OXON HILL, Md. — Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned Thursday that Republicans could “very easily” drop the ball if they don’t quickly take action on a myriad of issues that they promised action on during recent elections, including the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.
Cruz told a group of reporters before his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference that Republicans should move forward with a bold agenda that includes eliminating Obamacare, tax and regulatory reform, and confirming Judge Neil Gorsuch.
“Republicans have been entrusted with something very rare,” Cruz said, pointing to GOP’s full control of government. “We need meaningful action to follow from that leadership. It’s a historic opportunity, but we also could very easily mess things up.”
“What I have been urging President Trump, the Cabinet, congressional leaders to do is very simple – let’s do what we said. Let’s honor our promises and my hope is that’s exactly what we’ll do,” he said.
Cruz spoke at length about the timeline for Obamacare repeal, which he argued should not matter in the grand scheme of things as long as it happens eventually. He was responding to reports that a group of House Republicans are pushing to delay a repeal of the law and want to take their time to come up with a replacement package. Former House Speaker John Boehner even predicted Thursday that Obamacare would not be repealed or replaced.
“Congress should move expeditiously to honor our promise and repeal Obamacare. Whether the timing is one week or two weeks or three weeks is not of great moment,” Cruz said. “What matters is that we honor our promise and get it done.”
GOP plans on Obamacare and tax reform have hit a few snags, including within Republican ranks. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., asked GOP senators to withhold their criticism on tax reform, which includes a controversial border adjustment tax.
After Ryan’s request, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Okla., went on the Senate floor to blast the idea, while Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the third-ranking Senate Republican, said that the proposal is on “life support.” When pressed multiple times, Cruz declined to take a stance on the tax, and instead predicted that the GOP will be able to move the ball on the issue and get something passed one way or another.
“This Congress is poised to be the most productive Congress in decades,” Cruz said. “The details of tax reform are being actively debated in the House and in the Senate. I believe it is likely that we will pass meaningful tax reform. The precise contours of what that legislation will consist of are still very much up in the air.”
“What I have urged President Trump and congressional leaders is embrace simplicity – bold simplicity. If we’re going to do it, and I believe we are, let’s make sure there’s bang for the buck. Let’s make sure there is really meaningful impact on the economy, on job creation, on wages,” Cruz said. “I think it is quite likely we will see tax reform. It’s open question whether it will be a positive but incremental step, or something really meaningful that jump starts the economy. I very much hope for the latter, and there’s power in bold simplicity.”
