Sen. John Cornyn Home for Recess as Texans Struggle to Pay for Gas, Groceries, Utilities

Texas  –  This week, Sen. John Cornyn headed back home to Texas, where he has declined to host a town hall to meet with constituents, dismissing Texans who are demanding answers on the affordability crises hitting their wallets. Unfortunately for Republicans, Trump’s war in Iran is sending gas and diesel prices through the roof, making everything from airfare to groceries more expensive. This comes after Republicans voted to gut energy production, taking clean energy projects offline at a time when energy demand and utility costs are skyrocketing. 

Here are just a few ways Texans are worse off thanks to Trump: 

• In the past month, the price of gas has increased by 47% in Texas
• As of December 2025, average electricity costs in Texas were up 8.4% since Trump took office.
• Nearly one million households in Texas are behind on their utility bills, with an average debt of $614
• Texans have seen the loss or threatened loss of 52,332 clean energy jobs and over $6.7 billion in investment 

Here are some questions the Sen. John Cornyn owes Texans answers to: 

• When the Valero refinery in Port Arthur exploded last month, 56,000 residents were told to shelter in place while toxic smoke filled the air for nearly 12 hours. You’ve repeatedly voted to weaken regulations for oil and gas companies. Are 12 hour lockdowns just the cost of doing business? 
• A years-long drought and a boom of refineries and industrial facilities have pushed Corpus Christi to the brink of a historic water shortage. Thousands of residents are potentially facing water restrictions as soon as next month. You’ve spent decades in Washington blocking climate legislation and greenlighting industrial water use—what is your plan for Texans who may not be able to turn their taps on this summer? 
• With gas nearly $4 a gallon and Texas families stretched thin, do you support the president spending his time in a courtroom trying to strip citizenship from children born on Texas soil? 
• Republican sheriffs and business owners across West Texas are united in opposing a border wall through Big Bend, a region where the Big Bend sector accounts for less than 3% of all border crossings. Whose side are you on, your West Texas constituents, or Washington in building a wall in Big Bend?

Republicans in Congress like Sen. John Cornyn have voted to gut clean energy projects in their own states that would have created jobs and protected Americans from global energy shocks. Meanwhile, Trump is bragging about making money off of the war and telling Americans to quit whining about soaring gas prices, leaving Cornyn scrambling to spin his disastrous economic agenda. 

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