Рафаэль Эдвард Круз ( / k r uː z / ; родился 22 декабря 1970 года) — американский политик и адвокат, занимающий пост младшего сенатора США от Техаса с 2013 года. Член Республиканской партии , Круз был генеральным солиситором Техаса с 2003 по 2008 год.
Окончив Принстонский университет и Гарвардскую юридическую школу , Круз занялся политической карьерой, позже работая политическим советником в администрации Джорджа Буша-младшего . В 2003 году генеральный прокурор Техаса Грег Эбботт назначил Круза на должность генерального солиситора , которую он занимал до 2008 года. В 2012 году Круз был избран в Сенат США, став первым испаноязычным американцем [2], занявшим пост сенатора США от Техаса. В Сенате он занимал последовательно консервативные позиции по вопросам экономической и социальной политики; он сыграл ведущую роль в закрытии федерального правительства США в 2013 году , стремясь заставить Конгресс и президента Барака Обаму прекратить финансирование Закона о доступном медицинском обслуживании . Он был переизбран в удивительно тесной гонке за пост сенатора в 2018 году против кандидата от Демократической партии Бето О'Рурка .
23 марта 2015 года Круз объявил, что баллотируется на пост президента . Несмотря на то, что он был сенатором всего два года, он стал серьезным претендентом на республиканских праймериз . Конкуренция за выдвижение кандидатуры президента от республиканцев между Крузом и фаворитом Дональдом Трампом была накаленной и характеризовалась серией публичных личных нападок. После того, как Трамп выиграл номинацию, Круз сначала отказался поддержать его, но стал ярым сторонником Трампа во время его президентства . После атаки на Капитолий в январе 2021 года Круз получил широкую политическую и общественную реакцию за то, что возражал против подтверждения победы Джо Байдена на президентских выборах 2020 года и поверил ложному утверждению о том, что выборы были мошенническими . [3]
Круз баллотируется на переизбрание в Сенат в 2024 году против кандидата от Демократической партии Колина Оллреда и других кандидатов от третьих партий. [4]
Рафаэль Эдвард Круз родился 22 декабря 1970 года [5] [6] в медицинском центре Foothills [7] [8] в Калгари , Альберта , Канада, у Элеоноры Элизабет ( урожденной Дарраг ) Уилсон и Рафаэля Круза . [9] [10] [11] [12] Мать Круза родилась в Уилмингтоне, Делавэр . Она на три четверти ирландка и на одну четверть итальянка по происхождению и получила степень бакалавра по математике в Университете Райса в 1950-х годах. [13] [14]
Отец Круза, Рафаэль, родился и вырос на Кубе, сын уроженца Канарских островов, иммигрировавшего на Кубу в детстве. [15] Будучи подростком в 1950-х годах, Рафаэль Крус был избит агентами Фульхенсио Батисты за то, что выступал против режима Батисты, хотя обширный поиск, проведенный The New York Times, не нашел никаких доказательств его заявлений. [16] Он покинул Кубу в 1957 году, чтобы поступить в Техасский университет в Остине , и получил политическое убежище в Соединенных Штатах после того, как истек срок его четырехлетней студенческой визы . [17] Он получил канадское гражданство в 1973 году [7] и стал натурализованным гражданином Соединенных Штатов в 2005 году. [11] [18] [19]
На момент его рождения родители Теда Круза жили в Калгари в течение трех лет и работали в нефтяном бизнесе как владельцы фирмы по обработке сейсмических данных для бурения нефтяных скважин . [11] [20] [21] [22] [23] Круз сказал, что он сын «двух математиков/программистов». [24] В 1974 году отец Круза оставил семью и переехал в Техас. [25] Позже в том же году родители Круза помирились и перевезли семью в Хьюстон. [7] Они развелись в 1997 году. [26] У Круза есть две старшие единокровные сестры, Мириам Сеферина Крус и Роксана Лурдес Крус, от первого брака его отца. Мириам умерла в 2011 году от передозировки наркотиков. [26] [27] [28]
Круз начал использовать имя Тед в возрасте 13 лет . [29]
В средней школе Круз учился в Awty International School в Хьюстоне . [30] Круз посещал две частные средние школы: Faith West Academy , недалеко от Кэти, штат Техас ; [31] и Second Baptist High School в Хьюстоне , которую он окончил с отличием в 1988 году. [18] [32] [33] Во время обучения в средней школе Круз участвовал в базирующейся в Хьюстоне группе, известной в то время как Free Market Education Foundation, программе, которая обучала старшеклассников философии таких экономистов, как Милтон Фридман и Фредерик Бастиа . [23] [34]
После окончания средней школы Круз изучал государственную политику в Принстонском университете . [35] [5] [36] Во время учебы в Принстоне он участвовал в дебатах Американского общества вигов и клиософов и выиграл награду лучшего оратора на Национальном чемпионате США по дебатам 1992 года и на Североамериканском чемпионате по дебатам 1992 года . [37] В 1992 году он был назван Национальным спикером года США, а вместе со своим партнером по дебатам Дэвидом Пантоном — Командой года Американской ассоциацией парламентских дебатов . [37] Позже Круз и Пантон представляли Гарвардскую школу права на чемпионате мира по дебатам 1995 года, проиграв в полуфинале команде из Австралии. [38] [39] [40] Команда дебатов Принстона назвала свой ежегодный чемпионат новичков в честь Круза. [40] В Принстоне Круз был членом Колониального клуба . [41] Его 115-страничная выпускная работа в Принстоне исследовала разделение властей; Его название, Clipping the Wings of Angels: The History and Theory Behind the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution , было вдохновлено отрывком, приписываемым Джеймсу Мэдисону из 51-го эссе «Записок федералиста» : «Если бы ангелы управляли людьми, не было бы необходимости ни во внешнем, ни во внутреннем контроле над правительством». Круз утверждал, что составители Конституции намеревались защитить права своих избирателей, и что последние два пункта Билля о правах предлагают явный запрет всемогущему государству. [13] [42] Круз окончил Принстон в 1992 году, получив степень бакалавра искусств с отличием . [43]
Затем Круз поступил в Гарвардскую юридическую школу , [5] [44] где он был стипендиатом имени Джона М. Олина по праву и экономике . [45] Он был главным редактором Harvard Law Review , исполнительным редактором Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy и одним из основателей Harvard Latino Law Review . [36] Говоря о времени, когда Круз был студентом Гарвардской юридической школы, профессор Алан Дершовиц сказал, что Круз был «невероятно блестящим». [46] [47] [48] [49] Круз окончил Гарвардскую юридическую школу в 1995 году, получив степень доктора права с отличием . [43]
После окончания юридической школы Круз работал судебным клерком у судьи Дж. Майкла Люттига в Апелляционном суде США четвертого округа с 1995 по 1996 год [45] [50] , а затем у главного судьи Уильяма Ренквиста в Верховном суде США с 1996 по 1997 год [5].
