Cornyn claps back at Mike Lee over SAVE Act: 'You don't have the votes'

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, had some frank words for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, as the conservative firebrand continues to pressure Senate leadership to advance a marquis voter ID bill.

Lee has led the push to change Senate rules to pass the Save America Act, a move that has seen leadership balk. Cornyn, for his part, indicated that Lee's frustrations with Thune were misplaced.

Mike, I am a co-sponsor and have repeatedly voted for this but you don’t have the votes. [Senate Majority Leader John Thune] can’t change that. It is math," he posted on X. "Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November."

Cornyn responded to a post from Lee, which warned that Republicans would face electoral consequences for failing to approve the bill. The SAVE America Act is likely a sore spot for Cornyn in light of the role it played in his own primary defeat.

Though Cornyn came in first during the first round of the Republican Senate primary, he fell short of the threshold to avoid a runoff. His opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, offered to drop out of the contest entirely if Cornyn could secure passage of the SAVE America Act.

Cornyn was unable to secure the bill's passage and President Donald Trump ultimately cited the issue when opting to endorse Paxton, who then won the runoff decidedly.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.