The men with nothing left to lose, who aren't afraid of Trump any more
Only a few days after losing his re-election race last week, top senator John Cornyn posted a fable on X.
“A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across,” Cornyn wrote.
John Cornyn lost his primary after Donald Trump endorsed his opponent. AP Photo/Annie Rice
“The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river.
“The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion.
“Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both.
“The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: ‘I am sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s my character.’”
It’s an old story, but few of Cornyn’s followers had any doubts as to what he was referring to.
Because for the last ten years, Cornyn has tethered himself to Donald Trump, backing him throughout his presidency.
And days before last week’s Texas primary election, Trump endorsed Cornyn’s opponent. Cornyn lost the election in a landslide.
It was an ignominious end to the electoral career of one of the most powerful Republicans in Washington.
Cornyn may be off the ballot in the midterm election, but he will still be in the Senate until January.
He now has nothing to lose – and he isn’t alone.
Weeks earlier, another conservative senator who drew Trump’s ire lost in his primary.
Bill Cassidy lost his primary after Donald Trump endorsed his opponent. AP
In the days after Senator Bill Cassidy came third in his primary, he took aim at Trump.
“The American people do not expect perfection from their leaders, but they do expect seriousness. Leaders who are steady, not erratic,” he said.
“Their words should lower the temperature rather than inflame division.”
Days after his loss, Cassidy switched his position on Iran and voted on a resolution to end it.
One by one, Trump’s narrow edge in Congress is getting narrower.
Republicans have a three-seat advantage in the Senate and five-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
And Cassidy and Cornyn aren’t the only Republicans who have been burnt by Trump.
Former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is retiring after a long career at the end of the year.
Formerly the most powerful conservative in Washington, McConnell is now occasionally voting against the White House.
And Republican moderates Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have shown willingness to thumb their nose at the president.
Losing the backing of four Republican senators is enough to thwart the president’s agenda on just about everything.
The Senate has already stopped Trump’s billion-dollar legal fund in its tracks.
The Pentagon is fast running out of money to pay for the war in Iran.
Lisa Murkowski has often voted against Donald Trump in Congress. AP
And proposed legislation to fund the White House ballroom has gone nowhere.
Without the backing of Congress to pass laws, there is nothing Trump can do that can’t be immediately reversed with the stroke of a pen by the next president on their first day.
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