On the Senate floor Friday, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) made what AP is calling a "stunning, public attack" on Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whom he accused of lying to fellow Republicans.
Cruz delivered his rebuke of McConnell on the Senate floor right after the majority leader lined up a vote for the renewal of the Export-Import Bank, something Cruz said McConnell had assured fellow Republicans that he would not do.
"Not only what he told every Republican senator, but what he told the press over and over and over again, was a simple lie," Cruz said.
"It saddens me to say this. I sat in my office, I told my staff the majority leader looked me in the eye and looked 54 Republicans in the eye. I cannot believe he would tell a flat-out lie," said the Senator.
"We now know that when the majority leader looks us in the eyes and makes an explicit commitment that he is willing to say things that he knows are false," he said.
Cruz went on to say that McConnell's leadership has in many ways continued the legacy of former Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), notorious for stifling debate.
"Now the Republican leader is behaving like the senior senator from Nevada," Cruz said, adding later, "We keep winning elections and then we keep getting leaders who don't do anything they promised."
AP reports that McConnell had indicated to "some supporters" of the Export-Import Bank that he would allow a vote on it as an amendment on the highway bill, but there was "some dispute" about the arrangement.
The relationship between McConnell and Cruz has been increasingly tense, with the Texas Senator more and more vocal about the need for Republican leadership to stand on its principles.
Though none of the Republicans either challenged Cruz or defended McConnell on the floor, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) later chided Cruz in front of reporters, saying, "I think it's wrong to disclose private information, especially when the disclosure is not accurate," adding, "Keep in mind, he's running for president. People who run for president do some very interesting things."
McConnell was not on the floor for the attack and a spokesman did not respond to AP's request for comment.
