Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward Cruz is a Canadian-born American politician and attorney serving since 2013 as the junior United States Senator from Texas. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2003 to 2008 as the third Solicitor General of Texas. He has been described as a movement conservative, a social conservative, and a constitutional conservative with libertarian leanings. Cruz has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee since 2025.
After graduating from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts and earning a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, Cruz pursued a career in politics, eventually becoming a policy advisor in the George W. Bush administration. In 2003, Texas attorney general Greg Abbott appointed Cruz solicitor general, a position he held until 2008.
First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, Cruz is the first Hispanic American to be a U.S. senator from Texas. He played a leading role in the 2013 federal government shutdown, unsuccessfully seeking to force Congress and President Barack Obama to defund the Affordable Care Act. Cruz was reelected in a close race in 2018 and in 2024.
After graduating from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts and earning a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, Cruz pursued a career in politics, eventually becoming a policy advisor in the George W. Bush administration. In 2003, Texas attorney general Greg Abbott appointed Cruz solicitor general, a position he held until 2008.
First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, Cruz is the first Hispanic American to be a U.S. senator from Texas. He played a leading role in the 2013 federal government shutdown, unsuccessfully seeking to force Congress and President Barack Obama to defund the Affordable Care Act. Cruz was reelected in a close race in 2018 and in 2024.
