Recently defeated Senator John Cornyn calls Scott Presler a ‘grifter’ for asking him to pass the SAVE America Act

Jun 12, 2026 minute read

Recently defeated incumbent senator in Texas John Cornyn lashed out online at conservative voting advocate Scott Pressler on Thursday, calling him a “grifter” after Pressler said that he had a brief interaction with Cornyn at the airport and encouraged him to pass the SAVE America Act.

“Just had a conversation with Senator John Cornyn at the airport” Pressler posted to X. “I was very gracious & asked him to pass the SAVE America Act.” The SAVE America Act would require Americans to show ID to confirm their citizenship status when voting to ensure that only citizens are voting, per the law. A majority of Americans support voter ID.

Cornyn, however, wrote the one-word response of “grifter.” Presler has been instrumental in registering conservative and Republican voters in swing states and encouraging them to go out and vote.

The interaction comes on the heels of the GOP Senate primary in Texas, where incumbent Cornyn was bested by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Trump endorsed Paxton as the two headed to a run off in the state following a primary where neither were able to gain the majority. 

Pressler replied to Cornyn, saying that he respectfully approached the lawmaker at the airport and “despite a quib reply back from you, I kept things professional & focused on the SAVE America Act.”

“While I respect that you say you want to ensure wins this November, I speak for millions when I say that voters will be more likely to vote upon the passage of the SAVE America Act. Voters see what’s happening in California & wonder why our Senate isn’t doing everything in its power to secure our elections,” Pressler added.

The SAVE America Act would require voters to prove their US citizenship and identity for federal elections nationwide and has broad support among GOP lawmakers, but has not gotten enough support to get through the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has refused to eliminate the filibuster rule in order to ensure election integrity and pass the measure.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a strong advocate of the SAVE America Act, called on Thune to put the bill on the floor so that the Democrats would be forced to engage in a talking filibuster. In a post early Friday morning, “We will *not* regret putting in the hard work to pass the SAVE America Act—even though it will take weeks, requiring hard work. We will regret *not* passing it. Are the long weekends and recesses really worth losing our country? Of course not.”

Cornyn responded, saying that “you don’t have the votes” and accused Lee of attacking Republicans.

“On what planet is this an attack on Republicans?” Lee responded, “We have majority support for the bill. In this rare circumstance, we should put it on the floor and keep debating it until it passes. That’s not an attack on Republicans. That’s a plan of attack against voter fraud.”

Thune and other GOP Senators have shown an unwillingness to put the SAVE Act on the floor, which then trigger talking filibusters from the Democrats. Senate rules dictate that lawmakers can filibuster a bill as long as they want, but must stay on the floor and stay on their feet without yielding the floor. The process to overcome the filibuster in this setting would likely take days or even weeks, and lawmakers have to be present in Congress in order to vote down proposed amendments during any vote-a-rama.

However, after a long slog, the GOP would be able to pass the SAVE America Act with a bare majority instead of 60 votes if 50 of the GOP senators voted “yes” to the measure, which has taken place before. Vice President Vance would then be able to cast the tie-breaking vote.

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