После работы клерком в Верховном суде Круз занимался частной практикой в качестве юриста в юридической фирме Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal (теперь Cooper & Kirk, PLLC ) с 1997 по 1998 год. [51] В фирме Круз занимался вопросами, связанными с Национальной стрелковой ассоциацией , и помогал готовить показания для процедуры импичмента против президента Билла Клинтона . [52] В 1998 году Круз недолгое время был одним из адвокатов, представлявших представителя Джона Бёнера во время его судебного разбирательства против представителя Джима Макдермотта по поводу предполагаемой утечки незаконной записи телефонного разговора, среди участников которого был Бёнер. [53] [54]
Круз присоединился к президентской кампании Джорджа Буша-младшего в 1999 году в качестве советника по внутренней политике, консультируя тогдашнего губернатора Буша по широкому кругу политических и юридических вопросов, включая гражданское правосудие, уголовное правосудие, конституционное право, иммиграцию и правительственную реформу. [51] Во время пересчета голосов во Флориде в 2000 году он помогал в формировании юридической команды Буша, разработке стратегии и составлении ходатайств для подачи в Верховный суд Флориды и Верховный суд США по делу Буш против Гора . [45] [55] Круз привлек будущего главного судью Джона Робертса и известного адвоката Майка Карвина в юридическую команду Буша. [52]
После того, как Буш вступил в должность, Круз занимал должность заместителя генерального прокурора в Министерстве юстиции США [5] [55] и директора по планированию политики в Федеральной торговой комиссии . [5] [46] [55]
В 2003 году генеральный прокурор Техаса Грег Эбботт назначил Круза генеральным солиситором Техаса. [50] [56] [34] [45] Офис был создан в 1999 году для рассмотрения апелляций, связанных с правительством штата Техас, но Эбботт нанял Круза с идеей, что Круз возьмет на себя «лидерскую роль в Соединенных Штатах в формулировании видения строгого конструктивизма ». В качестве генерального солиситора Техаса Круз выступал в Верховном суде США девять раз, выиграв пять дел и проиграв четыре. [52] Он написал 70 записок в Верховный суд США и представил 34 устных довода в апелляционном порядке. [46] [50] [57] Его девять выступлений в Верховном суде являются наибольшим числом среди всех практикующих юристов в Техасе или действующих членов Конгресса. [58] Круз сказал: «Мы год за годом спорили о некоторых из самых громких дел в стране. В этом была некоторая доля счастливой случайности, но также были и согласованные усилия по поиску и руководству консервативными боями». [58]
В 2003 году, когда Круз был генеральным солиситором Техаса, офис генерального прокурора Техаса отказался защищать закон Техаса о содомии в деле Лоуренс против Техаса , в котором Верховный суд США постановил, что законы штата, запрещающие гомосексуальные отношения, являются неконституционными. [59] В знаковом деле Округ Колумбия против Хеллера Круз составил черновик заключения amicus, подписанного генеральными прокурорами 31 штата, в котором утверждалось, что запрет на огнестрельное оружие в Вашингтоне, округ Колумбия, должен быть отменен как нарушающий право на хранение и ношение оружия , закрепленное Второй поправкой . [57] [60] Он также представил устные доводы в пользу amici states в сопутствующем деле Хеллера перед Апелляционным судом Соединенных Штатов по округу Колумбия . [57] [61]
Круз успешно защитил конституционность памятника Десяти заповедям на территории Капитолия штата Техас перед Пятым окружным судом и Верховным судом США, выиграв 5–4 в деле Ван Орден против Перри . [46] [45] [57]
В 2004 году Круз был вовлечен в громкое дело, связанное с оспариванием конституционности требования государственных школ к ученикам читать Клятву верности (включая слова «под Богом», которые являются законной частью Клятвы с 1954 года), Elk Grove Unified School District против Newdow . [46] [45] Он написал краткое изложение от имени всех 50 штатов, в котором утверждал, что истец, родитель, не являющийся опекуном, не имел права подавать иск от имени своей дочери. [62] Верховный суд поддержал позицию краткого изложения Круза. [63]
Круз был ведущим адвокатом штата и успешно защитил многочисленные судебные иски против плана перераспределения избирательных округов Техаса 2003 года в государственных и федеральных окружных судах, а также в Верховном суде США, который решил дело Лиги объединенных латиноамериканских граждан против Перри 5–4 в его пользу . [45] [64]
В деле Медельин против Техаса Круз успешно защитил Техас от попытки возобновить дела 51 гражданина Мексики, все из которых были осуждены за убийство в Соединенных Штатах и находились в камере смертников. [46] [45] [50] [57] При поддержке администрации Джорджа Буша-младшего заявители утверждали, что Соединенные Штаты нарушили Венскую конвенцию о консульских сношениях , не уведомив осужденных граждан об их возможности получить юридическую помощь от мексиканского консульства. [52] [65] Они основывали свое дело на решении Международного суда по делу Авены , который постановил, что, не предоставив доступ в мексиканское консульство, Соединенные Штаты нарушили свои обязательства по конвенции. [66] Техас выиграл дело решением 6–3, Верховный суд постановил, что решения Международного суда не являются обязательными во внутреннем праве и что президент не имеет полномочий обеспечивать их исполнение. [52] [65]
Майкл Уэйн Хейли был арестован за кражу калькулятора из Walmart в 1997 году. [67] Из-за предыдущих уголовных судимостей Хейли был приговорен к 16+1 ⁄ 2 года тюрьмы по техасскому закону о рецидивистах. После того, как Хейли исчерпал свои апелляции, стало известно, что ограбление Хейли произошло за три дня до того, как было окончательно вынесено одно из его других обвинительных приговоров; это подняло вопрос о применимости закона о рецидивистах в его деле. Как генеральный солиситор Круз отказался отменить приговор Хейли, заявив: «Я думаю, что правосудие вершится, потому что у него было полное и справедливое судебное разбирательство и возможность указать на свои ошибки». [68] Верховный суд позже вернул дело в нижестоящие суды на основании иска Хейли о неэффективной помощи адвоката . Во время устных прений Круз признал, что у Хейли были очень веские аргументы в пользу неэффективной помощи адвоката, поскольку адвокат Хейли не признал ошибку в приговоре, и что он не будет ходатайствовать о повторном заключении Хейли в ходе апелляционного процесса. [68] После предварительного заключения Хейли был повторно приговорен к «отбытию срока». [69]
В 2008 году журнал American Lawyer назвал Круза одним из 50 лучших юристов в возрасте до 45 лет в Америке, [56] [70] а The National Law Journal назвал его одним из 50 самых влиятельных юристов из числа меньшинств в Америке. [71] [72] В 2010 году журнал Texas Lawyer назвал его одним из 25 величайших юристов Техаса за последнюю четверть века. [73] [74]
Покинув должность генерального солиситора в 2008 году, Круз присоединился к хьюстонскому офису филадельфийской юридической фирмы Morgan, Lewis & Bockius , где часто представлял корпоративных клиентов. [13] [45] [75] В Morgan Lewis он руководил практикой фирмы в Верховном суде США и национальными апелляционными судебными разбирательствами. [75] В 2010 году он отказался от участия в выборах генерального прокурора штата, когда действующий генеральный прокурор Грег Эбботт, нанявший Круза на должность генерального солиситора, решил баллотироваться на переизбрание. [18]
В Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Круз представляла Pfizer в иске, поданном группой государственных больниц и общественных медицинских центров, которые обвинили Pfizer в завышении цен. [76] Linglong Tire была признана виновной в маркетинге версий шин, которые были основаны на чертежах, украденных бывшим сотрудником бизнесмена из Флориды, и была обязана выплатить 26 миллионов долларов флоридцу. Круз работала над апелляционным заявлением китайской компании. Апелляционный суд отклонил апелляцию и подтвердил решение присяжных. [77] Круз представляла производителя лекарств B. Braun в Апелляционном суде Соединенных Штатов по Шестому округу после того, как компания была признана виновной в неправомерном увольнении бывшего сотрудника. Круз утверждала, что ей не удалось доказать, что B. Braun приказала ей нарушить закон, и что она не представила достаточных доказательств того, что ее отказ нарушить закон стал причиной ее увольнения. Апелляционный суд отклонил доводы Круз и подтвердил компенсацию в размере 880 000 долларов. [77] Круз представлял Toyota в апелляции в Верховный суд Техаса по делу о сроке исковой давности , где судья хотел провести расследование в отношении Toyota на предмет неуважения к суду после того, как бывший внутренний юрист Toyota обвинил Toyota в незаконном удержании документов в деле об ответственности за качество продукции . [78] Круз безуспешно утверждал, что юрисдикция судьи истекла через 30 дней после того, как дело было отклонено после внесудебного урегулирования, но позже выиграл вторую апелляцию, используя тот же аргумент. [79]
Круз защитил два рекордных иска о возмещении вреда здоровью в размере 54 миллионов долларов в Нью-Мексико на апелляционном уровне, включая тот, который был отклонен нижестоящим судом. [80] Он представлял интересы психически больного мужчину, которого предположительно изнасиловал сотрудник учреждения, где он жил, и семью 78-летнего жителя дома престарелых в Альбукерке , который умер от внутреннего кровотечения. [80] [81] В обоих случаях соглашения были заключены. [80] [81]
Круз баллотировался как кандидат от «Партии чаепития» на республиканских праймериз 2012 года, [82] [83] [84] и газета The Washington Post назвала его победу «самым большим сюрпризом 2012 года... настоящей победой рядовых граждан вопреки очень малым шансам». [85]
19 января 2011 года, после того как сенатор США Кей Бейли Хатчисон заявила, что не будет добиваться переизбрания, Круз начал свою кампанию с помощью телефонной конференции блогера. [86] На республиканских праймериз он баллотировался против действующего вице-губернатора Дэвида Дьюхерста . Круза сначала поддержали бывший губернатор Аляски Сара Пэйлин [87] , а затем Клуб за рост , фискально консервативный политический комитет действий; [88] FreedomWorks for America super PAC ; [89] общенациональный радиоведущий Марк Левин ; [90] Tea Party Express ; [91] Молодые консерваторы Техаса ; [92] и сенаторы США Том Кобурн , Джим Деминт , [93] Майк Ли , [94] Рэнд Пол [95] и Пэт Туми . [96] Его также поддержали бывший конгрессмен Техаса Рон Пол , [97] Джордж П. Буш , [55] и бывший сенатор США от Пенсильвании Рик Санторум . [98] Бывший генеральный прокурор Эд Миз был национальным председателем кампании Круза. [55]
