WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. John Cornyn has told the Trump administration he isn’t interested in serving as FBI director, the second member of Congress to take himself out of the running this week.
Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general and judge on the state Supreme Court, was interviewed for the position after President Donald Trump abruptly fired James Comey last week. Trump himself called and urged Cornyn to take the job, but the senator said in a statement Tuesday that he would rather remain in the Senate.
“Now more than ever the country needs a well-credentialed, independent FBI director,” Cornyn said. “I’ve informed the administration that I’m committed to helping them find such an individual, and that the best way I can serve is continuing to fight for a conservative agenda in the U.S. Senate.”
Another Republican whose name had been mentioned as a possible candidate, Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, said Monday that he had taken himself out of the running. A friend of federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland, someone recommended by several senators, also said Tuesday that Garland is happy in his job and has no interest in leaving the judiciary to head the FBI.
The administration has interviewed at least eight candidates to replace Comey.
