'Go away!' GOP senator blocks NBC camera after flip-flopping on filibuster for Trump

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) had an angry confrontation with an NBC film crew after he changed course on his support for the filibuster to attempt to push through a voting bill backed by President Donald Trump.

In a Wednesday op-ed for the New York Post, Cornyn admitted that he had changed his mind on the filibuster as he was hoping for an endorsement from the president in his tight Senate race.

"For many years, I believed that if the US Senate scrapped the filibuster, Texas and our nation would stand to lose more than we would gain," the Texas Republican wrote. "Today, Democrats are weaponizing the Senate's rules to block the SAVE America Act, defund the Department of Homeland Security, and hurt the American people — all to spite President Donald Trump."

"The president has made the SAVE America Act his 'number one priority,' and he is right," the senator added. "After careful consideration, I support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary for us to get the SAVE America Act and homeland security funding past the Democrats' obstruction, through the Senate, and on the president's desk for his signature."

Later on Wednesday, NBC News confronted Cornyn about why he had changed his position.

"You previously said that nuking the filibuster would be taking a wrecking ball to Senate rules," an NBC reporter noted. "Is that no longer true?"

"Um, I said I'd be open to reforms," Cornyn insisted.

"What would you say to those who say you just changed your mind to win the president's endorsement?" the reporter asked.

"I'd say, uh, that's not true," the Republican stated, adding, "I think we're through. Go ahead. Go away."

The interview ended with Cornyn placing his hand over the NBC camera to obstruct its view.