Republican senator concedes conversations with Trump are not ‘particularly useful’

After Donald Trump orchestrated Sen. Bill Cassidy’s defeat in a recent primary, the newly liberated Louisiana Republican wasted little time showing renewed independence, defying the president’s wishes on several issues.

The question was whether Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas was poised to follow the same path after Trump also ended his career. The answer is quickly coming into focus. Semafor reported this week on the outgoing senator’s perspective on the president who betrayed him.

Conversations with Trump aren’t “particularly useful,” Cornyn said, “because he can and will change his mind depending on the next person he talks to on the phone.

“The president seems to revel in chaos, which is so different from any other leader that I’ve ever seen. I don’t know about you, but I like to minimize the chaos in my life,” Cornyn added. “He just seems to revel in it.”

The comments were striking, but they were not altogether surprising. In recent weeks, Cornyn has:

Denounced Bill Pulte’s appointment as the acting director of national intelligence;
Condemned Trump’s Justice Department for its role in creating a $1.776 billion compensation fund and IRS audit shield for the president;
Announced that he’s undecided on Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination;
And derided efforts to advance Trump’s so-called SAVE America Act, an anti-voting measure backed by the White House that still doesn’t have the votes it needs to clear the chamber.

When Cornyn spoke to Semafor, he emphasized the fact that he’s “free to disagree” with his party and the White House, though he contended he’s not “a member of the YOLO Caucus,” an informal group of senators who have lost in primaries, announced their retirement or simply concluded that it’s to their electoral benefit to distance themselves from their party’s unpopular president. (“YOLO” is a slang acronym for “you only live once.”)

But whether Cornyn sees himself as a member of the contingent or not, the Texan is clearly showing newfound signs of independence, and he has a unique opportunity to partner with the YOLO crowd with six months remaining before his involuntary exit from Capitol Hill. Watch this space.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

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