WASHINGTON (AP) - 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 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 he had taken himself out of the running. A friend of federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland, someone recommended by several senators, also said 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, of more than a dozen being considered. Trump has said a decision could come before he leaves Friday for a trip to the Mideast and Europe. In addition to members of Congress, the list includes current and former FBI and Justice Department leaders and federal judges.
A source familiar with Cornyn's thinking said the senator felt "obligated" to consider the job because a friend, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asked him to, and Trump called and asked him to think about it. The source declined to be named because the decision was private.
Cornyn is the No. 2 Republican in the Senate behind Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said Tuesday that he'd recommended Trump nominate Garland for the post.