The surprising breach in standard Senate protocol and etiquette comes as Cruz is trying to get a higher profile in a hotly contested presidential race.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) blasted the leader of his own party in a speech on the floor of the Senate, surprising many in the process over such a rare violation of protocol.
Cruz, who is currently trying to get the GOP nomination for president in 2016 and faces an uphill battle in a crowded race, accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) of lying to him, other lawmakers, and the press, and that he was not a trustworthy individual, according to a Guardian report.
Cruz’s surprising move may be a bid to boost his reputation as a hard-charging, maverick conservative who isn’t afraid to take on the status quo — even those in his own party. He is a representative of the “Tea Party” branch of the GOP, which has pushed hard for drastic cuts in government spending and is a faction that often clashes with other Republicans, as they are often much less willing to compromise.
At issue was the federal Export-Import bank, an agency not widely known outside the beltway but one that conservatives want to see shuttered. Cruz said McConnell had promised him he wouldn’t allow a vote on renewing the bank, only to do so not long before Cruz made his remarks.
In his address, Cruz said it “saddens” him to say that McConnell had lied not only to him, but other Republicans and even the press, calling what he said to Cruz “a flat-out lie.”
McConnell, who wasn’t on the floor at the time of Cruz’s remarks, declined to answer questions from reporters, as did a spokesman later on.
