Sen. Cornyn Takes Veiled Swipe at Cruz over Loretta Lynch Vote Absence
Senator Ted Cruz was one of the most vocal Republicans in opposing the confirmation of Loretta Lynch to be the next attorney general. He even delivered a fairly strong speech on the Senate floor on the matter, but when Lynch was finally confirmed this week, Cruz was the sole senator who didn’t cast a vote.
This was in spite of a previous interview Cruz gave saying his vote on Lynch would be “unambiguously no.” (Cruz skipped the final vote for a fundraiser.)
A Cruz spokesperson said he voted no on the cloture vote and “that was the vote that mattered.”
Well, that’s not exactly how his fellow Texas Republican senator sees it. John Cornyn very noticeably subtweeted Cruz this morning:
FYI: Cloture ends debate only. It does not confirm a nominee. Otherwise a subsequent vote on whether to confirm a nominee is meaningless.
— JohnCornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 25, 2015
Amanda Carpenter, Cruz’s communications director, responded indirectly to complaints from Cornyn and others:
Since I've been offline I see there has been cont'd debate on Lynch. 20 R's who voted yes for cloture paved way for her confirmation. Simple
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 25, 2015
It's for them to explain why they would vote to shut off debate and allow her to be confirmed. Cruz said to stop her at every step
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 25, 2015
Cruz said the Republicans should stop her in committee. They didn't.
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 25, 2015
Cruz said GOP leadership should not bring her to the floor. They did.
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 25, 2015
Cruz said R's should not vote to cut off debate and go to a final vote. 20 R's did. Leadership wanted her to be confirmed. It's that simple
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 25, 2015
After 20 Republicans joined with Democrats to give green light to the final vote, which needed only 51 votes, it was over folks.
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 25, 2015
If leadership could hold up vote for leverage on legislation they could have stopped it to, you know, support the Constitution. They didn't
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 25, 2015
[h/t The Hill]
[image via Gage Skidmore]
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