Description | Rafael Edward Cruz (/kruːz/; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator for Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008. In the Senate, Cruz has taken consistently conservative positions on economic and social policy; he played a leading role in the 2013 United States federal government shutdown, seeking to force Congress and President Barack Obama to defund the Affordable Care Act. He was reelected in an unusually close Senate race in 2018 against Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke. In January 2021, Cruz provoked a widespread political and popular backlash after filing objections to the certification of Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election; he was criticized for giving credence to the baseless conspiracy theory that the election was stolen from Trump. After a violent mob of Trump supporters, motivated by the beliefs Cruz and others promoted, stormed the United States Capitol, figures from across the political spectrum condemned him and argued that he bore responsibility for the riot. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz... |