On Monday, March 1, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas voted against confirming Biden Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland while in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Cruz cited Garland's supposed refusal to answer questions or meet with Senators.
Democratic Committee chair Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois quickly put Cruz in his place, however, pointing out Garland was more than willing to meet with Senators over Zoom and had answered over 800 questions submitted in writing.
You can see Cruz caught in his lies here:
Ted Cruz in 2021: “[Merrick] Garland is…refusing to take in-person meetings with senators.” (Durbin notes Garland… https://t.co/6vfo3eoa4M— JM Rieger (@JM Rieger) 1614627041.0
Republicans falsely claim that Judge Garland refused to answer all of their questions, but were ok with Judge Barre… https://t.co/Owmh031NQo— Senate Judiciary Committee (@Senate Judiciary Committee) 1614626678.0
Cruz joined six other Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee in voting against Garland's nomination.
New: Senate Judiciary has voted to send AG nomination of Merrick Garland to the full Senate for a vote Vote was 1… https://t.co/EZew6yGGid— Jim Sciutto (@Jim Sciutto) 1614623972.0
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says now that he’s not happy that Merrick Garland wouldn’t meet to discuss nomination for… https://t.co/6qxxJpKoCH— Hugo Lowell (@Hugo Lowell) 1614627438.0
During the hearing, Cruz blatantly lied, saying:
"Not only did he refuse to answer questions at the hearing. Not only did he refuse to answer questions for the record, but Judge Garland is also one of the few Biden Cabinet nominees refusing to take in-person meetings with Senators—categorically refusing to take them. Multiple other Biden nominees are taking them."
Hey @tedcruz, maybe Merrick Garland didn’t want an in-person meeting because you just took two international flight… https://t.co/1tkPQ1eD2E— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1614635638.0
Many people online pointed out Garland was likely making a wise choice by avoiding an in-person meeting with Cruz, who recently flew out of the country to Cancun.
Ted Cruz, the guy who escaped to Mexico so that he could “work remotely,” is upset that he was offered a remote mee… https://t.co/0b1iDrzQYw— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1614624930.0
A Senator that deserted his people shouldn’t have a say on, well, really anything. https://t.co/Q1huvxtnUK— Mikey Kay (@Mikey Kay) 1614629326.0
Twitter has also learned to take all of Cruz's claims with a pretty hefty grain of salt.
To answer a question the questioner has to be listening. Ted Cruz wasn’t listening....at least to Merrick Garland https://t.co/VJgZwe7ISi— Ed Sweeney (@Ed Sweeney) 1614692249.0
@briantylercohen @LadyTitania46 @tedcruz Or Garland is smart and wanted the Zoom call so it could be recorded meani… https://t.co/0kf9dwV4ge— What's Up Doc? 🏳️🌈 (@What's Up Doc? 🏳️🌈) 1614690141.0
Cruz would go on to falsely claim "on question after question after question Judge Garland refused to answer virtually anything."
Fortunately, Dick Durbin was able to fact-check the Texas Senator in real-time, pointing out Garland answered over 100 questions specifically from Cruz.
There were some online who suspected Cruz opposed Garland's nomination because the incoming Attorney General promised to investigate the instigators of the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
I can't imagine why @tedcruz and @HawleyMO voted against confirming Merrick Garland as AG after Garland said he wou… https://t.co/rFBCZUxr0L— Mueller, She Wrote (@Mueller, She Wrote) 1614628996.0
@tedcruz Am I alone in getting the sense that Ted Cruz is terrified by Merrick Garland?— Jenny (@Jenny) 1614629186.0
Cruz's recent controversies sadly haven't taught him the value of being honest in a public setting, despite the double-digit drop in his approval rating.
He likely hopes casting Merrick Garland as a liberal bogeyman will help him get back into his constituents' good graces.