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and commerce moving south from the United States,” he said. “They’re hundreds of billions of dollars flowing both ways.” Cruz forged a bipartisan coali-


tion including Texas Democrat Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez Jr. They wrote to Secre- tary of State Antony Blinken de- manding he expedite the build- ing of cross-border bridges. He subsequently introduced


legislation to expedite the bridg- es. In July, it passed on a biparti- san vote. The impact of this legisla-


tion, Cruz said, “will be tens of thousands of new jobs for South Texas, billions of dollars and trade and commerce for Texas farmers, Texas ranchers, Texas manufacturers, and Texas small businesses. “It also benefits consumers


all across the country. When you go to the grocery store and you buy groceries, when you go to Home Depot or the department store, and you buy goods for your home, a significant part of the


cost you pay is for transportation. “By speeding up transporta-


tion, you will lower the cost that consumers pay nationwide.” Cruz appears to relish the


prospect of another no-holds- barred battle for reelection to the Senate. “My last reelection campaign


in 2018 was, at the time, the most expensive Senate race in U.S. his- tory,” he recalled of his celebrated contest with Democrat Rep. Rob- ert “Beto” O’Rourke.


Falling Out With a Father Figure


B


ack in September 2005, Ted Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas


and in Washington for the funeral of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, for whom he had served as a clerk from 1996 to 1997. Cruz made it clear at the time that he


strongly favored U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig, who embraced a strict interpretation of the Constitution and was someone Cruz had also clerked for, to get the job that would subsequently go to John Roberts. These days, Cruz and Luttig, a man he


describes as a father figure, are at odds over Donald Trump. Luttig, long retired from the bench and


in private practice, is a vocal critic of the former president and his claims that the


58 NEWSMAX | SEPTEMBER 2023


2020 election was stolen. He testified


before Congress last year that Trump and his supporters “are a clear and present danger to American democracy.” More recently,


he wrote a blistering opinion piece in The New York Times calling the Republican Party base “spineless” for continuing to support the former president and said that if it continues to do so, “then it is beyond saving itself. Nor ought it to be saved.”


So what does Cruz think now about the man he wanted to be chief justice? “Judge Luttig was like a father to me,


and I continue to respect him,” Cruz says. “I disagree with some of the decisions he’s made in recent years.” — J.G.


BUILDING BRIDGES While the border crisis has spiraled out of control under the Biden admin- istration, Cruz has led a bipartisan program to build more cross-border bridges to speed up legal cross- ings. It will create thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in trade, says Cruz.


“We were outraised and out-


spent 3 to 1. And the effect of all that cash that Democrats flooded into the state was to more than double Democrat turnout from 1.8 million all the way up to 4 million. “We saw that, and we leaned


in hard. We drove Republican turnout from 2.8 million, up to 4.2 million. “I won by 200,000 votes out of


more than 8 million votes cast.” Indications are that 2024 will be a nail-biting replay.


VIA TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN / LAREDO/RANDY FARIS/GETTY IMAGES / GARY CORONADO / OVER THE FENCE/LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGESMARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES


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