Cornyn, Cruz divide over spying bill reauthorization
It was as close to a standoff that ever happens on the Senate floor: Texas GOP U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz were standing next to each other but working against each other, trying to convince a holdout senator to vote their way on foreign surveillance legislation.
The clock was ticking Tuesday night, with the usual 15-minute procedural vote left open for nearly an hour and a half, as only a few senators had not voted on whether to limit debate and force a final vote on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s section 702. Some Democrats had joined most Republicans in supporting the measure being pushed by GOP leadership, but they were short two votes to clear the procedural hurdle.
Republican holdout Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., first talked to Cruz and his allies Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, who were opposed to reauthorizing the law for six years without some major changes for civil liberties.
But Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican who is charged with counting votes, was circling the well of the Senate and soon sidled up to the group, stood next to Cruz and started talking to Kennedy. All of this played out live on C-Span, although the conversation was not audible. At one point, Kennedy, realizing he was the focus of attention, waved up to the press gallery above him.
The moment marked the return of Cruz as a burr in the side of Republican leaders. After his acceptance of Trump as the nominee before the 2016 election, Cruz has been largely circumspect in the Senate, abandoning his contrarian role of earlier in his first term.
Cornyn wanted Kennedy to vote to stop debate on the bill used by intelligence agencies to collect data on foreigners outside of the U.S. It has been strongly supported by GOP leadership with significant Democratic support. President Trump wavered on his support for the measure last week, before ultimately backing it before it passed the House.
Cruz was part of another bipartisan group led by Paul and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that wants stricter requirements for warrants before reviewing communications from Americans who get caught up in the surveillance.
Cruz said as the Senate began considering the issue, “The ability to intercept communications by foreign terrorists on foreign soil is a vital part of keeping this nation safe, but I very much hope the Senate next week also considers and votes on amendments that would improve the bill by strengthening civil liberties protections for American citizens.”
While the conversations did not appear to be heated, Kennedy went over to talk to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and was soon joined by Cornyn.
The result: Kennedy gave a thumbs up to the clerk. With 59 votes in hand, Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri also voted “yes,” giving the bill’s supporters a narrow victory.
“Senator Cruz’s emergence on the FISA likely shows that he’ll position himself in the election the same ideologically rigid Republican as he was when he was the darling of the tea party in Texas,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at the University of Houston.