Many Republicans have turned on former President Donald Trump since the Justice Department issued a 37-count indictment against him regarding his handling of classified documents, including lawmakers he endorsed for reelection (Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Mitt Romney of Utah) and former members of his Cabinet (U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Vice President Mike Pence).
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Wednesday that conservative voters are taking notice.
"Conservatives across the country are certainly fed up with Joe Biden and the Democrats but also fed up with the Republicans who don't stand and fight," Cruz told "Eric Bolling The Balance." "I can tell you what my message is to my colleagues, which is that we need to stand for something; we need to fight.
"In November, right after the election, we had the first leadership challenge we've seen in the Senate since Mitch McConnell has been there. And I stood in front of Senate Republicans, and I turned to Mitch and all of leadership, and I said, 'Is there anything on which you're willing to fight, or is the position of Republican leadership going to be that we roll over on everything Joe Biden is trying to do?'"
Cruz pointed to the "really lousy" deal House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reached with Biden to avoid default on the debt ceiling as an example of where Republicans rolled over to Democrats' demands.
"Congress signed off on $4 trillion in new debt in exchange for really modest spending reductions, and I think we should have stood and fought and demanded far more," Cruz said. "We should have been willing to use the leverage we have.
"I do think the voters are frustrated that it seems over and over again, Republican leadership is willing to help the Democrats with their agenda instead of standing up and holding them to account."
Cruz showed his frustration Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which he grilled FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate over the allegations made from a federal whistleblower and in an FBI unclassified FD 1023 form that Biden, as vice president, received $5 million from Ukrainian energy giant Burisma Holdings Limited to influence policy decisions.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also revealed Monday the form contained allegations the Burisma executive had 17 audio recordings of him with Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the company's board.
Abbate would not comment on any of the questions Cruz asked him about the allegations, the FD 1023 form, or the recordings.
"It is infuriating to see the FBI stonewalling and protecting Joe Biden, covering up corruption in the White House," Cruz said. "It is infuriating that this politicized FBI believes they are not accountable to anybody."
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