Senate leadership, led by Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and James Lankford (R-KY), recently revealed a border agreement that sparked much controversy, especially in the Republican Party. A few GOP figures showed their disapproval of the legislation and its authors, most notably Ted Cruz (R-TX).
The Texas senator participated in a press conference with some colleagues and took the opportunity to remember that “the Border Bill is terrible.” However, he communicated the “good news” that the text was “dead” before its arrival in the Upper House.
Minutes later, he was asked about Leader McConnell’s leadership, specifically whether it was time for it to end. “I think it is,” Cruz replied without hesitation, defending his answer.
.@LeaderMcConnell: "We can all agree that Senator Cruz is not a fan."
Sen. Ted Cruz, pointing to what he called the mismanagement of a border security and Ukraine funding package, said Tuesday it’s time for Sen. Mitch McConnell to step down as the Senate GOP leader.
Cruz was… pic.twitter.com/xLQqhZJ7uj
— The Hill (@thehill) February 6, 2024
“Everyone here also supported the leadership challenge to Mitch McConnell in November (2022),” he indicated, with Rick Scott (R-FL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Johnson (R-WI), JD Vance (R -OH), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) at his side.
“We lost a seat in the Senate and we barely got a majority in the House. 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?’” Cruz added.
My views on the border bill have not been ambiguous.
The good news: This bill is dead on arrival.
The border bill is just terrible. pic.twitter.com/I6DaN9YExQ
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) February 6, 2024
McConnell arrived in the Senate in January 1985 and gradually began to climb up the party ranks. He was first chairman of the Rules Committee, then became majority whip under Bill Frist, whom he subsequently succeeded as majority leader in 2007. Since then, he has been minority leader during ten years and majority leader for six years. The last attempt to overthrow him was at the end of 2022, and it was Rick Scott who unsuccessfully sought to take his place.
The strongest doubts over his position began after the 2022 midterm elections, when the GOP lost a seat in the Senate despite Joe Biden’s unpopularity at the national level. Some conservatives considered that McConnell did not help some candidates as he should have because they did not share the same views.
Cruz concluded by saying that his colleague is not representing the party’s interests, giving the aforementioned border agreement as an example. “I think a Republican leader should actually lead this conference and should advance the priorities of Republicans,” Cruz said.