Круз выиграл второй тур выборов от Республиканской партии с перевесом в 14 пунктов над Дьюхерстом, поддержка Дьюхерста резко упала, в то время как общее количество голосов Круза резко возросло с первого тура. [99] Круз победил, несмотря на то, что Дьюхерст, занимавший выборную должность в масштабах штата, потратил на него меньше, [100] 19 миллионов долларов против 7 миллионов долларов. [100] [101]
На всеобщих выборах 6 ноября Круз столкнулся с кандидатом от Демократической партии Полом Сэдлером , адвокатом и бывшим представителем штата из Хендерсона, штат Техас . Круз победил, набрав 4,5 миллиона голосов (56,4%) против 3,2 миллиона голосов Сэдлера (40,6%). Два второстепенных кандидата получили оставшиеся 3% голосов. [102] Согласно опросу, проведенному социологом Круза Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, Круз получил 40% голосов испаноязычных, превзойдя кандидата в президенты от Республиканской партии Митта Ромни среди испаноязычных в Техасе. [103] [104]
После того, как журнал Time сообщил, что Круз мог нарушить правила этики, не раскрыв публично свои финансовые отношения с Caribbean Equity Partners Investment Holdings во время кампании 2012 года, он заявил, что его нераскрытие связи было непреднамеренным. [105]
В январе 2016 года The New York Times сообщила, что Круз и его жена взяли около 1 миллиона долларов в виде низкопроцентных кредитов в Goldman Sachs (где она работала) и Citibank и не сообщили о них в заявлениях о раскрытии информации Федеральной избирательной комиссии , как того требует закон. [106] Круз раскрыл данные о кредитах в своих формах раскрытия финансовой информации Сената в июле 2012 года, но не в форме FEC. [107] Нет никаких указаний на то, что жена Круза принимала какое-либо участие в предоставлении каких-либо кредитов или что банки сделали что-то неправильно. [107] Кредиты были в основном погашены за счет более позднего сбора средств на избирательную кампанию. Представитель Круза сказал, что его несообщение о кредитах в FEC было «непреднамеренным» и что он подаст дополнительные документы. [106] Но Круз намеренно пропустил крайний срок погашения, чтобы оспорить закон, согласно которому только 250 000 долларов личных кредитов могут быть погашены деньгами, собранными после выборов. В мае 2022 года Верховный суд в деле Федеральная избирательная комиссия против Теда Круза в Сенате встал на сторону Круза, разрешив ему попросить доноров помочь вернуть 555 000 долларов, которые он одолжил своим кампаниям: 545 000 долларов, которые он одолжил своей кампании 2012 года, плюс 10 000 долларов, которые он одолжил своей кампании 2018 года, что превышало существующий лимит в 250 000 долларов . [108] [109]
Круз баллотировался на второй срок в 2018 году. [110] Первичные выборы для обеих партий состоялись 6 марта 2018 года, [111] и он легко выиграл выдвижение от республиканцев, набрав более 80% голосов.
Круз столкнулся с кандидатом от Демократической партии, представителем США Бето О'Рурком , на всеобщих выборах. [112] Соревнование было необычно конкурентным для выборов в Техасе, и большинство опросов показывали, что Круз лишь немного впереди. Гонка привлекла значительное внимание средств массовой информации [113] и стала самыми дорогими выборами в Сенат США в истории до того момента [114] (до специальных выборов в Джорджии 2020–21 годов между действующим сенатором Келли Леффлер и Рафаэлем Уорноком ). 6 ноября 2018 года Круз победил О'Рурка с небольшим отрывом, 50,9% против 48,3%. [115]
Круз баллотируется на третий срок в Сенате. [116] Он соперничает с кандидатом от Демократической партии Колином Оллредом , бывшим игроком НФЛ и конгрессменом. [117]
По состоянию на ноябрь 2018 года Круз выступил спонсором 105 собственных законопроектов, в том числе: [118]
Круз сыграл ведущую роль в остановке работы федерального правительства США в 2013 году . [119] [120] [121] [122] [123] Круз выступил с 21-часовой речью в Сенате, пытаясь задержать законопроект о федеральном бюджете и тем самым лишить финансирования Закон о доступном медицинском обслуживании . [122] [124] [125] Круз убедил Палату представителей и спикера Палаты представителей Джона Бёнера включить в законопроект положение о прекращении финансирования ACA. [123] В Сенате США бывший лидер большинства Гарри Рид заблокировал попытку обструкции , поскольку ее поддержали только 18 сенаторов-республиканцев. [123] Во время обструкции он читал « Зеленые яйца и ветчина» Доктора Сьюза . [126] Для сторонников этот шаг «продемонстрировал глубину приверженности Круза обузданию правительства». [122] Этот шаг был чрезвычайно популярен среди сторонников Круза, а Рик Мэннинг из организации «Американцы за ограниченное правительство» назвал Круза «Человеком года 2013» в своей статье в The Hill , в первую очередь за его обструкцию против Закона о доступном медицинском обслуживании. [127] Круз также был назван «Человеком года 2013» консервативными изданиями TheBlaze , [128] и The American Spectator , [129] «Консерватором года 2013» изданием Townhall , [130] и «Государственным деятелем года 2013» Республиканской партией округа Сарасота, Флорида . [131] [132] Он был финалистом конкурса журнала Time на звание «Человека года» в 2013 году. [133] Для критиков, включая некоторых коллег-республиканцев , [123] таких как сенатор Линдси Грэм , этот шаг был неэффективным. [122]
Круз последовательно отрицал какую-либо причастность к приостановке работы правительства в 2013 году, хотя он несколько раз голосовал за ее продление и многие в его собственной партии обвиняли его в том, что он спровоцировал ее. [134] [135]
1 апреля 2014 года Круз представил законопроект S. 2195, который позволит президенту Соединенных Штатов отказывать в выдаче виз любому послу в Организации Объединенных Наций, который, как было установлено, был замешан в шпионаже или террористической деятельности против Соединенных Штатов или их союзников и может представлять угрозу интересам национальной безопасности США. [136] Законопроект был написан в ответ на выбор Ираном Хамида Абуталеби в качестве своего посла в ООН. [137] Абуталеби был вовлечен в иранский кризис с заложниками , в ходе которого ряд американских дипломатов из посольства Соединенных Штатов в Тегеране были взяты в плен в 1979 году. [137] [138] [139]
Под заголовком «Двухпартийное послание Ирану» Круз поблагодарил президента Барака Обаму за подписание закона S. 2195. Письмо, опубликованное в журнале Politico 18 апреля 2014 года, начинается со слов «Благодарность президенту Обаме за присоединение к единогласному Конгрессу и подписание закона S. 2195». Круз также поблагодарил сенаторов от обеих политических партий за «быстрое принятие этого законопроекта и отправку его в Белый дом». [140] [141] [142]
За первые два года работы в Сенате Круз посетил 17 из 50 публичных слушаний Комитета по вооруженным силам, 3 из 25 слушаний Комитета по торговле и 4 из 12 слушаний Комитета по правосудию, а также пропустил 21 из 135 поименных голосований в течение первых трех месяцев 2015 года. [143]
В своей речи в Сенате в ноябре 2014 года Круз обвинил президента Обаму в «открытом желании уничтожить Конституцию и эту Республику». [145] В той же речи Круз сослался на речи древнеримского сенатора Цицерона против Катилины , чтобы осудить запланированные Обамой действия исполнительной власти по иммиграционной реформе. [145] Профессор классики Джесси Вайнер, пишущий в The Atlantic , сказал, что аналогия Круза была «глубоко тревожной», потому что «предлагая Обаме роль Катилины, Круз недвусмысленно намекает, что действующий президент не был законно избран и является виновником насильственного мятежа с целью свержения правительства... По сути, он обвиняет президента в государственной измене. Независимо от взглядов на иммиграционную реформу и администрацию Обамы в целом, это опасная риторика». [145]
Круз неоднократно заявлял, что международное ядерное соглашение с Ираном 2015 года «сделает администрацию Обамы ведущим мировым финансистом радикального исламского терроризма». [146] В ответ Обама назвал заявления Круза примером «возмутительных атак» со стороны критиков-республиканцев, которые перешли черту ответственного дискурса: «У нас был действующий сенатор, который также баллотируется на пост президента, который предполагает, что я являюсь ведущим государственным спонсором терроризма. Возможно, это просто попытка вытеснить г-на Трампа из заголовков, но это не тот тип руководства, который нужен Америке прямо сейчас». [146] Бывший кандидат в президенты от республиканцев Митт Ромни также раскритиковал высказывания Круза, написав, что, хотя он тоже выступал против соглашения с Ираном, заявление Круза, связывающее Обаму с терроризмом, «перешло черту» и «вредит делу». [147] [148]
После смерти члена Верховного суда Антонина Скалиа Круз заявил, что нового судью должен назначить победитель президентских выборов в США 2016 года , а не Обама. [149] В июне 2016 года Круз обвинил администрацию Обамы в стрельбе в ночном клубе Орландо , мотивируя это тем, что она не отслеживала должным образом преступника Омара Матина , пока он был в списке террористов. [150] После террористического акта в Ницце, Франция , Круз заявил, что страна находится под угрозой из-за того, что администрация Обамы проявила «умышленную слепоту» по отношению к радикальным исламистам. [151] После смерти Фиделя Кастро в ноябре Круз обвинил Обаму в восхвалении и восхвалении Кастро в публичных заявлениях, которые он сделал, говоря о смерти. [152] 28 декабря, после того как госсекретарь Джон Керри выступил с речью, защищающей решение США разрешить принятие резолюции ООН, осуждающей израильские поселения «на земле, которая должна была стать частью будущего палестинского государства», Круз осудил эту речь как «позорную» и сказал, что история запомнит Обаму и Керри как «непримиримых врагов Израиля». Круз также обвинил администрацию Обамы в наличии «радикальной антиизраильской повестки дня». [153]
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Круз был одним из самых ярых критиков Дональда Трампа во время президентской кампании 2016 года, и они часто обменивались резкими комментариями в адрес друг друга и семьи Круза. [154] Но в конечном итоге он стал важным союзником Трампа в Сенате. [155] [156]
Круз сказал журналистам о Дональде Трампе: «Я просыпаюсь каждый день и смеюсь над последним твитом Дональда, потому что он теряет контроль. Нам нужен главнокомандующий, а не твиттерянин. Нам нужен кто-то с рассудительностью и темпераментом, чтобы обеспечить безопасность этой страны». [157]
