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AUSTIN, Texas (CBS/AP) — Tea party darling Ted Cruz has been sworn in as U.S. senator and says his first order of business will be introducing a bill he knows will never pass.
Cruz is a Cuban-American and former state solicitor general. On Thursday, he became the first Hispanic to represent Texas in the Senate.
He has pledged that his first bill would seek to repeal “every syllable of every word” of the Obama administration’s health care reform law.
Now in office, Cruz said he will keep that promise, even though he knows Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama will ensure his bill won’t become law.
Fueled by grassroots support, Cruz could become a rising star among Capitol Hill conservatives following the retirement of tea party leader U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina.
During his campaign, Cruz said cutting spending is his top priority and he wouldn’t go along with other senators to get along. But some analysts express caution.
Political analyst John Weekley told CBS 11 in Dallas, “Cruz is going to have to be willful about balancing bringing home the bacon to Texas, which all Senators are expected to do to some extent, but not so that cutting the budgets that he disadvantages Texas to Arkansas and Kansas.”
Collin County’s Democratic party chairman, Shawn Stevens, said Cruz must keep an open mind. “If he wants to be a flag-bearer for extreme causes, he can certainly choose to do that, but in the end, I don’t think that will serve Texas well,” he said.
Republicans, like Moses though, believe Cruz brings with him exactly what the party needs. “What will make him effective is his style of being vocal, of being visible,” he told CBS 11.
And they say his willingness to fight for what he believes is right.
The former Texas Solicitor General will sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
(© Copyright 2013 = The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
