Ted Cruz said Thursday that he has no plans to make up with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, calling the intrigue about their relationship the sort of inside baseball that makes voters “so frustrated with Washington”. But the public acrimony between Cruz and the Senate’s rank-and-file Republicans hasn’t prevented his team from trying to make nice with key leaders in the upper chamber, according to multiple recent reports.
First, Cruz to CNN’s Dana Bash on him and McConnell:
But behind Cruz’s defiance is a quiet effort to get senior senators on-board with his campaign, Politico reported this week.
That sort of overture matches Graham’s thinking. “Clearly Ted was not my first choice by any means, but we are in a position now as a party that we’ve got to pick a path. The Trump path to me is a disaster,” he said. Graham, a former presidential candidate, initially backed Jeb Bush.
Idaho senator Jim Risch added his preference for Cruz — whether it’s an actual endorsement, he’s unsure — on Wednesday.
More on Cruz’s bridge-building with the Senate GOP establishment is over at CNN and Politico. And be sure to check out Mike Warren’s latest Cruz dispatch in this week’s magazine.
