Exclusive -- RINO Poaching: Cornyn’s Top Policy Adviser Applying for Job with Talarico

Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) top policy adviser is interviewing for a position with radical Democrat Senator-elect James Talarico, who defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Ken Paxton in last week’s Texas Senate election. Stephen Tausend, Cornyn’s current legislative director, has worked for the Republican senator for more than a decade. He and another member of Cornyn’s staff are interviewing for positions with Talarico’s incoming Senate office, Breitbart News has learned. The legislative director’s role on Capitol Hill is to serve as the top policy adviser on the entire staff. It is incredibly rare for a senator to consider hiring such a high-ranking policy staffer from a senator of another party, and a hire at this level would perhaps be unprecedented in the modern Senate. The radical Democrat’s consideration of poaching a legislative director from Cornyn is incredibly revealing of the defeated Republican’s policy beliefs and approach. Cornyn, a longtime member of Senate Republican leadership, lost his primary by almost 30 points over his support for Democrat policies like gun control and open borders. Tausend would not be the first Cornyn defection to Talarico. In August, Breitbart News reported that Jacob Smith, Tausend’s number two, who spent five years as Cornyn’s deputy legislative director and policy adviser, joined Talarico’s campaign as deputy policy director. “I’ve worked for Republicans like Senator Cornyn my entire career, but this year I’m proud to be joining James Talarico’s campaign,” Smith said. He also encouraged Republicans to oppose Paxton, calling him “the most corrupt, self-dealing politician in Texas.” Smith had also worked for Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS). Breitbart News has learned that Smith also intends to remain with Team Talarico and is interviewing for a job on the Democrat’s new Senate staff. Breitbart News reached out to Cornyn’s office, Talarico’s campaign, and Tausend, seeking to determine whether current Cornyn staffers have applied for or interviewed for positions with Talarico’s incoming Senate office. Cornyn’s office was also asked whether the senator was aware of or had facilitated any potential employment arrangements, and whether staffers had volunteered time or provided services to Talarico’s campaign while employed by his office. Tausend was separately asked whether he had pursued employment with Talarico or assisted his campaign. No one responded to Breitbart News’s requests for comment. During an interview Tuesday with TMZ, outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) revealed that Democrat Senator-elect James Talarico has expressed interest in retaining some of his Senate staffers as he prepares to take office in January. “Yeah, I saw him yesterday and came by the office and wished him well. And some of my staff, particularly the casework staff who handles constituent services, he said he was interested in continuing with them,” Cornyn said. “They’re excellent at what they do, and so I told him I’ll be happy to help him all I can during the transition.” When TMZ reporter Charlie Cotton described the arrangement as “fantastic,” Cornyn responded, “It’s normal. It used to be normal.” While it is somewhat common for congressional staff handling nonpartisan casework to move between offices of opposing parties, the politically charged nature of the job of a policy staffer, particularly a senior adviser like a legislative director, generally precludes one from transitioning to the office of a lawmaker from another party. Cotton also asked Cornyn whether Talarico and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) would work well together. “Well, you know, I don’t think they have any choice. They’re going to have to work together, represent 32 million people,” Cornyn responded. “I mean, you have to represent people who maybe didn’t even vote for you, but I’m sure they’ll work it out, because I’m sure they both have the best interest of the people of Texas at heart.” Asked about his own plans after leaving office, Cornyn said, “I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m looking for a job.” When Cotton suggested retirement, Cornyn replied, “If you have any ideas, I still got gas in the tank,” before adding, “People who retire die.” On Monday, Talarico posted a photograph on X showing himself shaking hands with Cornyn following their meeting. “I just met with Senator John Cornyn,” Talarico wrote. “He has served our state honorably, and I’m grateful for his advice and guidance.” “Now is the time for us to come together — Democrats and Republicans — to deliver for Texas,” he added. Cornyn’s remarks come months after he lost the May 26 Republican Senate runoff to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who received President Donald Trump’s endorsement one week before the election. As Breitbart News reported, Paxton led Cornyn 62.5 percent to 37.5 percent when the Associated Press called the race, ending Cornyn’s bid for another term after more than two decades in the Senate. Trump had criticized Cornyn for not being “supportive of me when times were tough” and being “very late” in backing him, while Cornyn maintained that he had supported the president’s agenda “the whole time that he’s been president.” Following his primary defeat, Cornyn told the New York Times in June, “It does give some of us a little more freedom, and certainly leverage.” He predicted, “I think it is going to be a pretty bumpy ride for the next seven months,” adding, “[My loss is] going to make things harder, certainly more expensive in Texas, and make it harder around the country.” Addressing allegations of “self-dealing” involving the Trump administration, Cornyn also said, “We can’t replace one form of self-dealing and corruption with another.” After Paxton secured the Republican nomination, Talarico openly sought the support of Cornyn’s voters, as Breitbart News reported in May. “I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for his years representing our state. We don’t agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service,” Talarico wrote on X. “To Senator Cornyn’s supporters: you have a place in our campaign.” Cornyn subsequently defended Smith’s decision to work for Talarico’s campaign, as Breitbart News reported on August 18. “John, only in authoritarian countries does someone else get to decide where you work,” Cornyn wrote on X in response to Austin American-Statesman reporter John C. Moritz. “Not in Texas. Those concerned might want to channel their energy into broadening R outreach to a coalition of voters rather than just those already converted. Breitbart News has reported that Cornyn and Talarico both opposed proposed border security infrastructure projects in Texas’s Big Bend region. Cornyn sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging officials to reconsider the projects and pause construction until local concerns were addressed. Talarico praised Cornyn’s intervention, saying, “I applaud Senator Cornyn for taking action on this corrupt Big Bend Border Wall.” Talarico defeated Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the November 3 general election, flipping the Senate seat to Democrats. When NBC News called the race shortly before 9:00 p.m. local time, Talarico led Paxton by approximately 20 percentage points, with nearly 60 percent of the vote to Paxton’s 39 percent and roughly 64 percent of ballots counted.