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Ted Cruz

Background​

  • U.S. Senator for Texas (since 2013).
  • Former Texas Solicitor General (argued 8 cases before SCOTUS).
  • Education: Princeton University (undergrad), Harvard Law School.
  • Previous roles at U.S. Department of Justice and FTC.
  • Hosts "The Verdict" podcast, which has covered AI topics.
  • Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (as of Jan 2025).

Key Policy Achievements & Focus Areas​

  • Primary Focus: Jobs, jobs, jobs. Believes this is the top priority for Texans.
  • Economic Growth Levers: Advocates for tax reform and regulatory reform as the two best levers for job creation.
    • Believes in simplifying the tax code, cutting taxes, and repealing "job-killing regulations."
  • Small Business Champion: States that 2/3 of all new jobs come from small businesses and advocates for an environment where they can flourish.
  • USMCA & Trade: Supported the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Sponsored legislation (now law) to expedite the brick-building permit process between Texas and Mexico, and recently introduced a bill to expand this to Canada.
  • Semiconductor Manufacturing: Co-sponsored legislation (now law) with Senator Mark Kelly (AZ) to expedite the permitting of semiconductor factories. "It shouldn't take longer to permit a factory than to build it."
  • Cryptocurrency Regulation: Authored a Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal a Biden IRS rule that was "hammering crypto" and decentralized finance. This resolution received 70 Senate votes and was signed into law by President Trump.
  • Take It Down Act: Authored and passed this bill to combat non-consensual intimate imagery (revenge porn and AI-generated deepfakes), making it a federal felony and requiring tech platforms to remove such content upon notification. Melania Trump supported this legislation.
  • No Tax on Tips: Authored legislation (included in a House bill) to eliminate federal income tax on tips for service workers, framing it as relief for blue-collar workers.
  • Spectrum Auction: Authored legislation (included in a House bill) to mandate the auction of at least 600 MHz of mid-band spectrum to the private sector, projected to generate $88 billion in revenue and spur private investment for 5G/6G development.
  • School Choice: Strong advocate, calling it the "civil rights issue of the 21st century." Authored federal legislation (included in a House bill) to create a federal tax credit for contributions to K-12 scholarship granting organizations. Appreciative of Texas's efforts on school choice and receptive to improving Texas's education ranking.
  • Invest America Act: Authored legislation (included in a House bill) to create a personal investment account seeded with $1,000 for every newborn child in America, with further tax-advantaged contributions allowed. Aims to promote compound growth and create a "new generation of capitalists." Michael Dell and the CEO's Council have committed to supporting/matching contributions for their employees' children.
  • FAA Reauthorization & Advanced Aviation: As Ranking Member (and now Chairman) of the Commerce Committee, led the FAA reauthorization bill. Secured a direct flight from San Antonio to DCA (Reagan National). Authored a provision to create a Center for Advanced Aviation, explicitly writing criteria to ensure it would be located at DFW (led by Texas A&M), making Texas central to future air travel rules and regulations.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairmanship​

  • First Texan in history to chair this committee.
  • Jurisdiction over 40% of the U.S. economy, including DOT, aviation, NASA/commercial space, FCC (tech, AI, privacy), FTC (antitrust, consumer protection), science (NSF), weather, sports, Coast Guard, and the Panama Canal.
  • Views this chairmanship as highly impactful for jobs in Texas.

Political Style & Views​

  • Emphasizes Texas's entrepreneurial spirit and "frontier mentality."
  • Critical of high-tax, high-regulation environments like California (jokingly nominated Gavin Newsom as "Texas Realtor of the Year").
  • Describes the current (Trump) administration as having unprecedented velocity on regulatory reform.
  • Believes in extending and expanding the 2017 tax cuts.
  • Known for a willingness to use strong tactics to achieve legislative goals (e.g., threatening to take down the FAA bill to secure the San Antonio flight slot).

Interactions​

  • 2025-05-15 (Mentioned): Samuel Armes discussed an existing connection and proposed using it to facilitate a meeting with Michael Kratsios.
  • 2025-05-29 (Texas Venture Gala): Keynote speaker and interviewee in a fireside chat with Glenn Hamer. Received a letter of commendation from the White House (President Trump). Outlined numerous legislative victories and policy priorities, particularly focusing on job creation, tax cuts, regulatory reform, and specific initiatives like the Invest America Act and the Take It Down Act. Discussed the importance of his role as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee for Texas.
  • 2025-05-29 (Texas Venture Gala - Interaction with Gary Sheng): Gary Sheng thanked Senator Cruz for his work on school choice in Texas and expressed the need to further improve the state's education ranking. Gary gifted him a rare 1965 vinyl record of Ayn Rand discussing "the new fascism ruled by St. Petersburg." Senator Cruz, noting he has read a lot of Ayn Rand, accepted the gift, thanked Gary, and said he couldn't wait to listen to it, acknowledging Gary's compliment that he is a "shining light in the sea of talkers."

Notes​

  • This file was created based on Samuel Armes' comments. The strength and nature of the direct relationship between Gary Sheng and Ted Cruz should be further clarified. (Self-correction: The interaction on 2025-05-29 with Gary Sheng directly updates the nature of this relationship beyond Samuel Armes' initial comments.)

Transcripts​

Transcript IDDateSummary
2025-05-29-gary-sheng-ted-cruz-ayn-rand-vinyl-gift2025-05-29Brief interaction about school choice and Ayn Rand vinyl gift at Texas Venture Gala
2025-05-29-glenn-hamer-ted-cruz-gala-fireside-chat2025-05-29Fireside chat with Glenn Hamer covering legislative achievements and policy priorities