‘Where is John Cornyn?’: Senate's Government shutdown vote goes into chaos; Republican ‘missing’

Sen John Cornyn was supposed the be the 60th vote to pass a stopgap measure in the Senate as Republicans raced towards ending the government shutdown.

Sen John Cornyn was supposed the be the 60th vote to pass a stopgap measure in the Senate as Republicans raced towards ending the government shutdown. However, to everyone's surprise, he was missing.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) leaves a bipartisan luncheon (REUTERS)

The Texas Republican was from the Capitol as Senators were waiting for the votes to start. The Republicans are not yet back in the house as they hold discussions around the vote Sunday afternoon.

Politico reported that while Cornyn was out, conservative Senators Mike Lee, Rick Scott and Ron Johnson were engaged in a locked-room discussion with John Thune, the GOP majority leader at the House.

Notably, the eight Democrats who have voted yes on the new proposition to end the shutdown have already cast their votes. Once the GOP senators are back and have casted their yes votes, the motion ending the shutdown will be passed.

The vote on Monday comes after Former governors Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, and Angus King broke the Senate stalemate by backing a deal to advance three bipartisan spending bills and extend government funding until January, in exchange for a December vote on health care tax credits.

Majority Leader John Thune endorsed and advanced the deal Sunday night.

What John Cornyn's Absence Means

The Senate is in the process of voting to reopen the government following the shutdown. Although the deal already has enough support to pass, it isn’t officially complete until every senator has voted.

As of now, only one lawmaker, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, has yet to cast his vote. His vote won’t alter the outcome but is required to formally approve the process.