Florida Sen. Marco Rubio accused GOP presidential rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz of voting to weaken intelligence programs during a Monday night forum,
The Washington Post reports.
"We are vulnerable. What happened in Paris could happen in a major American city at any moment, at any time," said Rubio, invoking the Paris terror attacks.
"I think it's a distinctive issue of debate in the presidential race," he told the audience at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council meeting in Washington.
"At least two of my colleagues in the Senate aspiring to the presidency, Sen. Cruz in particular, have voted to weaken the U.S. intelligence programs, just in the last month and a half," he continued. "And the weakening of our intelligence gathering capabilities leaves America vulnerable."
Jim Merrill, a Rubio senior adviser, posted a link to the video on Twitter with the hashtag #phonytedcruz
Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler responded to the Post: "Does Senator Rubio think Sens. [Tim] Scott, [Kelly] Ayotte, and [Charles] Grassley also 'voted to weaken the U.S. intelligence programs?'"
Rubio and Cruz are running third and fourth in the crowded GOP field to front-runners Donald Trump and Ben Carson. The two senators are fighting for dominance should the two outsider candidates falter before the primaries are over.