Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is no longer pursuing legislation to rename a 1,800-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 287 the "Trump Interstate," saying the proposal is unlikely to remain a priority after his Republican primary defeat.

Cornyn told Hearst Newspapers the measure "may not make it into my priorities the next seven months" after losing to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton in the closing days of the campaign.

Cornyn introduced the bill less than a month ago as he sought Trump's endorsement ahead of the Republican runoff. The bill would have renamed the highway after Trump while authorizing upgrades along the corridor.

Cornyn introduced the I-47 Future Interstate Act on May 11, framing it as both tribute and infrastructure upgrade.

The bill would have designated U.S. 287, which runs from Port Arthur, Texas, to Choteau, Montana, as a future Interstate 47, citing a 2025 Texas Department of Transportation study projecting $5.4 billion in travel savings by 2050.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., signed on as a co-sponsor.

Days later, Trump endorsed Paxton in a post on Truth Social, calling him a "true MAGA warrior" and writing that Cornyn had been "very late in backing me."

On May 26, Paxton won the runoff with 63.8% of more than 1.38 million votes cast, a margin of roughly 27 points.

Paxton is the first primary challenger to defeat a sitting U.S. senator from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen ousted Ralph Yarborough in 1970.

The honorific push will not die outright.

Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, said this week he will file a resolution to rename the Dallas North Tollway after Trump, taking up the cause Cornyn set down, Fox4 News reported.

Cornyn has also moved to publicly distance himself from the president he spent months trying to flatter.

On May 29, the senator posted the fable of the scorpion and the frog on X, in what observers cast as a jab at Trump's habit of reciting "The Snake" at rallies.

That posture carried into a fight this week over Trump's pick of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.

Cornyn, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters he sees "no evidence of any qualifications for that job," joining Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in raising statutory and experience-based concerns.

Cassidy, Murkowski, and Collins later voted for a Democrat amendment that would have barred Pulte from holding both posts; it failed 49-49.

Cornyn's term ends in January, and he has said he plans to move to the private sector.

He told the Houston Chronicle he intends to challenge Trump in the months ahead on areas where the two "differ," a posture the Pulte fight already reflects.