In late January 2017, Cruz praised Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch as "brilliant and immensely talented" in a written statement.[158] On February 23, while speaking at the 2017 CPAC, Cruz showed interest in Trump's nomination of a young justice in the mold of Scalia and Clarence Thomas.[159] On March 1, he called Trump's joint address to Congress the previous day "positive" and "unifying".[160] Cruz said that during his visit to the Mar-a-Lago estate on March 18, he spoke with affiliates of Trump while negotiating the American Health Care Act.[161] On April 6, shortly after the Shayrat missile strike, he released a statement displaying his interest in having Trump appeal to Congress to take "military action in Syria" to prevent Islamic terrorists from acquiring weapons stored in Syria.[162]
In April 2018, in the copy accompanying Trump's entry on the Time 100 most influential people of 2017, Cruz wrote, "President Trump is doing what he was elected to do: disrupt the status quo."[163] Cruz's authorship was criticized by Charles Pierce of Esquire,[164] Jay Willis of GQ,[165] and CNN's Chris Cillizza.[163]
Cruz has used harsh rhetoric against fellow Republican politicians, and his relationships with various Republican members of Congress have been strained.[166][167] In 2013, he called Republicans he considered insufficiently resistant to Obama's proposals a "surrender caucus".[166] He also called fellow Republicans "squishes" on gun-control issues during a Tea Party rally.[166] Cruz's role in the United States federal government shutdown of 2013 in particular attracted criticism from a number of Republican colleagues.[167] Republican Senator John McCain was reported to have particularly disliked Cruz; in a Senate floor speech in 2013, McCain denounced Cruz's reference to Nazis when discussing the Affordable Care Act.[167] In March 2013, McCain also called Cruz and others "wacko birds" whose beliefs are not "reflective of the views of the majority of Republicans".[167] During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, John Boehner described Cruz as "Lucifer in the flesh";[168] in an interview, Lindsey Graham said, "If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you."[169]
In a heated Senate floor speech in July 2015, Cruz accused Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of telling "a flat-out lie" over his intentions to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which Cruz opposes. "What we just saw today was an absolute demonstration that not only what he told every Republican senator, but what he told the press over and over and over again was a simple lie", Cruz said.[170] His "incendiary outburst" was "unusual in the cordial atmosphere of the Senate", according to Reuters.[170][171] In the same speech, Cruz assailed the "Republican majority in both houses of Congresses" for what he called an insufficiently conservative record.[171] His speech, and especially his accusation against McConnell, was condemned by various senior Republican senators, with McCain saying that the speech was "outside the realm of Senate behavior" and "a very wrong thing to do".[172] Orrin Hatch expressed a similar opinion: "I don't condone the use of that kind of language against another senator unless they can show definitive proof that there was a lie ... And I know the leader didn't lie."[173] Cruz alleged that McConnell scheduled a vote on the Ex-Im Bank as part of a deal to persuade Democrats like Maria Cantwell to stop blocking a trade bill; McConnell denied there was any "deal", and that denial was what Cruz called a "lie". Hatch said McConnell did pledge to help Cantwell get a vote on the Ex-Im Bank.[174]
Among Cruz's few close allies in the Senate is Mike Lee of Utah.[175][176] Cruz has expressed pride in his reputation for having few allies, saying in June 2015 that he has been vilified for fighting "the Washington cartel".[177]
When Boehner resigned from the House in September 2015, Cruz expressed his concern that before resigning Boehner might have "cut a deal with Nancy Pelosi to fund the Obama administration for the rest of its tenure".[178] The next month, the budget agreement passed in the House by a vote of 266 to 187, with unanimous support from Democrats and Boehner, lifting the debt ceiling through March 2017. Cruz called the agreement "complete and utter surrender".[179]
Cruz is one of the Senate Republicans in favor of the "nuclear option", "to speed up consideration of President Trump's nominees". Changing the Senate's rules to a simple majority vote would "ensure a quicker pace on Trump's court picks".[180]
In September 2020, Trump included Cruz on a shortlist, alongside fellow Senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley, for possible appointment to the Supreme Court. Cruz declined consideration for the position.[181]
Cruz backed a failed appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court attempting to overturn or nullify the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania filed by U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, which argued that the Pennsylvania Constitution requires in-person voting except in narrow and defined circumstances; the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania had already rejected this argument.[182][183][184] The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case or issue an injunction and Pennsylvania's Electoral College votes were cast for Joe Biden.[185] Cruz later led an effort by a group of Republican senators to refuse to count Pennsylvania's Electoral College votes,[186][187] citing baseless allegations of fraud.[188] He attacked critics of his attempts to challenge the election results for using "angry language", suggesting that they were increasing tensions amid a volatile situation.[189]
As part of the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton filed a suit with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to have election results in four states nullified. Cruz, who had previously argued nine cases before the Supreme Court, agreed to Trump's request to argue the Paxton suit should it come before the Court, though it did not. Cruz also garnered the support of ten other senators for a plan by his decades-long friend, Trump attorney John Eastman, to delay the January 6 electoral vote certification for ten days to allow Republican legislatures in six key states Biden had won to consider submitting slates of Trump electors, based on false allegations of widespread voting fraud. Cruz said he was he was "leading the charge" to prevent Biden's certification as president.[190][191]
On January 6, 2021, during the debate about whether Congress should accept Arizona's electoral votes, Cruz said that 39% of Americans believed the 2020 presidential election was rigged, but that "I am not arguing for setting aside the result of this election".[192] Some observers think Cruz knew claims about fraud in the election were inaccurate and that this speech and his earlier statements were attempts to mislead for political gain.[192] There are also concerns that he misrepresented the percentage of those concerned about rigging, with the correct number being 28%.[193][194]
Congress's counting of the Electoral College votes was interrupted by an insurrectionist mob that stormed the United States Capitol after a rally near the White House. The attack resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer.[195]
When Congress reconvened that evening to continue the count, Cruz voted to object to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's electoral votes.[196] The Senate rejected these objections by 93–6 and 92–7, respectively.[197] The Texas Democratic Party called on Cruz to resign, saying that his efforts to block Biden's lawful victory empowered the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.[198] The Texas Democratic Party also called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an official investigation into Cruz for inciting sedition and treason.[199][200][201] The Houston Chronicle called for Cruz to resign.[202] The San Antonio Express-News called for Cruz to be expelled from the Senate.[203] Thousands of lawyers and law students called for him to be disbarred for inciting the insurrection.[204] President-elect Biden and Republican senator Pat Toomey both said Cruz was complicit in the "big lie" of Trump's allegations of voter fraud.[205] Republican operative Chad Sweet, the chair of Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign, denounced Cruz for "assault on our democracy."[206] Several corporations halted donations to Cruz and other Republicans who voted to overturn the election based on Trump's false claims.[207][208][3] Lauren Blair Bianchi, Cruz's communications director, resigned.[209]
On May 28, 2021, Cruz voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the riot.[210] On the eve of the anniversary of the attack, he was recorded on video calling it a "violent terrorist attack", which drew sharp criticism from Fox News host Tucker Carlson on his program that night. Cruz appeared on Carlson's program the next night to apologize for that comment as "frankly dumb" and "sloppy." The next day CNN reported that Cruz had characterized the attack as terrorism at least 17 times during the preceding year.[211][212][213] Despite his attempts to downplay the incident, Cruz was widely condemned by pro-Trump Republicans—especially Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene[214]—for his comments.
In February 2021, during a historic winter storm, up to 4.3 million Texas residents were left without power and millions of others without drinking water, including Cruz and his family. In the middle of the storm, Cruz and his family were spotted on a plane heading to Cancún, Mexico, where they planned to stay at the luxury Ritz Carlton hotel and escape their home, which Heidi Cruz called in a text message "FREEZING".[215][216][217] Cruz requested that the Houston police escort him and his family through the airport.[218]
Cruz left the family poodle, Snowflake, alone inside the house without heat; reporters saw the dog through the window of the front door of the dark and empty house.[219] Later, a self-identified security guard told a reporter he was caring for the dog.[220]
