Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the Senate will not weigh in on the constitutionality of Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) presidential run during an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
“I don’t think the Senate ought to get in the middle of it,” McConnell told host George Stephanopoulous.
Cruz, who was born to a Cuban father and an American mother in Canada, has faced recent questions about his legal ability to run for President. The most vocal critic of the freshman senator’s eligibility comes from rival Donald Trump, who called the issue “a very precarious one for Republicans.” Since then Cruz has seen numerous politicians support his eligibility, including fellow presidential candidate Jeb Bush and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
In 2008, according to The Hill, the upper chamber issued a resolution asserting the eligibility of then-Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who was born to American parents at a military base in Panama.
When pressed about the 2008 edict, McConnell remained steadfast.
“I just don’t think the Senate ought to get into the middle of this,” he said. “These guys are all slugging it out in Iowa and New Hampshire. We’ll have a nominee hopefully by sometime in the spring.”
