Sen. Cruz: I’m Voting No on the Democrats’ COVID Bill Monstrosity, No on HHS Nominee Becerra
Talks to Hugh Hewitt, Mark Davis, Todd Starnes, and Julie Fine about upcoming votes and Texas energy
WASHINGTON, D.C - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week went on ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show,' ‘The Mark Davis Show', ‘The Chad Hasty Show,' the ‘ToddCast' with Todd Starnes, ‘The Ware & Rima Show,' and spoke to NBC DFW's Julie Fine about President Biden's cabinet nominees, Texas' energy and recovery efforts, the Senate hearing investigating the terror attack against the U.S. Capitol, and Democrats' proposed COVID relief bill. Highlights of his interviews are below.
WATCH: Cruz Speaks With NBCDFW's Julie Fine About Winter Storm Uri & Texas Power Grid Failures
On Democrats' proposed COVID relief bill, Sen. Cruz said:
"Their approach on this so-called COVID relief is a hard left, partisan bill that is a Democratic wish list of spending. [...] Including a bridge from New York to Canada, including doubling the minimum wage, including all sorts of spending projects -- bailing out blue states that are deep in debt and, you know, a whole bunch of spending priorities that has zero to do with COVID. And they're not interested in negotiating and discussing with Republicans." (Sen. Cruz, ‘The Todd Starnes Show,' 2/23/21)
"I'm going to vote no on this monstrosity, but if they hold their 50 Democrats and Kamala Harris, they will get it through. [...] A whole lot of this bill has zero to do with COVID. This is all about paying off left-wing special interests. This is about paying off teachers' union bosses. This is about paying off their buddies in blue states that have dug themselves into debt holes. And one of the consequences - they're trying to push through a $15 minimum wage as part of this, which if that happens, the projections are that 1.4 million Americans will lose their jobs. So the early legacy of the Biden administration -- on day one he destroyed 11,000 jobs with the Keystone pipeline, destroyed 8,000 union jobs. And on month two, if they do this, they're going to destroy another 1.4 million jobs, predominantly low income young people, especially African-Americans and Hispanics, who tend to be in the jobs that are vulnerable to being destroyed by the policies they are pushing forward." (Sen. Cruz, ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show,' 2/23/21)
LISTEN: Cruz Speaks with Todd Starnes on Winter Storm Uri & Pres. Biden's Increasingly Partisan Agenda
On the committee investigation into the terrorist attack against the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Cruz said:
"In hindsight, all of the law enforcement leaders recognized that we needed to have done a substantially better job surging law enforcement presence and ensuring that the Capitol was secure. And everyone at the hearing recognized and saluted the incredible heroism, and courage, and bravery that we saw from the men and women of law enforcement on that day. But some of what we heard is how the Chief of Police of the Capitol Police had asked two days earlier for National Guard presence to help secure the Capitol, and that, unfortunately, that request was denied by the Sergeant at Arms of the House and the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate. And then we also heard testimony that during the attack, again, that the chief of the Capitol Police asked for National Guard support and that that request was delayed being granted - it took several hours before they got there. And I think there are still serious questions to be raised as to why the National Guard support was denied. What the Chief of Capitol Police said is that the Sergeant at Arms of the House said it was because of the optics -- that they thought it would look bad. That's obviously concerning. And I think there's going to be considerable inquiry into what could have been done better to prevent the attack and to secure the Capitol and stop the terrorists from breaching the grounds of the Capitol. [...] I can tell you from the testimony [...] this was a preplanned, very closely coordinated terrorist attack -- that the people who were assaulting the Capitol had tactical gear, had equipment, had chemicals, had earpieces and were in communication. And it was a planned assault. [...] It was much more like a military assault than a protest or even a riot. And I'm glad the Department of Justice is prosecuting some 200 people that they've identified who committed acts of violence. And I think we need to track down those who broke the law and committed acts of violence, and they need to be fully prosecuted." (Sen. Cruz, ‘The Chad Hasty Show,' 2/23/21)
LISTEN: Cruz on the Chad Hasty Show: We Need To Make Sure Texas Power Grid Failures Never Happen Again
On President Biden's nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, Sen. Cruz said:
"President Biden says defeating COVID is his top priority. He nominates a guy -- Xavier Becerra [who] is not a doctor. He has no scientific background. He has no medical background. He's never worked in the pharmaceutical industry, he [has] no background with virology. He's a lawyer. He is a left-wing lawyer. He's been a hard pro-abortion activist attacking pro-life individuals and groups for years. His only experience with healthcare is suing the Little Sisters of the Poor. [...] And yet it's an example of the extreme partisanship that is driving what the Biden administration is doing, even though their language doesn't sound that extreme." (Sen. Cruz, ‘The Todd Starnes Show,' 2/23/21)
