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Cruzin’ for a Shutdown? Not with Texas Money on the Line
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) famously worked to shut down the federal government in 2013 in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to force Congress to defund the Affordable Care Act.
A year before Cruz also opposed a large federal aid package to help northeastern states recover from Superstorm Sandy, saying the emergency measure was laden with unrelated ``pork.”
But in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey – which dumped more than four feet of water on Texas in only a few days – Cruz told reporters he’s now actively working with the Texas congressional delegation to get billions of dollars in aid for his home state.
Cruz dismissed as ``political insults” reminders that he and others in the delegation withheld support for the Sandy supplemental spending bill pushed by New York and New Jersey lawmakers. He spoke to reporters at Houston’s convention center where 11,000 people took shelter amid widespread flooding.
``I wish all of us were focused on providing the help and relief to people facing a natural disaster,” Cruz said when reminded of his previous stance.
Rather than oppose funding, ``my focus has been on trying to bring together federal and state and local assets to save and preserve lives,” Cruz said.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) earlier said he won’t abandon Texas ``the way Ted Cruz did New York.” King followed that missive up on Twitter by saying he has ``great admiration” for the people of Texas.
``Congress must get aid to them ASAP,” King tweeted.