Cornyn Claims Republicans Can’t Rein In Trump—as He Bends the Knee

Senator John Cornyn threw up his hands when it came to Todd Blanche’s nomination, like all Republicans do when President Trump does something outrageous.

Republican Senator John Cornyn tried to claim Tuesday that Republicans didn’t have any power over President Trump.

After Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Cornyn, voted to send acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation to the full Senate Tuesday, a reporter asked the Texas senator whether he was concerned about Trump continuing to say he wants to find a way to pay January 6 insurrectionists.

“Well, there’s nothing we could do to, uh, rein in the president when he said he likes the [anti-weaponization] fund and wishes it still exists, but the fact of the matter is it’s dead, and that’s all we could do under the circumstances,” Cornyn replied.

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president" pic.twitter.com/WdzZTtY4J0— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 4, 2026

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president" pic.twitter.com/WdzZTtY4J0

Cornyn and his fellow Republicans have had countless opportunities to rein in the president. After making a big deal about Trump’s $1.776 billion slush fund, Cornyn and his colleague, Senator Thom Tillis, settled for a weak agreement full of loopholes. And last week, Republicans shot down an amendment that would have killed Trump’s tax audit immunity, the other big issue with the president’s IRS settlement. In June, all but three Republicans voted against a Democratic attempt to kill the “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”

Senate Democrats also introduced the “Drain the Slush Fund Act” in June, but no Republicans have signed off on it. It all fits a pattern in Trump’s second term: Republicans have a problem with something Trump has proposed or is doing, then the administration reaches out to them, and then they fall in line.

Trump Abruptly Changes Course on Renovation, Undoing Weeks of Work

Donald Trump is suddenly unhappy with the state of his new White House helipad.

President Donald Trump has ordered contractors to redo weeks of work on a new helipad for the White House, after already demanding workers speed up construction.

For more than a month, contractors have worked around the clock to complete Trump’s helipad, which he directed to be built without any official notice. Now the contractors have been forced to take apart their work, according to photographs obtained by The Washington Post. It’s unclear how much money the additional alterations will cost, or if the helipad will be completed on schedule.

In early July, Clark Construction received a last-minute demand to complete the helipad by September 17, adding an estimated $875,000 to the price tag in the process. The government’s request, which indicated that Trump hoped to have the helipad ready for an “upcoming state visit,” was made just days after the president invited his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to come on September 24.

That’s not the only reason it’s an awkward time to be ordering redos. The Department of Justice recently admitted in court that the lining peeling off the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of “flawed” application by Trump’s handpicked contractors.

Clark Construction similarly received a no-bid contract to construct the new helipad. Now, it seems........

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