Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on Sunday that he is blocking some of President Joe Biden’s nominees from being confirmed in the Senate because Biden is weak in dealing with America’s enemies.
When asked by CBS “Face The Nation” host Margaret Brennan if he was playing politics with national security, Cruz responded, “Well, actually quite the opposite, I’m trying to get President Biden to stop acquiescing and surrendering to our enemies.”
“In China, I introduced an amendment to say that we should not purchase any green vehicles or solar panels made with slave labor in communist China in concentration camps. Every Democrat but Joe Manchin voted against it,” Cruz said. “On Russia, one of the first things Joe Biden did was surrender to Vladimir Putin on Nord Stream two. He gave Putin a multi-billion-dollar pipeline, a pipeline that we had stopped. I had authored bipartisan sanctions legislation. Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly supported my legislation, and we killed that pipeline dead. Joe Biden came in and surrendered. It is, Margaret, I believe, a generational geopolitical mistake. If this pipeline is allowed to go online, it will give billions of dollars to Russia. They will use it for military aggression against America and our allies. It will undermine European security, American security, and it enriches Russia. And Biden simply surrendered to Putin. That was a mistake.”
“And so I place the hold on these nominees in order to try to pressure Biden to follow the law,” Cruz continued. “I’ll lift it when he follows the law. And in fact, I’ve suggested a simple, reasonable compromise which, as I’ve said, I will lift many of the holds if he simply triggers under a law called CAATSA, which is a Russian sanctions law passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. Under CAATSA, he could list Nord Stream 2 AG, which is the umbrella company for Nord Stream, and then delist it. That would solve his political objective of surrendering to Putin, but it would trigger an automatic congressional override veto. I’ve said if they trigger the override veto, the vote, then I’ll lift the hold. But the reason Biden doesn’t want to do that is he knows, he fears he will lose the vote in Congress because his policy of surrendering to Russia is indefensible.”
WATCH:
TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED VIA CBS NEWS:
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about your blocking a number of President Biden’s nominees to national security posts. The White House said it’s an unprecedented effort of obstruction. Sen. Murphy said, “talking to you it’s like dealing with a terrorist.” Aren’t you playing politics with national security?
SEN. CRUZ: Well, actually quite the opposite, I’m trying to get President Biden to stop acquiescing and surrendering to our enemies. In China, I introduced an amendment to say that we should not purchase any green vehicles or solar panels made with slave labor in communist China in concentration camps. Every Democrat but Joe Manchin voted against it. On Russia, one of the first things Joe Biden did was surrender to Vladimir Putin on Nord Stream two. He gave Putin a multi-billion-dollar pipeline, a pipeline that we had stopped. I had authored bipartisan sanctions legislation. Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly supported my legislation, and we killed that pipeline dead. Joe Biden came in and surrendered. It is Margaret, I believe, a generational geopolitical mistake. If this pipeline is allowed to go online, it will give billions of dollars to Russia. They will use it for military aggression against America and our allies. It will undermine European security, American security, and it enriches Russia. And Biden simply surrendered to Putin. That was a mistake. And so I place the hold on these nominees in order to try to pressure Biden to follow the law–
MARGARET BRENNAN: When will you lift it?
SEN. CRUZ: –to follow the law. I’ll lift it when he follows the law. And in fact, I’ve suggested a simple, reasonable compromise which, as I’ve said, I will lift many of the holds if he simply triggers under a law called CAATSA, which is a Russian sanctions law passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. Under CAATSA, he could list Nord Stream 2 AG, which is the umbrella company for Nord Stream, and then delist it. That would solve his political objective of surrendering to Putin, but it would trigger an automatic congressional override veto. I’ve said if they trigger the override veto, the vote, then I’ll lift the hold. But the reason Biden doesn’t want to do that is he knows, he fears he will lose the vote in Congress because his policy of surrendering to Russia is indefensible.