Cruz's political allies and rivals condemned him for leaving Texas during a crisis and traveling internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic.[215] Cruz initially said he was taking his daughters on a weeklong vacation from school at their request, in an attempt to be a "good dad".[221] Later that day, he returned to Texas, after allowing his family to stay in Mexico, saying that the vacation was a mistake.[222] Protesters calling for his resignation greeted him in front of his house upon his return.[223] After returning from Cancún, Cruz volunteered in Houston to help with recovery efforts.[224]
As early as 2013, Cruz was widely expected to run for the presidency in 2016.[225][226][227] On March 14, 2013, he gave the keynote speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington DC.[228] He tied for 7th place in the 2013 CPAC straw poll on March 16, winning 4% of the votes cast.[229] In October 2013, Cruz won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll with 42% of the vote.[230] Cruz finished first in two presidential straw polls conducted in 2014 with 30.33% of the vote at the Republican Leadership Conference[231] and 43% of the vote at the Republican Party of Texas state convention.[232]
Cruz did speaking events in mid-2013 across Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, all early primary states, leading to further speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a 2016 bid.[233] Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin described Cruz as the first potential presidential candidate to emphasize originalism as a major national issue.[52]
On April 12, 2014, Cruz spoke at the Freedom Summit, an event organized by Americans for Prosperity and Citizens United.[234] The event was attended by several potential presidential candidates.[235] In his speech, Cruz mentioned that Latinos, young people and single mothers are the people most affected by the recession, and that the Republican Party should make outreach efforts to these constituents. He also said that the words "growth and opportunity" should be tattooed on the hands of every Republican politician.[234]
Cruz delivered one of many State of the Union responses in January 2015.[236]
On March 23, 2015, Cruz started his 2016 presidential campaign for the Republican primaries and caucuses, in a morning speech delivered at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.[237] Also, at the same hour, he posted on his Twitter page: "I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!"[238] He was the first major Republican presidential candidate for the 2016 campaign.[239][240] During the primary campaign, his base of support was mainly among social conservatives, though he had crossover appeal to other factions within his party, including in particular libertarian conservatives.[241][242]
HarperCollins published Cruz's book A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America on June 30, 2015.[243] The book reached the bestseller list of several organizations in its first week of release.[244][245]
In the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Cruz received over 7.8 million votes,[246][247] won 12 states, and earned 559 delegates.[248] He raised nearly $92 million, a record for a Republican primary candidate, much of it from small online donors. The Cruz campaign had more than 325,000 volunteers.[249]
On February 1, 2016, Cruz won the Iowa caucuses.[250] The Iowa win made him the first Hispanic to win either a presidential primary election or caucus.[250][251][252] He received 28% of the vote.[252] On February 10, Cruz placed third in the New Hampshire primary, with about 12% of the vote.[253] On February 21, he placed third in the South Carolina Republican primary with about 22.3% of the vote.[254]
On March 1, 2016, Super Tuesday, Cruz won Texas by 17%, along with Alaska and Oklahoma, providing him with four state primary victories total.[255] In the Texas primary, he received the most votes in all but six of the state's 254 counties.[256] On March 5, Cruz won the Kansas and Maine caucuses, giving him six statewide wins.[257][258][259]
Cruz won his widest margin up to that point in Kansas, where he beat front-runner Donald Trump by 25 points.[260] With his victories over Trump in Texas, Kansas, and Maine, he established himself as the candidate with the best opportunity to defeat Trump, the leading contender for the nomination.[261][262]
On March 8, 2016, Cruz won the Idaho primary with 45% of vote—defeating Trump by 17% and earning his seventh statewide victory.[263] He placed second in Michigan, Mississippi, and Hawaii.[263] On March 12, Cruz won the Wyoming county conventions with 67% of the vote and 9 delegates, giving him his eighth statewide win.[264] On March 22, Cruz won the Utah Caucus with 69.2% of the vote, versus John Kasich with 16.8% and Trump with 14%.[265] Because he surpassed the 50% winner-take-all threshold, he won all 40 of Utah's delegates. This win was his ninth. On April 3, North Dakota elected a slate of delegates dominated by pro-Cruz delegates. Cruz received the support of the majority of the delegates.[266]
On April 6, 2016, Cruz won the Wisconsin primary with 48.2% of the vote to Trump's 35.1%. It was Cruz's tenth statewide win. He won 36 of the 42 delegates available in Wisconsin. Trump received the other six. On April 2 and 7–9, Cruz swept the Colorado congressional district and state conventions, taking all 34 delegates.[267][268][269][270] This gave Cruz his 11th state win. On April 16, Cruz won all 14 of Wyoming's at-large delegates in the state convention. This secured the majority of state delegates, giving Cruz his 12th state win.[271] On April 27, he said that, if he were selected as the party's nominee, he would choose former CEO of HP and fellow 2016 Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate.[272] Shortly after losing overwhelmingly to Trump in the Indiana primary on May 3, Cruz suspended his campaign.[273]
Cruz has said that when he was a child, his mother told him that she would have to formally request Canadian citizenship for him, so he and his family had always assumed he was not a Canadian citizen.[274] In August 2013, after the Dallas Morning News pointed out that he had dual Canadian-American citizenship,[275][276] he applied to formally renounce his Canadian citizenship and ceased being a citizen of Canada on May 14, 2014.[274][277]
Several lawsuits and ballot challenges asserting that Cruz was ineligible to become U.S. president were filed at the time.[278][279][280][281][282][283][284] None were successful, and in February 2016, the Illinois Board of Elections ruled in Cruz's favor, stating, "The candidate is a natural born citizen by virtue of being born in Canada to his mother who was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth."[285]
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Shortly after the campaign's end, Cruz indicated that he would restart the bid if successful in the Nebraska primary,[286] which Trump later won.[287]
In the months following, several publications noted that Cruz still had not endorsed Trump,[288][289] Cruz explaining in June that he was "watching and assessing" to determine if he would support him in the forthcoming general election.[290] On July 7, after a meeting with Trump, he confirmed that he would speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention.[291]
In his speech on July 20, the third day of the convention, Cruz congratulated Trump but did not endorse him. He instead told listeners to "vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution". The speech was met with boos and a negative reception among the crowd.[292] The following day at the Texas Republican delegation breakfast, Cruz defended his choice to not endorse Trump: "I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. That pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I'm going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say, 'Thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father.'"[293][294] On September 23, 2016, he publicly endorsed Trump for president.[295]
On October 10, after the 2005 audio recording of Trump was released and several Republicans retracted their endorsements, Cruz reaffirmed his support, calling Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton "manifestly unfit to be president".[296] On November 15, he met with President-elect Trump at Trump Tower in New York City. It had been reported that Trump was considering Cruz for the position of U.S. Attorney General, but the position went to Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.[297] On November 28, in light of Trump showing a softer tone on his campaign promises, Cruz warned that justified backlash could ensue if he strayed from them.[298]
Cruz was backed by the billionaire Mercer family, including Robert and his daughter Rebekah.[299]
Cruz has been characterized as staunchly conservative, "radical right", a religious conservative, and anti-establishmentarian.[83][300][301][302]
Cruz is a critic of the rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, saying on Fox News in December 2014 that the thaw in relations was a "manifestation of the failures of the Obama-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy" that "will be remembered as a tragic mistake".[303]
In July 2018, Cruz spoke at the Rally for Religious Freedom in Asia. He said, "It is a pleasure to be here and stand in solidarity for the men and women across this globe who have been persecuted by communists... We must stand united, in shining light, in highlighting heroism, in highlighting courage, in speaking out for those like my family, like so many millions across the globe who've seen the jackboot of communism firsthand."[304]
Cruz has called for an end to "overcriminalization, harsh mandatory minimum sentences, and the demise of jury trials".[305] He supports the death penalty.[306] In his 2012 Senate campaign, Cruz frequently mentioned his role as counsel for the State of Texas in Medellín v. Texas, a 2008 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that Texas has the right to ignore an order from the International Court of Justice directing the U.S. to review the convictions and sentences of dozens of Mexican nationals on death row.[307] He has called Medellín the most important case of his tenure as Texas solicitor general.[307]
Cruz is a gun rights supporter,[308] and opposes expanding gun control regulations.[309]
