Good Afternoon,

Under the reckless leadership of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, our country has fallen victim to a criminal invasion at our southern border. Mayorkas has deliberately aided and abetted this invasion, but now that the House of Representatives has impeached him and is sending over the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is hell bent on shirking the Senate’s constitutional responsibility to conduct a trial. I held a press conference at the top of the week where I laid out three reasons why I think Schumer wants to table this impeachment trial and abandon the Senate’s constitutional duty amid this humanitarian, national security, and public safety crisis.

“Under the Constitution, the responsibilities of the Senate are simple and straightforward – they are to try this impeachment. Chuck Schumer doesn't want to do that. Instead, he wants to move to table the entire thing, and there are three reasons. … Reason number one, he does not want to allow the House managers to present the evidence of Alejandro Mayorkas and this administration's willful decision to aid and abet this criminal invasion of this country. The second reason Schumer wants to table the articles of impeachment is—he does not want a trial. He does not want the American people to see the facts. … And the third reason Schumer wants to table these articles of impeachment is—he does not want Senate Democrats, particularly those on the ballot in November, to vote guilty or not guilty. Because it is indisputable: Alejandro Mayorkas is guilty.”

As the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, I took to the Senate floor to defend over two-hundred years of precedent. The Senate has a constitutional obligation to hold an impeachment trial which is why I introduced an effort to establish a committee to hold the trial. Unsurprisingly, Senate Democrats blocked the motion by unanimous consent.

“Democrats love to pound their chest and say they’re ‘defending democracy,’ while they are engaging in a relentless assault on democracy. I have a resolution that would follow the precedent and simply appoint an impeachment committee to hear the trial. So, the trial doesn’t have to be on the Senate floor. … The impeachment committee would proceed parallel with the Senate floor considering other business, so it would delay nothing on the Senate floor. [In order to] follow our Constitution and … avoid destroying the impeachment power of the Senate.”

This week, I also attended a joint session of Congress where the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a historic address on the U.S.-Japan alliance as we stand together against the threats of Communist China and North Korea. I was honored to host Sargent Major (Ret.) Michael Radford, who leads the training of Japanese Self-Defense Forces at Fort Bliss, Texas, to be my guest at the joint session. His expertise is crucial to our military partnership with Japan.

“We just came from the historic address to the joint session of Congress of the Prime Minister of Japan. Japan is a critical ally to America, both a military ally and an incredible economic partner. … My guest was Sergeant Major Michael Radford. … He has been stationed at Fort Bliss, and where he trains Japanese soldiers to work with our military, and to work with our weapons systems.”

Prior to returning to Washington, D.C. this week, I traveled throughout the state to celebrate securing key victories for the Lone Star State that will boost our economy and continue to strengthen infrastructure across Texas.

I joined local leaders and stakeholders in Midland to discuss the I-27 Numbering Act that I fought for in the Senate and was recently signed into law by President Biden. We are renaming the Ports-to-Plains corridor Interstate 27 which will mean more jobs for Texans, and an economic boost in the billions. I am proud to be a part of the bipartisan coalition that helped get the job done.

“Every day in the Senate I view my job as fighting for the men and women of West Texas. … I think infrastructure dollars need to flow where need is, and need is out here. Need in terms of population, in terms of commerce, in terms of agriculture, in terms of livestock, in terms of oil and gas, the need is here. … I-27 will run from Laredo, all the way north through West Texas, through the Panhandle, and up through Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and ultimately all the way up to Canada. … TXDOT conducted a comprehensive study of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor and they found that upgrades would result in a 76 percent return on investment, $3.4 billion in annual travel cost savings, 17,710 new jobs, and a $2.2 billion annual increase in state GDP. You want to talk about having an impact on this community, this new infrastructure will have that.”

In the Lone Star State, we are leading the country in bringing semiconductor manufacturing back home. I was proud to host a press conference to discuss the designation of Southern Methodist University’s Tech Hub and the growth of the semiconductor industry happening in North Texas. I also hosted a roundtable discussion with SMU Texoma Tech Hub consortium leadership where we addressed the merits of my CHIPS NEPA legislation to expedite and streamline federal environmental reviews on the construction of semiconductor fabrication facilities throughout Texas and across the country, while also cutting down regulatory hurdles placed on the semiconductor industry.

 

“America has fallen behind where we need to be when it comes to advanced semiconductors. Right now, we are vastly dependent on foreign manufacturing when it comes to advanced semiconductors that poses an intolerable risk to the United States, both from the perspective of national security and economic vitality. Just about every device we use today, from your cell phone, to your television, to every car or truck or airplane, all of them are using semiconductors. Every weapon in the military just about uses semiconductors and right now far too few of them are made here in the United States.”

“… Just in the last three years in the state of Texas, we have seen over $61 billion in direct investment, [and] we've seen about 8,000 new jobs in the last three years. If you look forward another three, five, ten years you are looking at tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of [semiconductor] jobs in North Texas and throughout the state. That is incredibly important.”

While on the ground in Texas, I was proud to celebrate the completion of the Packery Channel restoration project. The Packery Channel suffered damage from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and since then, my team and I have worked with the City of Corpus Christi, FEMA, and the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the Packery Channel had the resources to make necessary repairs.

Rest assured, I will continue to be a fierce defender of the Lone Star State. God Bless!

Keep Texas Strong,

MORE FROM SEN. CRUZ:

READ: Sen. Ted Cruz says Coast Guard used illegal agreements to silence sexual assault victims
ICYMI: Biden admin approves deepwater oil export terminal off Texas Gulf Coast
READ: The Senate’s Duty to Put Mayorkas on Trial
ICYMI: Sen. Cruz Blasts Schumer Plan to End Mayorkas Impeachment Proceedings Without Trial

State Spotlight

Texas Tuesday with Team Cruz

Visit https://cruz.senate.gov/texas-tuesday-with-ted-and-staff to sign up to attend the next Texas Tuesday event!

Texas Association of Business North Texas Commission

Texas Access to Justice Commission