President Donald Trump on Friday floated the idea of putting Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on the Supreme Court, joking he is the only nominee who would receive “100% of the Democrat vote, 100% of the Republican vote” because lawmakers would want to “get him out” of Congress.
Trump made the comments after Cruz and other lawmakers traveled with the president to make remarks on energy in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“We have a senator who’s really an amazing guy,” Trump said during the outdoor engagement at the Port of Corpus Christi. “I’m thinking about putting him in the Supreme Court. … Getting these nominations through is very tough, and he’s the only guy I know who’ll get 100% of the Democrat vote, 100% of the Republican vote. They want to get him out of there.
“He is such a pain in the a–, but he’s so good and so talented,” the president continued. “If we ever had a problem, I just pick Ted. That would solve that problem. … He’s a great guy, and he’s a very talented guy too — smart.”
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Cruz, who earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, argued eight cases before the Supreme Court as solicitor general of Texas before returning to private practice, where he argued his ninth before the highest court.
At the time of Cruz’s 2012 Senate run, he had tried the most Supreme Court cases of any practicing lawyer in Texas or any member of Congress, according to The Texas Tribune.
He was sworn into the Senate in 2013, where he has advocated for limited government, economic growth and national security.
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Cruz ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 election cycle but failed to match Trump’s popularity. He suspended his campaign May 3, 2016, after losing the Indiana primary.
During Trump’s remarks in Corpus Christi, he also briefly addressed ongoing talks with Iran, saying the U.S. faces a “very big decision” on whether to strike the country, an option the president said he ran by Cruz and other lawmakers who joined him Friday.
“We’ve got a lot of things going on now. We have a big decision to make. … Not easy,” Trump said. “We have a country that’s been, for 47 years, blowing people’s legs off, arms off … killing people, lots of people. Not only Americans. … They want to make a deal, but we’ve got to make a deal that’s meaningful. I spoke with Ted Cruz, John, all of them on the way here.
“We hit them real hard, as you know, with those beautiful B-2 bombers — recently knocked out their nuclear capability,” he continued. “I’d rather do it the peaceful way, but they’re very difficult people. I want to tell you that they’re very dangerous people, very difficult people.”
Trump told reporters earlier Friday he had not yet decided if he would launch military strikes on Iran, but he voiced his unhappiness with recent negotiations.
