Ted Cruz thinks that Republicans can do better, starting at the top.
Mitch McConnell allowed James Lankford to be a sacrificial lamb and work with the Democrats to create a "bipartisan" border proposal which is so bad that even McConnell has decided to let his party oppose it.
But that doesn't mean McConnell is blameless.
Reporter: Is it time for Mitch McConnell to go?
Cruz (With ZERO hesitation): I think it is. Look, everyone here also supported the leadership challenge to Mitch McConnell in November. I think a Republican should actually lead this conference and should advance the priorities of Republicans.
McConnell responded to a question about Cruz's rebuke by saying "I think we can all agree that Senator Cruz is not a fan."
[At 15 seconds in this video]
On Fox News on Tuesday evening, Cruz doubled down on his call for McConnell to step down. He also shared more about why the bill was a win for Democrats at almost every turn:
'I've got to say, Senate Republican leadership; I told them this months ago… and they proceeded down this this path that ended up it was a box canyon with a kamikaze pilot crashing into a wall: It was a disaster,' he said.
'Who won in this battle? His name is Charles Schumer - Chuck Schumer did this. He knew it would fail. He wanted it to fail.'
Cruz claimed Democratic leadership will be happy with the bill being torpedoed because it provides political cover to lawmakers facing re-election in November:
'The purpose of this bill was to let every Democrat running for the Senate and running for the House to stand up and say, self-righteously, ‘I wanted to secure the border'… but those mean Republicans wouldn't let me,' he argued.
McConnell has routinely been criticized for being too middle-of-the-road in negotiations - many voters feel he has delivered nothing but a slow capitulation to the Left since he took the reins as Senate GOP leader in 2007.
I'll let you decide on that, but one thing I know: The Republican Party has major issues.
And Cruz pins it all on the leadership at the very top.
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