WASHINGTON — As Texas’ so-called "Big Three" state leaders amplify the voices of school voucher proponents, one of their biggest champions in the U.S. Congress is Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. He was recently recognized on the Texas House floor for his advocacy. 

“The Texas Legislature is on the verge of passing the most far-reaching school choice program ever adopted in any state, and that’s incredible for giving hope to millions of kids across the state of Texas. I believe every child in Texas, every little boy, every little girl, deserves access to an excellent education, and that should be regardless of your race, regardless of your ethnicity, your wealth or your zip code,” Cruz told Spectrum News. 

While many teachers, advocates and some rural Republicans fear that a school voucher program in Texas would weaken public school funding, Cruz argued it creates opportunities. Others have also been concerned that some families would not be accepted by their school of choice because the program could only help so many families. 

“For the kids that get scholarships, that choose to go to new schools, we see their educational outcomes rise dramatically,” Cruz said. “We also know what the impact is on the public schools, that when there is choice, when you have competition, it improves the quality of the public schools.” 

Cruz’s comments come as senators on the Intelligence Committee grilled President Donald Trump’s senior intelligence officials over an Atlantic article that revealed they were sharing sensitive information over the messaging app, Signal. 

“Obviously that Signal group was a screwup. It was not intended to add a reporter inadvertently to the list, and that was an embarrassing mistake. That being said, if you actually read the substance of what they were discussing, it actually has reason for great encouragement. What they were discussing was the president and this administration leading and taking out the Houthis. The Houthis are terrorists and terrorists who are targeting Americans and targeting American shipping interests going through the Suez Canal,” Cruz said. 

Cruz also criticized the federal judges that have halted parts of the president’s agenda by issuing “nationwide injunctions” or pauses. 

“In the first two months of the Trump administration, we have seen 37 nationwide injunctions issued by one district court that issues a ruling that governs the entire country, 37, that is an abuse of power,” Cruz said. “We need to rein it in.” 

Last week, Cruz; Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg; and Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins visited South Texas to meet with farmers and announced nearly $300 million in direct economic assistance to farmers affected by a water crisis. Cruz largely blames Mexico for not delivering water to the U.S. under a decades-old treaty. 

“That’s emergency relief, but that’s not the final answer. The final answer is Mexico needs to comply with its treaty obligations. I’ve authored legislation to put serious sanctions on the Mexican government if they don’t, but I’m here to tell you right now, I have every confidence that working hand in hand with President Trump, Mexico is going to give us our damn water,” Cruz said.