In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt discussing the attack that killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Cruz said that "the simple and undeniable fact is the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats", and claimed that Democrats are "soft on crime" because "convicted felons tend to vote Democratic."[310]
In August 2015, in the wake of the ambush death of a Texas police officer who was gunned down while filling up at a gas station, Cruz said that police are "feeling the assault from the President, from the top on down, as we see—whether it's in Ferguson or Baltimore, the response from senior officials, the President or the Attorney General, is to vilify law enforcement. That's wrong. It's fundamentally wrong. It's endangering all of our safety and security."[311]
Cruz met with gun control advocates Alyssa Milano and Fred Guttenberg to discuss gun violence in the United States. Guttenberg said this was "a really important day".[312]
In May 2022, after the Robb Elementary School shooting, Cruz blamed mass shootings on declining church attendance, violent video games, prescription drugs, cyberbullying, social isolation, and other societal factors.[313]
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Cruz opposes legalizing cannabis, but believes it should be decided at the state level.[314] After Colorado legalized cannabis, he said, "If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that's their prerogative. I personally don't agree with it, but that's their right."[315]
Cruz has been described by the Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies as a "free trader"[316] and as a "free-trade advocate" by The Wall Street Journal.[317] In 2013, he proposed the abolition of the IRS and the implementation of a flat tax "where the average American can fill out taxes on a postcard".[318] Cruz is "adamantly opposed to a higher minimum wage".[319]
Cruz wants to decrease the size of the government significantly. In addition to eliminating the IRS as described above, he has promised to eliminate four other cabinet-level agencies: the Department of Energy, Department of Education, Department of Commerce, and Department of Housing and Urban Development.[320]
Cruz was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[321]
Cruz is a proponent of school choice[322] and opposes the Common Core State Standards Initiative.[323]
Cruz rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.[324][325] In March 2015, he said that some people are "global warming alarmists" and, citing satellite temperature measurements, said, contrary to NASA's analysis, that there had been no significant warming in 18 years.[325][326][327]
Cruz voted against the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 that would have created the National Endowment for the Oceans and authorized more than $26 billion in projects to be built by the Army Corps of Engineers, at least $16 billion of which would have come from federal taxpayers.[328][329] He voted against the bill because it neglected "to reduce a substantial backlog of projects, to the detriment of projects with national implications, such as the Sabine–Neches Waterway".[330] Cruz said the Corps' responsibilities were expanded without providing adequate measures for state participation.[330] Proponents of the bill argued that it would provide steady funding to support research and restoration projects, funded primarily by dedicating 12.5% of revenues from offshore energy development, including oil, gas, and renewable energy, through offshore lease sales and production based royalty payments, distributed through a competitive grant program.[331]
In 2017, Cruz was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[332] addressed to Trump urging him to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. According to OpenSecrets, Cruz has received more than $2.5 million in campaign contributions from oil, gas and coal interests since 2012.[333] He has a lifetime score of 3% on the National Environmental Scorecard of the League of Conservation Voters.[334]
Cruz is a supporter of TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline,[335] and following the Republican senate whip, was a cosponsor of legislation in support of the pipeline.[336]
In a 2014 opinion editorial in USA Today, Cruz wrote that auditing the Federal Reserve System was a top Republican priority in 2015 and that he supported legislation that would allow the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen, whose confirmation Cruz tried to prevent, said in her confirmation hearing that she opposed any audit of the Federal Reserve and that "for 50 years Congress has recognized that there should be an exception to GAO ability to audit the Fed to avoid any political interference in monetary policy."[337][338]
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In 2015, Cruz voted for the USA Freedom Act, which reauthorized the USA Patriot Act but reformed some of its provisions.[339][340]
Cruz has been an adamant opponent of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran negotiated by the U.S. and other world powers, calling it "catastrophic" and "disastrous".[341][342]
In 2013, Cruz said that the U.S. had no "dog in the fight" during the Syrian Civil War and that its armed forces should not serve as "al-Qaeda's air force".[343] In 2014, he criticized the Obama administration: "The president's foreign policy team utterly missed the threat of ISIS, indeed, was working to arm Syrian rebels that were fighting side by side with ISIS", calling ISIS "the face of evil". In a statement opposing U.S. intervention for regime change in Syria, Cruz said, "If President Obama and Hillary Clinton and Sen. Rubio succeed in toppling [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, the result will be the radical Islamic terrorists will take over Syria, that Syria will be controlled by ISIS, and that is materially worse for U.S. national security interests."[344]
In September 2016, Cruz backed the Obama administration's plan to sell more than $1.15 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia.[345]
In early January 2017, Cruz, Texas governor Greg Abbott and some others met with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen. Cruz criticized the People's Republic of China after it reportedly made a statement asking members of Congress not to meet with Tsai.[346][347][348]
On January 5, 2017, Cruz voted in favor of a House resolution condemning UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories as a violation of international law.[349]
In June 2017, Cruz co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would make it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.[350][351]
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In August 2018, Cruz and 16 other lawmakers urged the Trump administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China's Xinjiang region.[352] They wrote, "The detention of as many as a million or more Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in 'political reeducation' centers or camps requires a tough, targeted, and global response."[353]
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Cruz has called the Nord Stream II natural gas pipeline a threat to the security of Europe and the U.S. In December 2019 he and Senator Ron Johnson wrote a letter to Edward Heerema, the owner of the offshore pipe layer Allseas, to warn him of sanctions if Allseas did not suspend its work on the pipeline, which would deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany.[354] A few days later Allseas suspended the work.[355] In December 2020, the Russian pipelaying ship Akademik Cherskiy continued pipelaying.[356] In January, another pipelayer, Fortuna, joined forces with the Akademik Cherskiy to complete the pipeline.[357] On June 4, 2021, Putin announced that the pipelaying for first line of the Nord Stream 2 was fully completed. On June 10, the pipeline's sections were connected.[358] The laying of the second line was completed in September 2021.[359]
A co-sponsor of the resolution to commemorate the Armenian genocide, Cruz said that while Turkey is a NATO ally, "We should never be afraid to tell the truth, and alliances grounded in lies are themselves unsustainable."[360]
American video game company Activision Blizzard punished a Hong Kong-based professional gamer for supporting pro-democracy Hong Kong protests. Cruz accused Blizzard and Apple of censorship.[361] He co-signed a letter to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick that read, "As China amplifies its campaign of intimidation, you and your company must decide whether to look beyond the bottom line and promote American values—like freedom of speech and thought—or to give in to Beijing's demands in order to preserve market access."[362]
Beginning during his time as a Dublin, California, city councilman, Eric Swalwell was targeted by a Chinese woman believed to be a clandestine officer of China's Ministry of State Security. Swalwell's general relationship with a suspected Chinese agent, Christine Fang, has been characterized as problematic, particularly given his high-profile role as a member of the House Intelligence Committee.[363] Cruz tweeted, "More than once, I've said 'screw the Chinese communists'. Little did I know how closely Swalwell was listening."[364]
In October 2021, Cruz posted a tweet that was critical of Australia's Northern Territory's vaccine mandates.[365] Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Michael Gunner's response to the tweet went viral quickly, garnering near universal support from Australians.[366][367][368][369]
In 2022, Cruz sharply criticized the Chinese government for its detention of Houston resident Mark Swidan, who has been held for over ten years. The United Nations and U.S. government consider Swidan wrongfully detained.[370]
Cruz was one of six Republican senators to vote against expanding the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which would allow the U.S. Justice Department to review hate crimes related to COVID-19 and establish an online database.[371][372]
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Cruz was a vocal critic of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed under President Obama in 2010. During the first year of Trump's presidency, Cruz sponsored legislation to repeal the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and was part of the group of 13 senators that drafted the unsuccessful 2017 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act replacement proposals of the AHCA.[373][374][375][376]
