John Cornyn

When the Constitution was tested, Cornyn stayed quiet. When the party drifted toward grievance and personal loyalty, Cornyn adjusted instead of confronting it. When nominees appeared before the committees he serves, who were plainly unqualified or openly partisan, Cornyn allowed the process to move forward as if norms still applied.

I raised concerns with Cornyn's staff about Kash Patel — not casually, but repeatedly and with specificity. Cornyn’s staff acknowledged those concerns. In my view, those concerns should have raised serious questions about his qualifications, his independence and his approach to the FBI — treating it not as an institution to protect, but as a tool to use.

And yet, when Patel sat before the Senate Intelligence Committee, of which Cornyn is a member, there was no meaningful challenge. No sustained questioning. No effort to force clarity on the record. The hearing proceeded as if this were routine.

Texas has never been about blind loyalty or loud grievance. At its best, Texas is about independence, accountability and the quiet expectation that a person’s word means something. It’s about standing your ground when it matters — not shifting with the moment or chasing power at any cost.

What we are seeing from Sen. Cornyn is accommodation — an adjustment to a political environment that demands loyalty over principle. What we are seeing from Paxton is something even more troubling: a pursuit of power unmoored from ethics, accountability or basic fitness for office.

Matthew J. DeSarno is a retired FBI special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office, with a career spanning the Army, the private sector and more than two decades in federal law enforcement.

Have thoughts about this? Send a letter to the editor using our letters form or email [email protected]. Letters should be no more than 200 words and include the first and last name of the writer and city of residence.