Sen. Cruz Questions Rogue Biden Nominee: ‘Apparently, You’re Calling on State Law Enforcement to Refuse to Cooperate’ With Federal Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Commerce Committee, today questioned President Biden’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Alvaro Bedoya. In his line of questioning, Sen. Cruz pressed Mr. Bedoya on his past comments and his radical views against enforcement of federal immigration law by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He then questioned the nominee on his past comments supporting Critical Race Theory. Read excerpts of Sen. Cruz’s questioning below.
WATCH: Sen. Cruz Questions Radical Biden FTC Nominee Over Anti-ICE Stance
In his line of questioning, Sen. Cruz asked:
“Mr. Bedoya, the Biden administration has nominated a number of extreme nominees, radicals who’ve advocated for abolishing the police, two of the senior officials currently at the Justice Department, a banking regulator who trained in the Soviet Union and advocates nationalizing the banks and wants to bankrupt thousands of businesses across America. Unfortunately, Mr. Bedoya, as I look at your record, you fall firmly in that line. I see the record of someone who has been a left wing activist, a provocateur, a bomb thrower, and an extremist. So I want to take a minute to explore your views. You know, I took a look at Twitter. You’ve been very active on Twitter. Tell me, Mr. Bedoya, what are your views on ICE?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“Thank you for that question, Senator. I have as a law professor called attention to what I see as Fourth Amendment violations in ICE’s face recognition searches, and these are measures that have triggered bipartisan oversight by—”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“Okay, let’s be clear, I’m not talking about the things you say when you’re wearing a suit and tie talking about Fourth Amendment violations. I’m talking about what you angrily tweeted out to the world. I refer you to a tweet from February 26, 2021: ‘It is time to call ICE what it is, an out of control domestic surveillance agency that peers into all of our lives.’ That’s not just simply a comment about an abstract Fourth Amendment issue. And let’s be clear, you also have on April 10, 2021 a tweet, which is certainly not lacking in subtlety. It is a tweet that says: ‘Maryland police have no business working with ICE, Maryland police have no business working with ICE, Maryland police have no business working with ICE, Maryland police have no business working with ICE, Maryland police have no business working with ICE.’ So apparently, you’re calling on state law enforcement to refuse to cooperate in any way with federal immigration enforcement. How do you explain these tweets? Are you with the more radical members of the Squad in the house, and are you an advocate for abolishing ICE?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“I am not, Senator. That last message was rhetoric. The bill that it was posted in support of was a bill to require the government to get a warrant before scanning seven million Maryland drivers’ faces won the support of one of the most prominent Republicans in our Senate, Christopher West. And so I have occasionally use rhetoric, sir, but I’ve worked with you and your staff when I was a staffer in 2013, the bill that I helped draft, the HELP Separated Children Act. You cosponsored as an amendment, and so I emphatically believe that I’ve confirmed I can and will work across the aisle, set aside my politics to help your constituents and those across the country.”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“Well, let’s talk a little bit more rhetoric. Let’s take a look at June 23, 2018. Another tweet you sent. In this case, you're blasting a fellow Democrat: ‘Decorum,’ directed at Steny Hoyer, House Whip, ‘thousands of Latino kids still forcibly separated from their parents, some in cages, and you go on CNN to ask for decorum from members of the Hispanic Caucus. You should apologize to those members and to the Latino community.’ So you’re blasting not just ICE, not just federal law enforcement, but you’re also blasting Democrats who are not sufficiently extreme to your liking when it comes to immigration. Is that right?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“Senator, I think family separation was a horror. The kids at the border looked like my cousins.”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“So you were really troubled by the kids in cages under President Trump.”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“And as I was troubled with what happened to children in certain circumstances under the prior administration.”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“Have you said one word about the kids in cages in the Joe Biden cages? The cages are bigger, they’re more full. Have you said a word about it since it was a Democrat president putting kids in cages?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“Senator, respectfully, I believe I have in certain circumstances criticized immigration policy under the current administration.”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“Have you said a word about the Biden cages or it is or is that rhetoric only directed at your political opponents?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“I can’t say whether I’ve used the word ‘cages,’ but I do believe I’ve been critical of Democrats and Republicans alike, and I believe Democrats and Republicans have—”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“You believe you’ve been critical of Democrats and Republicans alike. That’s your sworn testimony today?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“Yes, and I believe the message you refer to with respect to Leader Hoyer speaks to that.”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“Alright, here’s another one. You’re retweeting Joy Reed where she says, ‘We’re learning daily the ugly consequences of having had a white supremacist administration.’ Do you embrace the practice of the far-left of blasting their political opponents as white supremacists, and do you think that kind of rhetoric is suitable for what is supposed to be an independent agency enforcing the law?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“Senator, I don’t recall sharing that. I don’t believe the prior administration was a white supremacist administration. I've worked with Democrats and Republicans alike on the Senate Commerce Committee our research has—”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“Well, you retweeted it, and I’ll enter the tweet into the record. I’m going to ask about one final one, which is something else you retweeted. Where it was actually—I gave a speech where I said, ‘Critical Race Theory is bigoted, it is a lie that is every bit as racist as the Klansmen and white sheets,’ and you retweeted some fellow named John B. King with a GIF of slamming the door. I take it you disagree with the proposition that critical race theory is bigoted, so tell us your views on Critical Race Theory.”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“Secretary King’s great grandfather was enslaved in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and I believe his point was that that history should be taught in schools. I don’t recall that specific message, but I don’t know if I have a topline view.”
Sen. Cruz continued:
“Do you agree with the propositions of Critical Race Theory that America is fundamentally racist, that all white people are racist, that our institutions are irredeemably racist?”
Mr. Bedoya responded:
“Senator, I do not believe all white people are racist. I haven’t given great thought to Critical Race Theory before this hearing, sir, but I emphatically do not think all white people are racist. And I can’t recall the other provisions of your question, sir.”
Sen. Cruz concluded:
“So Madam Chair, I would ask unanimous consent that the tweets that I referred to be entered into the record.”
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