, the more restricted the freedom of the individual must become. He was the Republican Senate Majority Whip for the 114th and 115th Congresses.

SC: Graham (R), Scott (R) I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and building up to the point where some people engage in violence". [ citation needed ], In a February 24, 2019 tweet, Cornyn mocked dictatorship, centralized power and democratic socialism by quoting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini as saying "We were the first to assert that the more complicated the forms assumed by civilization, the more restricted the freedom of the individual must become." from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995.

Greenert.

[14] He was the first Republican elected Attorney General of Texas since Reconstruction and was sworn in by Governor George W. Bush. from St. Mary’s School of Law, Cornyn became an attorney. [3][4] He was elected an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court, where he served from 1991 to 1997. [26] His statement and a similar one by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were widely denounced, including by The New York Times. When Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace Scalia, Cornyn said that even if the president has the constitutional authority to nominate someone, the Senate has full authority on how to proceed. [43], Political scientists John Sides and Daniel J. Hopkins characterized Cornyn as "very conservative" in 2015. [citation needed], In 2008, Cornyn voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), also known as the Wall Street bailout, and later voted to end the program. MN: Klobuchar (D), Smith (D) Previously, Cornyn told McCain, "Wait a second here.

[94] When running for the Senate in 2002, Cornyn defended the law. [107][108][109], Cornyn opposes the removal of statues relating to the Confederate States of America.

[117] Cornyn receives pensions from three separate state and local governments in addition to his Senate salary. "[106], Cornyn opposes profiting from memorabilia tied to convicted murderers, and has made several unsuccessful attempts to pass laws against it. [117] Cornyn receives pensions from three separate state and local governments in addition to his Senate salary.[118]. [42], In September 2018, during the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, Cornyn accused the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee of devolving into mob rule by breaking the rules of decorum when asking for postponement or adjournment of the hearing to obtain or review documents from Kavanaugh's time working for the George W. Bush administration. According to his office, he removed the reference to the box turtle in the actual speech,[47] but The Washington Post ran the quote, as did The Daily Show. In 2014, Daines won an open seat in the U.S. Senate.
"[104] Cornyn opposed adoption of children by gay couples.

Cornyn defeated his closest Republican challenger, self-financed Dallas-based international physician Bruce Rusty Lang, in the election by a ten-to-one margin. [76], He voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 but against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. [98][99][100][101][102] Cornyn argued that recognition of same-sex marriage harmed those who were in heterosexual marriages.

3590 as Amended)", "Despite Texans' support, effort to repeal health care law narrowly defeated in U.S. Senate", "How Each Senator Voted on Obamacare Repeal Proposals", "Roll Call Vote 111th Congress - 2nd Session: On Passage of the Bill (H.R. [96] He said he worried that the Supreme Court would next overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited recognition of same-sex marriage at the federal level,[97] and subsequently played a leading role in trying to introduce a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage. He voted against factoring global warming into federal project planning, and against banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. [9][10] He was named the St. Mary's Distinguished Law School Graduate in 1994 and a Trinity University Distinguished Alumnus in 2001.[11]. [80] In April 2020, he claimed that climate scientists' models of the effects of climate change do not use the "scientific method.
Assumed office December 2, 2002. At the time, the consensus among researchers was that coronavirus had originated at a wet market in Wuhan, China. [77], Cornyn voted against a measure recognizing that climate change is manmade. He was a judge on Texas' 37th District Court from 1985 to 1991. I don't hear anyone thinking that another government shutdown is the way to achieve our goals. "[59], Cornyn supported U.S. involvement in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. [79] In May 2019, Cornyn said it was important that the United States take measures to combat climate change, but condemned the Green New Deal as proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. [110], Cornyn and his wife, Sandy Hansen, have two daughters. [69], In June 2020, amid reports that Russia had paid the Taliban bounties to kill American soldiers and that Trump had been briefed on the subject months earlier, Cornyn defended an assertion by Trump that he had never been briefed on the subject. [117] Cornyn receives pensions from three separate state and local governments in addition to his Senate salary. [citation needed], In a February 24, 2019 tweet, Cornyn mocked dictatorship, centralized power and democratic socialism by quoting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini as saying "We were the first to assert that the more complicated the forms assumed by civilization, the more restricted the freedom of the individual must become.

[38], Cornyn was named Senate Majority Whip after the 2014 election, in which Republicans gained a Senate majority.[23][39].

[14] He was the first Republican elected Attorney General of Texas since Reconstruction and was sworn in by Governor George W.