Ted Cruz: ‘I Can’t Control’ Feinstein’s Reaction In Gun Hearing

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In an interview with The Dallas Morning News published Sunday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said his commitment to the Constitution led him to vigorously question earlier this month an assault weapons ban put forward by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). 

At a testy hearing, Feinstein snapped back at Cruz, telling the Texas Republican, “It’s fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I’ve been here for a long time. I’ve passed on a number of bills. I’ve studied the Constitution myself. I am reasonably well educated, and I thank you for the lecture.”

Asked whether, in hindsight, he would have taken a different a tack, Cruz told the Morning News, “I can’t control her reaction.” 

“It seems to me that for too long, questions about the constitutionality of what Congress is doing have not even been considered in the U.S. Senate,” Cruz continued. “One of the most common questions that I’ve heard from Texans all over the state is, Why don’t politicians in Washington follow the Constitution? And on a day to day basis, a great many Democrats and even some Republicans don’t even ask, where in the Constitution do we get the authority for some particular piece of legislation? … One of the principle responsibilities that I take most seriously in this position is the responsibility to respectfully but forcibly raise serious questions about the constitutionality of legislation before this body.”

Correction: The original headline on this piece incorrectly referred to Sen. Feinstein as Sen. McCaskill.

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