“A lot to be proud of”: Senator John Cornyn tours Stargate/Abilene ISD LIFT Campuses

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – U.S. Senator John Cornyn visited Abilene on Tuesday. This trip, one of many he’s made to his Key City Constituency throughout his legislative career. Cornyn was welcomed by a delegation of Local County, City, Economic, and educational leaders as he toured the Lancium ‘Stargate’ A.I. Data Center construction site and the Abilene ISD LIFT Center.

Following those tours, Cornyn expressed to KTAB/KRBC his overwhelming excitement about all the positive change he had witnessed since his last visit.

“It’s great to be back in Abilene. And uh, boy, have things changed?… We’ve got a lot to be proud of here in West Texas and Abilene,” said Cornyn.

Starting with the Stargate A.I. Data Center, Cornyn emphasized the potential he sees in this emerging industry, particularly due to Abilene’s unique position, resources, and capacity to host and promote growth that will extend far beyond the borders of the Big Country.

“I was just out at the Stargate campus and learning about this incredible investment and cutting-edge technology that’s going to transform, um, not only this region, but the state, but literally the world. Uh, this is the future, and it’s um, because of the great ability we have to build things here in Texas more quickly than the rest of the country: reliable energy sources and, of course, wide open land and a welcoming community,” Cornyn said.

On the topic of renewable energy, Cornyn discussed the possibility of gradually eliminating subsidies that certain projects, such as Stargate, receive from the federal government for utilizing green energy sources. Although he admits that this would be a gradual process if implemented.

“One of the things that’s made this so important out here is the access to natural gas from the Permian Basin as that baseload. But I think renewable energy has been with us long enough where many of these are mature sources of energy and don’t need federal subsidies anymore. We’re going to continue to monitor that situation. But I think we can afford to wean ourselves from some of those subsidies, in part because we have a $37 trillion debt. We got to find some way to find savings. So getting something up and running, whether it’s solar or wind, is one thing. But now that they’re mature technologies, those subsidies, I don’t believe, are nearly as important,” said Cornyn.

The second half of this tour took the senator to the Abilene ISD ATEMS LIFT Center. Cornyn explained how he sees the two working hand in hand.

“I know there’s concern about whether artificial intelligence is going to put people out of work. But I think what’s going to happen, you’ll see the educational system come together. Whether it’s high schools, community colleges, junior colleges, or four-year colleges, let’s come together to ensure we can equip the next generation of workers for these good, high-paying jobs…That’s going to be absolutely necessary because you can create the best jobs in the world if you don’t have the workforce to be able to fill those jobs, then you’re not going to be successful,” Cornyn said.

The senator will bring back all the information he gathered during this trip to Washington, D.C. Cornyn expressed confidence that he will be able to effectively present his case to his colleagues, considering all the positive changes he has observed.

“All of my colleagues in the Senate are going to be very envious, uh, ’cause they want what’s happening here in Abilene in their states. And it’s gonna be, as I said, the future, uh, for our country. Coming here and talking to the people who are actually doing the work and seeing it successfully being done is very helpful to me because I can go back and advocate on behalf of our great state and this region,” said Cornyn.

Before concluding the news conference, Senator Cornyn answered several questions regarding his re-election campaign. He expressed his support for Republican redistricting efforts, stating, “As the population increases, those maps need to be redrawn to ensure that underrepresented groups are fairly represented in the congressional map. This issue is likely to lead to litigation, which often ends up in court. I believe a lawsuit is being filed in El Paso concerning this matter. It’s not surprising to me that as Texas continues to grow and more people move here from other parts of the country, the maps need to be updated.”

Another topic the Senator addressed was to remind the public of his past actions in the legislature. Cornyn appealed to his fealty to President Trump and his administration.

“Uh, particularly working with President Trump during his first term and now in his second term. And if you’ve seen the ads, you see the numbers pretty high, 99% of the time supporting the president and the president’s policies,” Cornyn said.

The final day to register for the 2026 election is February 2, 2026. The general election will occur in November of that year.