Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is turning on his leadership after a combatant 72 hours following the release of the Senate’s bipartisan border bill. On Tuesday, he said that it’s time for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to step down from his role.
This isn’t the first time that Cruz went against McConnell, as he was one of 10 Republican senators to vote against the Kentucky Republican in his reelection as Senate minority leader after the 2022 election.
During a press conference, Cruz was asked if it was time for McConnell “to go” after the House and other top Republicans, like former President Donald Trump, criticized the immigration legislation that the elder Republican had signed off on.
“I think it is,” Cruz responded.
Cruz was joined at the conference by Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Erix Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and JD Vance (R-OH).
“Everyone here also supported the leadership challenge to Mitch McConnell in November [2022,]” Cruz said before adding, “I think a Republican leader should actually lead this conference and should advance the priorities of Republicans.”
Cruz went on to explain once again why he was critical of McConnell after the 2022 election and why he will continue to be.
“We lost a seat in the Senate, and we barely got a majority in the House,” Cruz said. “And I stood up and said in any ordinary organization when you’re faced with failure — if you’re running a business and you lose $50 million — you don’t just say, ‘Everything’s great, let’s keep doing it.’ No, you sit down and say, ‘What are we doing wrong?’”
McConnell was later asked about the remarks from Cruz, to which he said he wasn’t shocked that the Texan was criticizing him once again.
“I think we can all agree that Sen. Cruz is not a fan,” McConnell said.
When it comes to the border bill that received McConnell’s support but has since been declared dead on arrival in the House, Cruz said it was “designed to lose.”