John Cornyn's household shows minimal individual-stock activity — only two disclosed Apple trades (2015 purchase, 2017 sale) — with the remainder of his portfolio in American Funds mutual funds and retirement accounts, supporting a low stock-trading score. His estimated net worth (roughly $1.5M-$1.9M) has remained stable in the $1-2M range since about 2013, consistent with salary and broad-market returns rather than anomalous enrichment. The clearest accountability signal is a correlation (not proof) between concentrated oil-and-gas campaign money — at least ~$220,000 in the recent cycle from industry executives and PACs including Halliburton, ConocoPhillips, and Koch — and his consistently industry-aligned energy record, such as lifting the crude oil export ban and opposing the LNG export pause. No sourced evidence of campaign-fund personal use, FEC complaints, or family lobbying tied to his office was found, so those components score zero or low under the no-penalty-for-absence rule. His voting attendance is strong, with a 2.3% lifetime missed-vote rate that is on par with or better than the Senate median. Overall the record is relatively clean apart from the standard donor-influence correlation common to senators from energy-producing states.
Public record
In Congress since
2002
Committees
United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control (Chairman) Finance Foreign Relations Budget Judiciary Joint Committee on Taxation
Missed votes, 119th Congress
1.4% (13 of 915; median member 1.9%)
Campaign money, 2025–26 cycle
$8.6M raised · 17% from PACs & committees · $542K cash on hand FEC ↗
H.R. 7008 bans new stock purchases by members, spouses and dependents; it doesn't force sales of existing holdings. The Senate vote was on the version paired with the SAVE Act, which is why no Democrat voted yes. Full breakdown →
Disclosed stock trades
No periodic transaction reports on file since 2024. That's the norm: most members don't trade individual stocks, or hold them in blind trusts and diversified funds.
Amounts are the ranges members must report, not exact values. The STOCK Act requires a report within 45 days of a trade; "late" counts days past that deadline, measured to the filing date.
How the score breaks down
Stock self-trading
25% weight
12
Cornyn's household reports minimal individual-stock activity: just two disclosed trades, both in Apple (AAPL) — a $15K-$50K purchase in Aug 2015 and a $15K-$50K sale in Feb 2017. The bulk of his portfolio is American Funds mutual funds and retirement accounts, not individual securities. No pattern of frequent trading, no trades in committee-overseen sectors with suspicious timing, and no documented market-beating returns. Score is low but non-zero because the household did trade an individual stock.
Estimates place Cornyn's net worth in the roughly $1.5M-$1.9M range, held mainly in mutual funds, retirement plans, and bank deposits. OpenSecrets pegged his 2018 net worth at about $1.88M; 2024-based estimates are around $1.5M. Sources indicate his assets have hovered between $1M-$2M since roughly 2013, consistent with broad-market mutual-fund growth and salary rather than anomalous enrichment. No evidence of net-worth growth materially exceeding salary plus market returns over tenure.
Money → action alignmentcorrelation, not proof of any quid-pro-quo
20% weight
58
CORRELATION, NOT PROOF. Cornyn draws notable, concentrated support from the oil and gas sector — at least ~$220,000 in the recent cycle from oil/gas individuals and PACs (ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Koch Industries PACs; executives from Energy Transfer, Kinder Morgan, Devon, Enterprise Products). His legislative record aligns with those interests: leading the charge to lift the crude oil export ban, opposing Biden's LNG export pause, saving hydrogen tax credits, and opposing EV incentives. This is a directional alignment between donor concentration and policy positions; no quid-pro-quo is asserted or established.
No sourced evidence was found of Cornyn's campaign committees or leadership PAC spending funds on personal-benefit categories, and no FEC complaints or watchdog reports alleging personal use were located. Per the rules, absence of data yields a zero score and is not treated as a penalty.
Tracking databases (LegiStorm, OpenSecrets) maintain 'revolving door' profiles for Cornyn's office, reflecting the common pattern of former Senate staff later registering as lobbyists, but no specific named pipeline cases or family lobbying/contracting tied to his office were documented in accessible sources. No evidence of family members lobbying or contracting with the government tied to his office was found. Score reflects the typical staff-to-lobbyist presence noted by trackers rather than any documented scandal.
Cornyn's missed-vote rate is low: 186 of 8,105 roll-call votes missed (2.3%) from Jan 2003 to June 2026, on par with or slightly better than the 2.8% median for sitting senators. While he is an active, heavy fundraiser (including for his 2026 primary), there is no evidence that fundraising or paid speeches coincided with elevated absenteeism. Low score reflects strong attendance.
Sources behind this score: 3 data aggregator · 4 reference database · 2 news reporting · 1 official record. Score = weighted average of the components that have data; the 1 without sourced evidence are excluded, never counted against the member. Methodology →
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