Sen. Ted Cruz criticized Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for making his “worst” mistake by supporting the bipartisan border bill and called for him to step down.
“Look, I think it is well past time. I think there have been a lot of enormous mistakes. But this mistake was the worst,” Mr. Cruz told Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney Thursday. “And throughout this battle, he goes out, and what he is saying is benefiting [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Democrats.”
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the bill after they said they would support more aid for Ukraine and Israel only if it was tied to securing the border. Mr. McConnell was on board with the bill until it became clear its provisions of letting in at least 4,000 illegal immigrants a day would die in the House.
Mr. Cruz said the bipartisan bill aimed to “give political camouflage to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats,” which he called a “grave mistake.”
The Texas Republican argued that Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, never intended to secure the border.
“The reason he did it is Schumer wanted this to fail. Why? Because every single Democrat running for office, every Democrat Senate candidate, every Democrat House candidate is now out saying, ‘Gosh, I wanted to secure the border, but the mean old Republicans wouldn’t let us.’ And that was spectacularly stupid.”
He added, “Mitch McConnell is saying the exact same thing that Chuck Schumer is. I think that is malpractice for the leader of a party in the Senate.”
Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, responded to Mr. Cruz’s calls for him to step down by saying Tuesday, “I think we can all agree Senator Cruz is not a fan.”
Mr. Cruz said he won’t vote yes on any standalone Ukraine aid bills until the illegal immigration flood is plugged.
“My view is, it is important that Russia lose. It is important that Putin lose,” he said. “It is more important that we secure our own border and defend our nation. And so my position has been I am more than willing to fund aid to Ukraine. I voted for every military aid fund bill for Ukraine so far, but I will fund aid to Ukraine after we secure our own border. We will secure Ukraine’s border only after America’s border is secured.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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