"He is a pro-abortion zealot who has demonstrated that he will use his official powers to target his political enemies. And he's utterly unqualified for the job. If the Republicans nominated someone with zero medical experience, zero pharmaceutical experience to lead HHS in the middle of a global pandemic, that Republican would be laughed out of the room. [...] They talk about COVID, but they apparently are not remotely serious about putting leadership in place to actually fight the pandemic." (Sen. Cruz, ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show,' 2/23/21)
LISTEN: Cruz on the Hugh Hewitt Show Discusses Winter Storm Uri & Pres. Biden's Radical Nominees
On President Biden's nominee for Attorney General, Merrick Garland, Sen. Cruz said:
"He is very likely going to be confirmed. All the Democrats are going to support him. And I think a number of Republicans will support him as well. Personally, I've got mixed sentiments on Judge Garland's nomination. On the one side, he's been a judge for twenty four years. He has had a reputation for integrity. He has had a reputation for not being overly partisan. [...] On the other hand, I will say at the hearing, he was astonishingly unwilling to answer anything with any specificity. So my objective in the hearing was to try to nail him down, to try to get him to commit to some specific outcomes, that if nothing else, we could hold him and the Department of Justice accountable for if they if he then breaks those commitments. And it was really quite striking that he refused to make them. [...] One of the more stunning ones, he was asked, ‘Will the Department of Justice continue to prosecute people who illegally cross into the country?' He refused to answer that - he would make no commitment whatsoever. [...] I'll tell you what I'm concerned about is that the people appointed under him will be crazed left-wing activists. And I didn't see anything to indicate that he was going to be willing to rein them in or hold them back from really, really dangerous and problematic policy." (Sen. Cruz, ‘The Mark Davis Show,' 2/24/21)
On Texans' energy bills and Texas' electric grid following the historic winter storms, Sen. Cruz said:
"When the cold weather hit, the power infrastructure wasn't up to the challenge. And we need to fix that and make sure it doesn't happen again. [...] The super high electric bills, they are unconscionable and they need to be stopped. I have publicly called on the state and local regulators, and this is the - the energy grid in Texas is governed by state and local officials. It's not a federal responsibility. The federal government doesn't control it, the state and local regulators do. But what I've said is, number one, that no energy company should enjoy a windfall because of a weather disaster. They shouldn't have any companies making just a ton of cash because of the storms that hit Texas. But likewise, Texas consumers. It's not fair for consumers in Texas to suddenly get an electric bill for thousands or even potentially tens of thousands. There have long been laws in the state of Texas against price gouging in an emergency. We deal with those often in the context of a hurricane or a tornado, but what I've called on the state regulators to do is make sure in this instance that Texas consumers are not getting hit with dramatically higher electricity bills because of this weather disaster." (Sen. Cruz, NBC DFW's Julie Fine, 2/23/21)
"I think that's the sort of discussion that could easily be part of examining what went wrong here. Part of the reason, as I understand it, why Texas doesn't have that is it's subject - it would subject Texas, as I understand it, to the federal regulatory requirements. And as long as Texas keeps it just within its state borders, it's not subject to the broader federal regulatory requirements, and so that was a decision made by the state legislature. And I fully expect the governor, lieutenant governor and state legislature to debate that question. And I think the central criterion should be the best interest of the people of Texas, and how to ensure that we have reliable power and that we also have affordable energy at the same time." (Sen. Cruz, NBC DFW's Julie Fine, 2/23/21)
On the future of the Republican Party, Sen. Cruz said:
"I think the Republican Party should be the party of working men and women and the party of jobs now. [...] Are there some never-Trump voters who want to destroy everyone who supported Donald Trump? Unfortunately, yes. Are there some Trump supporters who want to destroy everyone who wasn't entirely loyal to Donald Trump? Unfortunately, yes. My view is -- I'm not a big fan of purges. I want us to win. And the way you win is you get the 50 plus one. So I understand their tensions when it comes to President Trump. I've worked very, very closely with him every day for four years. I was his strongest ally in the Senate, and we got enormous policy victories for the country as a result. I didn't agree with everything he said or did. I didn't agree with everything that he tweeted. [...] The biggest thing I think Republican primary voters and Americans like about President Trump is that he would stand up and fight. [...] Are there going to be bumps? Yes. Are they going to be tensions? Yes, but I'll tell you, the Democrats, they have control of everything. They are going to overshoot, they're already going too far, their policies are going to be a disaster." (Sen. Cruz, ‘The Mark Davis Show,' 2/24/21)
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