In 2013, Cruz voted against a bill to provide a package of federal aid to the Northern East Coast for recovery from Hurricane Sandy[377] because, he said, the bill was "filled with unrelated pork" and "two-thirds of that bill had nothing to do with Sandy". The Washington Post disputed this, writing that "the bill was largely aimed at dealing with Sandy, along with relatively minor items to address other or future disasters."[378] The New York Times wrote that "of 23 examples of extraneous spending that a spokesman for Mr. Cruz provided, all but one—$195 million in discretionary funds for the secretary of health and human services—were Sandy-related or sought to mitigate future storms, as the law required."[379]
In 2015, in the wake of severe flooding in Texas, Cruz supported federal aid funding; and in 2017, called for federal intervention as Hurricane Harvey approached the coast of Texas.[380]
Cruz took a "hard-line stance" on immigration issues during the 2014 border crisis[381] and opposes comprehensive immigration reform.[52][381] He advocates an increase from 65,000 to 325,000 annually in skilled foreign workers entering the United States using H-1B visas.[382] According to McClatchy, Cruz staked out "hard-right immigration stances" during his 2016 presidential campaign.[383]
Cruz opposes paths to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children (so-called DREAMers).[384] In February 2018, he was the sole senator to oppose a Republican motion to begin debate on legislation intended to resolve the question of what to do with DREAMers.[385] He has called for the repeal of the clause of the 14th amendment that grants citizenship to those born in the United States.[386] He defends the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents,[387][388] blaming the migrant parents for crossing the U.S. border to seek asylum and claiming that the Obama administration maintained a similar policy.[387][388]
In December 2020, Cruz blocked the Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act, which would give Hong Kongers refugee status, citing the threat of spying by China. He said the law was an attempt by Democrats "to advance their long-standing goals on changing immigration laws".[389]
During a May 2021 Senate Rules Committee hearing, Cruz falsely asserted that House Democrats had "designed" the For The People Act such that it "directs" people "to break the law and register millions of people to vote who are not eligible to vote because they are not United States citizens" and "automatically registers to vote anyone who interacts with the government" regardless of their immigration status. The bill repeatedly states only U.S. citizens would be permitted to register.[390]
In September 2024, Cruz tweeted an image macro of two cats hugging with captions that reiterated a false claim by Donald Trump that Haitian immigrants steal and eat American citizens' pets.[391][392] Twitter users condemned Cruz for perpetuating a racist hoax, with some citing his Cancún controversy to doubt the authenticity of his concern for the safety of Americans' pets.[393][394]
In March 2016, about seven months before the forthcoming presidential election, Cruz argued the Senate should not consider Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court on the grounds that "this should be a decision for the people. Let the election decide. If the Democrats want to replace this nominee, they need to win the election". In September 2020, less than two months before the next presidential election, Cruz supported an immediate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.[395]
During Donald Trump's presidency, Cruz and fellow Texas Senator John Cornyn contributed to the appointment of multiple conservative judges to federal courts with jurisdiction over Texas.[396][397][398][399]
Cruz has criticized the U.S. military for becoming "emasculated" by its recruiting efforts, comparing those efforts unfavorably to the Russian military's.[400][401] He accused Democratic politicians of trying to transform "the greatest military on earth" into "pansies".[400] He has claimed the military is debilitated and its "ability to project power and obtain air superiority is tragically anemic".[402] Blaming "bloated bureaucracy and social experiments", Cruz has proposed reducing the size of the active duty military while increasing spending.[403]
Cruz opposes net neutrality—which prevents Internet service providers from deliberately blocking or slowing particular websites—arguing that the Internet economy has flourished in the United States simply because it has remained largely free from government regulation.[404] He has argued that net neutrality is the "Obamacare for the internet".[405][406] Cruz said that the Obama-era implementation of the principle of net neutrality had the "end result" of "less broadband, less innovation, and less freedom for the American consumer".[406] In December 2017, after the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission repealed net neutrality, he mocked supporters of net neutrality as "snowflakes" who were misled by "online propaganda".[407]
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Cruz strongly denounced outsourcing American jobs to other countries, alleging that any politician who allowed it to happen was betraying their constituents. He pinned some of his blame on then-President Obama, saying that Obama had overseen outsourcing for the previous seven years. Cruz's denunciation of Obama was criticized by PolitiFact, which found that the modern pattern of American outsourcing, while prevalent during the Obama years, had started earlier.[408] During the campaign, one of Cruz's promises was to return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. His choice of running mate, Carly Fiorina, was met with pushback due to her record of outsourcing, but he defended her.[409] In 2022, Cruz voted against Bernie Sanders's proposed measure for the United States Innovation and Competition Act, which promised to fund semiconductor manufacturers amid a shortage of their products during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure would block semiconductor manufacturers funded by the bill from outsourcing their jobs and forbid them to dissuade their employees from forming unions.[410][411]
Cruz is strongly anti-abortion, but "would allow the procedure...when a pregnancy endangers the mother's life".[412][413] He is in favor of cutting federal funding to Planned Parenthood.[414]
Cruz opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions.[415] In 2013, he said he wanted marriage to be legally defined as only "between one man and one woman",[416] but also said that the legality of same-sex marriage should be left to each state to decide.[417] In 2015, after the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell ruled same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional, he called the decision "the very definition of tyranny",[418] accused the court of judicial activism, and said it was "among the darkest hours of our nation."[419] In 2017, the same day that an audio clip resurfaced of Alabama Judge Roy Moore calling Obergefell "worse" than the 1857 ruling that upheld slavery, Cruz endorsed Moore for U.S. Senate.[420] He reaffirmed his position in 2022 after comments by Justice Clarence Thomas.[421] While speaking to students at a summit for Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses, Cruz joked that his favored personal pronoun is "kiss my ass".[422]
In July 2022, Cruz issued a press release saying that he supported the repeal of the 1973 Texas anti-sodomy law, writing, "consenting adults should be able to do what they wish in their private sexual activity, and the government has no business in their bedrooms."[423][424]
Cruz compared the vandalism and destruction of monuments and memorials in the United States to the 2001 destruction of the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan by the Taliban.[425]
Cruz and Michael J. Knowles started a podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz, on January 21, 2020. The first episodes were summaries of the impeachment hearings of Donald Trump. After the hearings ended the podcast expanded its content to include other topics and interviews, including with Washington politicians such as U.S. Senators Tim Scott, Lindsey Graham, and Mike Lee, Trump administration officials including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and actors Jon Voight and Isaiah Washington.[426]
In October 2022, Verdict with Ted Cruz picked up corporate partner iHeartRadio. The podcast also expanded to three times a week and Ben Ferguson replaced Knowles as co-host.[427]
The title of the 2023 book references the term woke, which became prominent in American politics, and the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, a topic Cruz has also mentioned in his speeches.[428]
Cruz married Heidi Nelson on May 27, 2001.[429] The couple met when Cruz was working on George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. Heidi took leave from her position as head of the Southwest Region in the Investment Management Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 2016 to support Cruz's run for president.[430] She previously worked in the White House for Condoleezza Rice and in New York as an investment banker.[431] Cruz lives with his wife and their two children in River Oaks, Houston.[432][433]
Cruz has joked, "I'm Cuban, Irish, and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist."[434] He is fond of wearing cowboy boots, but he refrained from doing so when arguing before the Rehnquist court.[435]
As of 2018, according to OpenSecrets, Cruz's net worth was more than $3.1 million.[436]
On March 8, 2020, Cruz began self-isolation after contact with a person infected with COVID-19 at the ACU's Conservative Political Action Conference. Staying at his home in Texas,[437] he avoided contact with colleagues and constituents for 14 days. Cruz said he had been advised that the odds of contracting the virus were very low.[438]
In 2023, Cruz cameoed in The Daily Wire comedy film Lady Ballers.[439]
Steward is pretty sure the American conservative began life at the Foothills Medical Centre — a government-run, Canadian socialist hospital.
