After using the Senate floor to deliver a speech filled with blatant lies, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) voted with many of his Republican colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee against confirming Judge Merrick Garland to be the next Attorney General. But his claims were easily smacked down by Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), who didn’t hold back in his response.
“Not only did he refuse to answer questions at the hearing,” Senator Cruz falsely claimed in a rant designed for the Fox News and OANN viewers. “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,” he added.
Cruz then stretched his falsehood claiming Judge Garland “essentially refused to answer all questions,” and saying, “on question after question after question Judge Garland refused to answer virtually anything.”
Judge Garland, who is 68, decided he did not want to risk in-person meetings during the pandemic. He offered to meet via Zoom, as Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin later explained to Cruz, noting that Cruz refused to meet on Zoom with him. Every Republican in the U.S. Senate in 2016 refused to meet with Garland when he was a Supreme Court nominee.
“If he’s not willing to answer questions, now, before he’s confirmed, the likelihood of his being willing to answer questions after he was confirmed is only smaller on the response to the questions,” Cruz went on to say.
Chairman Durbin fired back, reminding Cruz that Republicans sent Garland in writing nearly 850 questions, including 127 from Cruz. Garland answered them all.
In the end, the Judiciary Committee voted to 15-7. send the nomination of Merrick Garland for Attorney General to the full Senate for a vote.
Watch:
Ted Cruz in 2021:
“[Merrick] Garland is…refusing to take in-person meetings with senators.”
(Durbin notes Garland offered to meet via Zoom)
Ted Cruz in 2016:
There is “precedent” for blocking Garland’s nomination even after the 2016 election.https://t.co/JlzTWDrDa8 pic.twitter.com/NvMdd4GpYD
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) March 1, 2021
