Cummings: Cruz ‘Got An Earful’ From Dems On Way To South Africa

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) turns after talking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013, in Washington.
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Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said Tuesday that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “got an earful” from Democratic members of a Congressional delegation attending Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in South Africa.

“I know he got an earful for 20 hours out and he’s going to get another earful for 20 hours on the way back,” Cummings told the Baltimore Sun about the trip with Cruz.

Cummings said that Democrats had a polite conversation with the conservative firebrand.

“He got an earful from many of us — I mean it was a very good conversation, nothing negative,” he said. “I just reminded him that I’m concerned about the many people in my state and his state who have no health insurance.”

Cruz is one of only two Republicans in the Congressional delegation that’s largely made up of members of the Congrssional Black Caucus. Cummings, a civil rights advocate, and the rest of the CBC have pushed keep voter ID laws at bay after the Supreme Court overturned Section 4 of the Voting Righs Act, a decision Cruz supported.

Cummings also told the Baltimore Sun that he thinks Cruz is going to make a 2016 bid.

“It’s clear to me he’s running for president — I don’t have any doubt about it,” he said.

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