Cornyn, John (1952-…), became a member of the United States Senate in 2002. Cornyn, a Republican, represents Texas. A former justice of the Texas Supreme Court, he was serving as attorney general of Texas when he was elected to the Senate. Cornyn was named Senate minority whip (assistant leader) following the November 2012 elections. The Republicans won control of the Senate in the November 2014 elections, and Cornyn was named majority whip, or assistant majority leader. He served in the position until 2019.
Cornyn was born on Feb. 2, 1952, in Houston. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Trinity University in 1973 and a law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1977. In 1995, he earned a master of law degree from the University of Virginia.
Cornyn practiced law in San Antonio from 1977 until 1984, when he was elected a district court judge. He won election to the Texas Supreme Court in 1990 and was reelected in 1996. He resigned from the court in 1997 to run for attorney general of Texas and won the election in 1998.
Cornyn was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2002 to a term beginning in January 2003. However, he took office in December after Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed him to fill the seat of retiring Senator Phil Gramm. Gramm, who was to leave office in January 2003, resigned at the end of November 2002. Cornyn was reelected to the Senate in 2008, 2014, and 2020. He has served on the Senate’s Judiciary and Finance committees. Cornyn, a conservative, is an opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage. He has also been a strong supporter of measures to increase transparency in government matters.
