Sen. Cruz on the Senate Floor: Russian Troops Amassed on the Border of Ukraine are President Biden’s Fault for Surrendering to Putin and Gifting Him Nord Stream 2

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sought to pass new legislation imposing sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which if brought online will enable Putin to invade and devastate Ukraine. For the last two years, Sen. Cruz has led the fight to stop Nord Stream 2, and worked with Democrats and the Trump administration to stall it—until President Biden was elected and refused to impose the current congressionally-mandated sanctions on Putin’s pipeline. Sen. Cruz is committed to using all of his leverage as a U.S. Senator, including blocking nominations to the State Department, to force the Biden administration to reverse its decision, and today objected to a motion to confirm President Biden’s nominee for chief of protocol at the State Department, Rufus Gifford, over the issue. Read excerpts of his remarks below.

WATCH: Cruz Demands Sanctions on NS2 Pipeline: Russian Troops on the Border of Ukraine are Biden’s Fault

In his remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Cruz said:

“Right now, as we speak, hundreds of thousands of Russian troops are amassed on the border of Ukraine, waiting to invade. This calamitous foreign policy disaster is Joe Biden’s fault. This is the direct consequence of Joe Biden’s surrender to Vladimir Putin on Nord Stream 2. What is Nord Stream 2? It is a pipeline being constructed from Russia to Germany to carry natural gas. Putin is building Nord Stream 2. Why? To go around Ukraine, because right now, Russian gas goes through Ukraine. Putin didn’t just wake up recently and decide to invade Ukraine. He’s wanted to invade Ukraine for years, he did so in 2014, but he stopped short of full invasion. Why? Because the Ukrainian energy infrastructure was necessary to get the Russian gas to market. Nord Stream 2 is all about building an alternative avenue to get the Russian gas to Europe so then the Russian tanks can ride into Ukraine.”

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“When Biden waived sanctions on Nord Stream 2, Ukraine and Poland both said it was creating a security crisis in Europe, that it was increasing dramatically the chances that Russia would invade Ukraine. This invasion that we are facing, the very real prospect of, is Joe Biden’s fault.  But you know what? It is also the fault of Senate Democrats. For two years, we had bipartisan agreement to stop Nord Stream 2 and we succeeded. And when there was a Republican president in office, Donald Trump, I and other Republicans were perfectly willing to hold President Trump to account to press him to stand up against Nord Stream 2. And he did. As soon as a Democrat got in the White House, our Democratic colleagues decided that partisan loyalty was more important than national security.”

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“I want to be very clear: A lot of discussion about Joe Biden’s having a phone call with Putin today. Well, that phone call’s real nice, but it’s not going to stop an invasion. I’ll tell you what will stop it invasion. Joe Biden could stop the invasion today by simply following the law and sanctioning Nord Stream 2. And this body could make a major step today to prevent war in Europe, to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine right now, by doing what Democrats and Republicans had agreed to do—had done together—until Biden’s surrender to Russia. We can do that by passing legislation that I have pending at the desk that would sanction Nord Stream 2, that would stop the project, which would mean Russia would remain dependent on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. And for the same reason Russia didn’t continue to invade in 2014, it would stop the invasion. We can do that right now.”

WATCH: Cruz Blasts Democrats on Senate Floor: ‘Remember This Moment’ If Russian Troops Move Into Ukraine

After Senate Democrats refused to pass his Nord Stream 2 sanctions, Sen. Cruz then objected to President Biden’s nominee, saying:

“I would note that what we just heard was Democrats in this chamber objecting to sanctioning Nord Stream 2. It’s worth understanding what that means. It means that Senate Democrats prioritize political loyalty to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris more than they do standing up to Vladimir Putin. A month or two from now, if, God forbid, we see Russian tanks moving into Ukraine, remember this moment where Senate Democrats objected, said, ‘No, we won’t sanction the pipeline. We won’t save Ukraine. We won’t stand up to Russia.’”

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“The Russian troops on the Ukrainian border are Joe Biden’s fault, and they are Senate Democrats’ fault for being unwilling to stand up to a president of their own party. And I would note, this particular nominee is a nominee to be the head of protocol at the State Department. It is really bad protocol to drive tanks into somebody else’s country. You want to talk about protocol? How about the protocol of let’s defend American national security interest? Let’s defend Europe. Let’s defend our allies. Let’s stand up to a tyrannical bully named Vladimir Putin. Sadly, Democrats don’t want to do that. Accordingly, I object.”

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