John Cornyn is a four-term U.S. Senator from Texas who has served since 2002. Born in Houston, he previously served as Texas Attorney General (1999-2002) and on the Texas Supreme Court (1991-1997). He was the Senate Republican Whip from 2013 to 2019 and narrowly lost a bid for Senate Majority Leader in 2024. Cornyn has positioned himself as a conservative with a record of bipartisan dealmaking, though this has drawn criticism from the GOP's right wing who view him as insufficiently conservative and insufficiently loyal to President Trump.
John Cornyn was born in Houston to a U.S. Air Force colonel. He attended schools including the American School in Japan and graduated from Trinity University, St. Mary's University School of Law, and earned an LLM from University of Virginia. Before his Senate career, he served as a Texas District Court judge (1985-1991), Texas Supreme Court justice (1991-1997), and Texas Attorney General (1999-2002). He has been married nearly 50 years and is a Texas Republican fixture who rose to Senate GOP leadership.