Cornyn and Blanche were set to meet Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s committee vote, but the senator said the meeting was called off. Cornyn ran for a fifth term but lost the Republican nomination to Attorney General Ken Paxton in a May runoff. He added that he is “not prepared to vote yes” on Blanche’s nomination. Leading up to the nomination vote, Cornyn reiterated to reporters that this remained the key sticking point for whether he would support advancing Blanche to the Senate floor. Cornyn and Tillis’ opposition has left Blanche’s nomination at serious risk, a rare occurrence in a GOP-led Senate that has shown significant deference to the White House on nominees.