U.S. Senator from Texas
Ted Cruz
Republican · Texas
Former Texas Solicitor General, elected in 2012. Ran for president in 2016. Known for prolonged filibuster tactics and strong conservative constitutionalist positions.
Record
Highly conservative. Delivered 21-hour filibuster speech on ACA. Objected to 2020 election certification. Strong originalist on constitutional issues. Authored legislation opposing China's influence.
Legislative Record
Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)
- S.5188 — A bill to amend the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 to establish requirements for unified boxing organizations and to further enhance the well-being of professional boxers, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
- S.5158 — A bill to abolish the Federal Insurance Office of the Department of the Treasury, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 29, 2026)
- S.5110 — Improving America's Literacy Act (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
- S.5130 — A bill to establish the United States Commission on Human Dignity, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
- S.4894 — FUSE Act (Introduced, Jun 24, 2026)
- S.4902 — PROTECT Act (Introduced, Jun 24, 2026)
- S.4863 — Save Our Shrimpers Act (Introduced, Jun 23, 2026)
- S.4783 — COMPASS Act (Introduced, Jun 15, 2026)
Notable votes
- Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
- Voted Nay on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
- Voted Yea on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Nay on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Nay on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Nay on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Nay on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Nay on S. 2 — Hirono Amdt. No. 5506 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)
- S.5202 — A bill to prohibit the use of Federal funds for gender transition for minors. (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
- S.1234 — SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
- S.4221 — Ensuring Better Interest Treatment and Deductibility Act (EBITDA) (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
- S.5025 — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
- S.1839 — Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (Introduced, Jul 13, 2026)
- S.4850 — Diversity Jurisdiction Inflation Adjustment Act (Introduced, Jun 22, 2026)
- S.4802 — Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act (Reported, Jun 17, 2026)
- S.4787 — FEAT Act (Introduced, Jun 16, 2026)
Voting analysis
Ted Cruz chairs the Senate commerce committee — a full committee gavel, with ex officio seats across all its subcommittees — while ranking among the conference members most willing to vote against it. Chairmanship and dissent usually pull in opposite directions; here they coexist.
The full sequence of objections
His defections follow the pattern common to the chamber's fiscal hardliners: on one bill he opposed cloture, opposed the substitute amendment the conference adopted, opposed a further cloture motion, and opposed passage. He supported a colleague's budget amendment that the majority rejected. The record is procedural more than substantive — objections lodged at each stage the rules make available.
| Roll call | Date | Outcome | Their vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.R. 6644 Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) On the Cloture Motion H.R. 6644 · roll call 119 | Jun 18, 2026 | Cloture Motion Agreed to | Nay (party: Yea) |
| S.Con.Res. 33 Paul Amdt. No. 5378 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 5378 to S.Con.Res. 33 (No short title on file) · roll call 119 | Apr 23, 2026 | Amendment Rejected | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R. 6644 H.R. 6644, as amended On Passage of the Bill H.R. 6644 · roll call 119 | Mar 12, 2026 | Bill Passed | Nay (party: Yea) |
| H.R. 6644 Motion to Invoke Cloture: H.R. 6644 as amended On the Cloture Motion H.R. 6644 · roll call 119 | Mar 11, 2026 | Cloture Motion Agreed to | Nay (party: Yea) |
| H.R. 6644 Scott (SC) Amdt. No. 4308, as amended On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4308 to H.R. 6644 (No short title on file) · roll call 119 | Mar 11, 2026 | Amendment Agreed to | Nay (party: Yea) |
| H.R. 7148 H.R. 7148, as Amended On Passage of the Bill H.R. 7148 · roll call 119 | Jan 30, 2026 | Bill Passed | Nay (party: Yea) |
| S. 1071 Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071 On the Cloture Motion S. 1071 · roll call 119 | Dec 15, 2025 | Cloture Motion Agreed to | Nay (party: Yea) |
| H.R. 3944 Johnson Amdt. No. 3428 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3428 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119 | Aug 1, 2025 | Amendment Rejected | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R. 3944 Kennedy Amdt. No. 3414 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3414 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119 | Aug 1, 2025 | Amendment Rejected | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R. 1 Lee Amdt. No. 2745 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 2745 to S.Amdt. 2360 to H.R. 1 (No short title on file) · roll call 119 | Jul 1, 2025 | Amendment Rejected | Yea (party: Nay) |
Both Texas seats
Texas returns two Republicans to the Senate, so this is a comparison between two individuals. Cruz departs from the conference at the higher rate.
Among the 2 Republicans in the Texas delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 7.2%. Ted Cruz is above that average at 11.3%.
Committee reach and filings
The commerce chairmanship carries an unusually wide jurisdiction — aviation and space, the Coast Guard and fisheries, consumer protection and data privacy — and he sits on each subcommittee by virtue of the gavel. His own recent bills are narrower than that portfolio suggests: requirements for unified boxing organisations, abolition of the Treasury's Federal Insurance Office, the Improving America's Literacy Act, and a commission on human dignity.
Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Ted Cruz's cluster into: Armed Forces and National Security (2), Commerce (1), Foreign Trade and International Finance (1).
Of the 8 most recent of those, 8 currently sit at Introduced.
Tenure and attendance
Cruz has served since the early twenty-tens and is one of the chamber's veterans, under a single party label. He misses more votes than most senators; the figure records participation alone.
First elected in 2013, now serving across 7 terms. Ted Cruz falls in the veteran cohort.
By the numbers
In the 119th Congress, Ted Cruz has 1140 bills sponsored, 2093 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.
Committee assignments
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Chairman)
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
- Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Aviation, Space, and Innovation (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Telecommunications and Media (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Africa and Global Health Policy (Chairman)
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
Rate Ted Cruz on iRate — cast your emoji verdict and see how America rates U.S. Senator from Texas.