'Taking a lot of ribbing': Ted Cruz now the butt of senators’ jokes amid FAA bill markup

09 May 2024

Senate Republicans have put Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in charge of negotiations for a must-pass bill to authorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and lawmakers are getting their licks in on Texas' junior senator.

The Hill reported Thursday that as the FAA bill gradually progresses closer to passage in order to fully fund the agency through fiscal year 2025, senators who for years have been frustrated by Cruz's obstructive nature are mocking Cruz to his face during negotiations. Others are doing as Cruz has done for other must-pass bills and bogging it down with unrelated amendments

"Let’s just say he’s taking a lot of ribbing right now in there," Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) told the Hill. "Of course, he’s making a pitch that this is different than all the other times when he’s insisted on having amendment votes, because this one was much more transparent. … People are slightly amused by his compliance."

“A lot of times, it’s [been] him," an unnamed Senate Republican said, referring to unrelated amendments. "So he’s getting a little bit of his own medicine... it's a little humorous."

Cruz still hasn't slowed down in his efforts to sneak amendments into the FAA authorization bill, however. Sawyer Hackett, who is a senior advisor to former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, tweeted that The Texas Republican tried and failed to add an amendment concerning refunds for cancelled flights into the legislation that came directly from the airline industry.

That language would have required customers request a refund, whereas a rule instituted by President Joe Biden would have made refunds automatic. But Democrats — who control the U.S. Senate — managed to permanently codify Biden's rule in an amendment that passed with a majority vote.

Hackett further reported that a separate amendment Cruz tried to insert that guaranteed a private security for lawmakers traveling through U.S. airports also failed. The Texas senator notably tried to add the amendment several years after being publicly embarrassed in an airport on his way to a vacation resort in Cancun, Mexico while his constituents were dealing with record power outages amid a punishing winter freeze. That amendment was eventually stripped from the bill in late April after it came to light.

Cruz, who is running for a third term this November, has been attempting to cast himself as a bipartisan dealmaker who delivers for constituents. The Hill reported that Cruz is particularly proud of adding language into the FAA bill that provides for direct flights between San Antonio, Texas and the Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington, DC.

Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), the former NFL player-turned-congressman who is Cruz's Democratic opponent in the general election, has cast doubt on his rival's rebranding effort, saying last week that "Ted Cruz isn't fooling anyone." Allred has spent his campaign depicting Cruz as a far-right extremist who has neglected the needs of Texans, and who is in opposition to bipartisan deals like the recent immigration and border security bill that failed to pass the Senate.

"Let’s be honest: Ted Cruz will never be part of comprehensive immigration reform," Allred said.

Click here to read the Hill's full report.

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