Ted Cruz touts local highway funding he voted against

While speaking at Texas Tech University on Sept. 1, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took credit for an “incredible victory,” saying he led the fight to fund a project that he voted against.

During the speech, Cruz bragged about his ability to get funding for the expansion of Interstate 27, a highway in Texas that has seen proposed expansion by the Ports-to-Plains Alliance for decades. This funding finally came from an appropriations bill signed into law by President Joe Biden in March.

The expansion of I-27 is estimated to create thousands of jobs and provide direct links for local and international trade by reducing congestion on the highway in the Eastern region of Texas

“This is a fight that I was proud to lead in the United States Senate, working closely with leaders here on the ground in the community all the way from Laredo, all the way up to North Dakota,” Cruz said. “And we were finally able to get it passed as part of an appropriation.”

Even though the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the legislation by a 68-31 vote in March, Cruz failed to mention was one of the Senators who voted against the bill was him.

Cruz also took credit for the I-27 expansion in a press release sent out last Friday. Part of the release says, “He successfully led a bipartisan, bicameral effort to designate the I-27 Ports-to-Plains corridor as a ‘Future Interstate’ which will make Texas eligible to receive additional federal funds to complete the I-27 highway expansion project.”