In a new section from his biography, Texas Senator Ted Cruz remembered contemplating whether to vote against President Joe Biden’s election triumph.
On January 6, 2017, as supporters of Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol, Texas Senator Ted Cruz was in a supply closet asking his colleagues to reverse President Joe Biden’s 2020 triumph.
In an upcoming autobiography, the Texas Republican made these revelations. On Monday, Newsweek published an excerpt.
Cruz, a former opponent of Trump’s in the 2016 presidential primaries, was among the first sitting senators to support his booming campaign. In addition, he was one of six Republican senators who voted to reject the results of the 2020 election.
Cruz initially learned that the ex-supporters president’s had breached the Capitol when lawmakers in both chambers were confirming Biden’s victory.
The Texas senator stated, “Toward the close of our two-hour session, as Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma was speaking, there was a ruckus from outside the [Senate] chamber.”
Cruz reported that Vice President Mike Pence was then ‘hurriedly taken’ out before the bipartisan session was terminated entirely.
In the haze of the turmoil, it was difficult to discern precisely what was occurring. We were notified that a disturbance had erupted and that protesters were attempting to violently enter the Capitol building,’ he wrote.
Capitol Police initially asked us to remain on the Senate floor. And so we did. Then, a few minutes later, we were told to evacuate immediately.’
Some of his coworkers “explicitly blamed us for the violence that was unfolding” in the location they evacuated to, according to his account.
Cruz writes, “While we waited for Capitol Hill to be secured, I gathered our coalition in a back room (really a supply closet with stacked chairs) to discuss our next steps.” ‘Several group members urged that, in light of the riot, we should drop our objections and vote to certify the election. I appreciated the sentiment
During the most recent hearing of the House January 6 Committee, the panel aired a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attempting to coordinate security efforts from an undisclosed location, giving the public a sense of the high-pressure conditions under which lawmakers were operating.
But as Pelosi was calling officials at the Pentagon and local governors for assistance, it appears that Cruz and other Trump supporters were meeting in a’supply closet with stacked chairs’ to plot their next move.
Cruz writes, “While we waited for Capitol Hill to be secured, I gathered our coalition in a back room (really a supply closet with stacked chairs) to discuss our next steps.”
‘Several group members urged that, in light of the riot, we should drop our objections and vote to certify the election. I comprehended the sentiment.
The Texas Republican, though, adamantly opposed Biden’s victory being recognized.
In his memoir, he noted, “I urged my colleagues that the course of action we were suggesting was the appropriate and principled one.”
The video released by the committee on January 6 shows legislators receiving permission to return to the Capitol from then-Vice President Mike Pence.
He ultimately voted against certifying the election and defended his position during a Monday appearance on ABC’s The View.
Cruz linked Republican claims of electoral fraud with Democrat concerns about ballot accessibility.
Schumer and Pelosi are seen standing next to a phone on which Pence can be heard stating that they will return in approximately one hour.
“Good news,” remarked Schumer. Pelosi added, “Many thanks for the good news, Mr. Vice President.”
Cruz voted against certifying the 2020 election that evening.
During a Monday interview on The View, he defended the vote by comparing Republican opposition to the 2020 vote to Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams’ refusal to accept the outcomes of their respective elections.
Cruz decried the widespread racial protests that followed the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in 2020 when pressed about the fact that neither candidate had incited a mob to march on the Capitol.
When a Republican is in front of a television camera, many members of the media attempt to assert that the election was fair and legitimate. Do you know who you do not treat this way? It was not Hillary Clinton who stated, “Trump stole the election,” on the podium. Or Stacey Abrams, who claimed that the election was stolen,’ stated Cruz.
In addition, he criticized the House select committee examining the events of January 6 as a ‘kangaroo circus.’