Bottom line: Despite being born in Canada, Cruz is a U.S. citizen because his mother was a U.S. citizen, according to constitutional experts.
Born in Matanzas, Cuba, he grew up in the Cuba middle class in the 1950s, as the son of an RCA salesman and an elementary-school teacher. As a teenager, he grew to detest the regime of Fulgencio Batista. He and some of his schoolmates frequently clashed with Batista's officials. Eventually, he linked up with Castro's guerrilla groups and supported their attempts to overthrow Batista. It's a decision he still regrets. His move toward Castro, he explains, was mostly due to his anger with Batista's government, which at one point imprisoned him and tortured him for his work with the revolutionaries. He says he never shared Castro's Communism, but at the time, it was the best way to fight Batista's oppression. By age 18, in 1957, he knew he needed to get out, and a friend essentially bribed an official to secure him an exit permit.
The ex-revolutionary pastor regularly stumps for his son, whom he's compared to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah – a relentless advocate with "fire in his bones." Ted, he says, is "not going to Washington to compromise"
Cruz, the father, and his wife, Eleanor Darragh, left the United States for a few years, living in Canada to take advantage of the oil boom.
7: He graduated from Houston's Second Baptist High School in 1988 and was valedictorian of his class.
Cruz was one of only two Hispanics when he transferred to Houston's Second Baptist School his junior year. He graduated valedictorian in 1988.
He graduated valedictorian of his high school in 1988, attended Princeton University for his undergraduate studies, and received his law degree from Harvard University.
The last time he spoke there, Cruz made no mention of his Ivy League degrees but recalled fondly his memories of Second Baptist High School in Houston, where he was valedictorian, and how his wife was the daughter and granddaughter of missionaries.
The valedictorian of his class at Houston's Second Baptist High School, Cruz went on to Princeton University.
By the time he was a senior at Princeton University in 1992, Ted Cruz had developed an arsenal of rhetorical skills and theatrical gestures that made him one of the most polished performers on the college debate circuit.
R. (Ted) Edward Cruz is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice and leads the firm's U.S. Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation Practice.
Furious, Boehner called it an invasion of privacy. He hired Cruz, who had recently served as a clerk for then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
We ended up year after year arguing some of the biggest cases in the country. There was a degree of serendipity in that, but there was also a concerted effort to seek out and lead conservative fights.
Under Texas law, the trial court lost all jurisdiction in the case 30 days after Green's lawsuit was dismissed, Toyota's appellate lawyer, Ted Cruz of Houston, told the Supreme Court in briefs.
Dewhurst enjoyed a huge financial advantage over Cruz. According to OpenSecrets, Dewhurst poured $11 million of his own personal fortune—he founded a successful energy company called Falcon Seaboard—into his campaign, spending a total of $19 million, as compared to Cruz's $7 million spent.
No politician had a greater impact on the past year than freshman U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cruz came from the Lone Star State not owing the D.C. political establishment anything, after he beat the chosen replacement for Kay Bailey Hutchison in an underfunded, grassroots driven Republican primary election.
The 28% who said they thought the election was "the result of illegal voting or election rigging" is up 12 points from four years ago.
Cruz will launch a presidential bid outright rather than form an exploratory committee, said senior advisers with direct knowledge of his plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made yet. They say he is done exploring and is now ready to become the first Republican presidential candidate.
The first-term senator won 8 million votes, 600 delegates and 12 states. He raised nearly $92 million — a record for a GOP primary candidate, much of it from small online donors. He ran by far the best ground operation of any GOP campaign this year, with more than 325,000 volunteers flocking to Cruz's call for a grass-roots Republican renewal.
Cruz's victory sets him up as a formidable force in delegate-rich, Southern states to come and offers movement conservatives hope that one of their own can become the Republican nominee for the first time since Ronald Reagan.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Cruz, came away with 1,239,158 votes, or 43.8% of the total. Donald Trump followed behind with 757,489 votes, or 26.7% of the vote. Cruz, one of the state's two U.S. senators, got the most votes in all but six of the state's 254 counties.
Senator Ted Cruz scored a hard-fought and decisive win in the Kansas caucuses on Saturday, demonstrating his enduring appeal among conservatives as he tries to reel in Donald J. Trump's significant lead in the Republican presidential race.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday night won the Idaho GOP presidential primary while placing second in three other states, continuing to demonstrate viability against frontrunner Donald Trump.
With all votes counted, Texas Senator Cruz won 66.3 percent of the ballots in the western state, far ahead of his nearest rival, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who earned 19.5 percent of the vote.
Alberta-born Sen. Ted Cruz has given up his Canadian dual citizenship. The renunciation became official on May 14, roughly 9 months after he learned he wasn't only an American.
Further defending his RNC speech, in which declined to endorse the party's nominee, Ted Cruz said Trump knew the contents of his speech before its delivery, including the absence of an endorsement. "He didn't ask me to endorse, and indeed, three days ago I talked on the phone with him and told him, 'I'm not going to endorse you,'" Cruz said.
President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating Texas Senator Ted Cruz to serve as U.S. attorney general, according to a person familiar with the matter. Cruz, 45, was at Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday.
Robert Mercer, the reclusive conspiracy-minded billionaire who spent millions to help both men - and who is closely tied to Donald Trump and the alt-right.
The scientific evidence doesn't support global warming. For the last 18 years, the satellite data – we have satellites that monitor the atmosphere. The satellites that actually measure the temperature showed no significant warming whatsoever.
A local official said there was "absolutely no evidence" that Haitian migrants have stolen and eaten pets, an outlandish claim amplified by the Trump campaign on Monday.
Senator Ted Cruz really thought he did something with this one.
"You know you're officially a loser when you're running for office and you're posting false information and memes," one person noted.
"I'm Ted Cruz and my pronoun is KISS MY ASS"
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