John Cornyn

Don't mess with Texas — or outgoing lawmakers with apparent axes to grind.

Texas Senator John Cornyn, who failed to secure the Republican nomination last week in a bid for a fifth term, said he's shelving legislation he proposed in May to rename a 1,800-mile stretch of highway in honor of President Donald Trump, who has derided the fellow Republican as "disloyal" while backing Cornyn's primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The bill, which sought to rename US-287 from Port Arthur, Texas, to Choteau, Montana, as Interstate 47 or Trump Interstate, "may not make into my priorities the next seven months," Cornyn told Hearst Newspapers on Wednesday.

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Cornyn, whose term expires in January, has said he's "looking forward to working in the private sector" after losing last week's primary to Paxton, who credited Trump for the victory.

Paxton told supporters at an election watch party, "When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen. President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics."

Cornyn said he wasn't "looking for confrontation," but insisted he would speak on "areas where we differ," a dramatic shift from the lawmaker who once posted a photo on social media of himself reading Trump's best-selling The Art of the Deal.

"I'm not part of the, what do they call that, the 'Wounded Bear Caucus,'" he said, referring to a term used to describe Republican politicians ousted from office by Trump. "I've always avoided being a member of any kind of gang here on Capitol Hill. So, I'm going to continue operating that way."

Cornyn, who has indicated he'll support Paxton in the general election, had also backed Trump's invasion of Iran, urging him to "stay the course" as he navigates increasing bipartisan calls in Washington to end the conflict.

"Tonight we’ve come up short,” Cornyn said following last week's loss. "I’ve always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again."

In 2023, Coryn dismissed Trump's bid to return to the White House, insisting time had "passed him by." But just last month, the four-term senator lauded the commander in chief while promoting the renamed interstate.

"Texas is Trump Country, and this bill cements that legacy by designating nearly 1,800 miles of open-road from Texas' Gulf Coast to the edge of the U.S.-Canadian border as I-47 to forever be remembered as Trump Interstate,” Cornyn said in a statement on May 11. "By upgrading one of our nation’s longest highways to a future interstate, this legislation will increase economic growth and improve safety, all while honoring the most consequential president of our lifetime."

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a fellow Republican, cosponsored the seemingly stalled legislation to rename US-287, a major trucking route that handled more than 923 million tons of freight within Texas in 2022.

Cornyn also characterized the bill as a potential safety upgrade, citing a Texas Department of Transportation feasibility study that found upgrading US-287 to an interstate facility would translate to an estimated $5.4 billion in travel cost savings, more than 46,000 jobs and $11.6 billion in total annual increase in GDP by 2050, or a 161 percent return for the project.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.