WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement after voting against confirming the nomination of Antony J. Blinken to serve as Secretary of State:
“The policies that Mr. Blinken has committed to implementing as Secretary of State, especially regarding Iran, will dangerously erode America’s national security and will put the Biden administration on a collision course with Congress, and I could not support his confirmation. He committed to reentering the catastrophic Obama-Biden nuclear deal with Iran, including by relieving terrorism sanctions on the Iranian regime and ending the international arms embargo, despite opposition to lifting that pressure by hundreds of members of Congress in both chambers. In his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he was even critical of the strike on Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, an important accomplishment that was applauded by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of Senators in a recorded vote. His approach to the Iranian regime is already generating tensions with Congress, and I will engage vigorously with the Biden administration and State Department to prevent and mitigate the dangers they pose to the safety and security of Americans.”