HOUSTON, Texas – Following a disastrous week at the Supreme Court, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on The Constitution, appeared on Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle,” last week to discuss the Court’s shameless ruling on DACA, and Chief Justice John Roberts’ lawless gamesmanship.
WATCH: Cruz on Fox News: SCOTUS, Chief Justice Roberts’ Decision on DACA Was Shameful
Sen. Cruz, who was the first Hispanic American to clerk for a Chief Justice of the U.S., slammed Chief Justice Roberts and the Court’s decisions this week, saying:
“This was a disastrous week at the court. In both cases, John Roberts was on the wrong side. The decision today on DACA, on Obama’s executive amnesty, as you noted, Roberts wrote the opinion. And it was John Roberts and the four liberals. And the opinion is a joke. He’s playing games.
“Not a single justice, none of the nine [justices] disputed that what Obama did was illegal. It was contrary to federal immigration law. And they all agreed that Trump has the authority to reverse it. Nevertheless, what they held today is that Trump is prevented from stopping breaking the law. Because Obama broke law. […] The game Roberts played is he said, ‘Yes, of course, Trump has the authority to stop breaking the law, but he didn’t explain it well enough.’”
He continued, noting Chief Justice Roberts’ pattern of playing games from the bench in order to achieve the policy outcomes he desires:
“It’s exactly the same thing [he did] a year ago. Roberts did the same thing, joining with the four liberals in a case striking down the census [question], where the Trump administration wanted to ask as part of the census, the question, “Are you a U.S. citizen?” We’ve asked a version of that question in just about every census since 1820. Literally for 200 years. Roberts played the same game. He said, ‘Of course you’ve got the authority to do this, but the Commerce Department didn’t explain their reasons well enough so we’re striking it down.’ And what he knew perfectly well is there wasn’t time enough to do it again. So he ended up getting rid of the policy he didn’t like.”
Sen. Cruz went on to argue that the Court’s DACA decision is really about extending President Obama’s lawless amnesty through to the next presidential election:
“What this decision today is about, is about five justices who want amnesty to continue and they’re hoping that the result in November will be a Democratic president that will ignore the law and continue amnesty. This was a shameful decision today. And the Title VII decision you referenced was every bit as lawless. This is two in a row that have been really contrary to the oaths the justices’ take.”
He concluded, noting that some of the worst judicial activists have been Republican nominees:
“Many of the worst judicial activists have been Republican nominees and there is a pattern. You look at those who have been faithful to their oath and their Constitution. Your former boss Clarence Thomas, my former boss William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, [and] Sam Alito, every one of them had a long proven record of being faithful to the Constitution. And they had been pounded. They paid the price. And too many Republican nominations, they are afraid to nominate a strong conservative and we see the results of what happened this week.”
WATCH: Cruz Condemns SCOTUS Decision on DACA, Chief Justice Roberts’ Pattern of Lawless Gamesmanship
Sen. Cruz slammed the Court’s decision on DACA on the Senate Floor as “disgraceful,” and has long been a vocal critic of judicial activism in the Federal Judiciary. Here’s what news outlets are saying about Sen. Cruz’s pushback against the Supreme Court’s recent decisions:
Townhall: Ted Cruz Sounds Off on SCOTUS’s ‘Clever Little Twist’ in DACA Decision
“‘Today’s decision from the Supreme Court in the Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, is disgraceful,’ Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said of the high court’s decision to uphold President Obama’s DACA program. He later added it was a “charade.’ […] Cruz singled out the chief justice for a reason. […] His ‘sleight of hand’ was on display again last year, when he sided with his liberal colleagues to vote down the common sense census question, ‘Are you a citizen of the United States?’ Cruz recalled. […] Notwithstanding Roberts’s apparent bias, Cruz was taken aback by the court’s reasoning for upholding DACA. […] Cruz called it a “clever little twist” by the court. ‘Five justices today held that it was illegal for the Trump administration to stop breaking the law,’ he said, laughing. ‘That’s bizarre.’”
Fox News: Trump calls for ‘new justices’ on Supreme Court, as conservatives rage at Roberts
“Last year, he [Roberts] joined with the wing again in shutting down Trump’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the census. ‘Over recent years more and more Chief Justice Roberts has been playing games with the court to achieve the policy outcomes he desires,’ Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on the Senate floor, before citing past instances of what he called ‘sleight of hands’ by Roberts, adding: ‘This is becoming a pattern.’ ‘Five justices today held that it was illegal for the Trump administration to stop breaking the law,’ he said. ‘That’s bizarre.’”
Hannity.com: ‘Elites in Washington’ Don’t See Any Problem with ‘Illegal Immigration’, Working People Do
“Sen. Ted Cruz weighed-in Thursday on the Supreme Court’s recent decision on DACA; saying elites in Washington have no problem with illegal immigration while working families confront the issue every day. ‘The fact that elites in Washington don’t see a problem with illegal immigration doesn’t answer the reality for working men and women who do,’ said Cruz. ‘Chief Justice Roberts knows exactly what he’s doing,’ he added.”
Dallas Morning News: Supreme Court rules against Trump on DACA
“Cruz lambasted what he called Obama’s ‘executive amnesty,’ but he saved his most barbed attacks for Roberts and his allies on the court.’ ‘Obama’s executive amnesty was illegal the day it was issued, and not one single justice of the nine Supreme Court justices disputed that.’[…] Cruz accused those who joined the majority opinion of hoping that Trump would lose his reelection in November, paving the way for an administration with a different immigration viewpoint.”
The Hill: Roberts sparks backlash from conservative senators with DACA ruling
“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) railed against Roberts during a Senate floor speech. ‘Judging is not a game. It’s not supposed to be a game but sadly over recent years more and more, Chief Justice Roberts has been playing games with the court to achieve the policy outcomes he desires,’ Cruz said. […] Cruz, on Thursday, compared the DACA decision to the health care ruling. ‘That’s not clever. That’s lawless. The decision today was lawless. It was gamesmanship,’ Cruz added.”
Politico: GOP backs Gorsuch’s LGBTQ decision after conservative blowback
“Conservatives are seething over Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion that cemented new protections for LGBTQ people. […] Carrie Severino, president of the conservative legal advocacy group Judicial Crisis Network, said that ‘Justice Scalia would be disappointed that his successor has bungled textualism so badly today for the sake of appealing to college campuses and editorial boards.’ […] Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) echoed her remarks. ‘This judicial rewriting of our laws short-circuited the legislative process and the authority of the electorate,’ he said. ‘Six un-elected and unaccountable judges instead took it upon themselves to act as legislators, and that undermines our democratic process.’”