Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) took time during a Senate hearing on a bill that would overhaul the nation’s voting and campaign finance laws to blast Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for his efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election.
During a mark-up session of the bill on Tuesday, senators debated amendments to the For the People Act, which Democrats say would ensure that all eligible voters have access to the ballot box as Republican lawmakers in several states are introducing bills to limit mail-in and early voting.
Republicans oppose the law, which they claim is a power-grab by Democrats, and would implement sweeping new election laws that have been traditionally left up to the states.
Klobuchar took aim at Cruz for opposing the bill after his efforts to block the certification of Electoral College votes in states that President Joe Biden won.
“In fact, you Sen. Cruz, not all of your colleagues here today, you were contesting the Electoral College. You were leading, one of the leaders on the effort to say that the election results were not correct,” Klobuchar said.
She continued, “And so you wonder why we want to make sure that people have the right to vote. Well, it’s because of this kind of rhetoric and this kind of behavior and an insurrection at the Capitol and a former president that is still maintaining that he somehow won the election when we all know it’s not true.”
While she spoke, Cruz appeared to pay little attention and was seen on camera swiping through his phone.
Watch the video below:
Btw, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was asking Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) about the Capitol insurrection and his attempt to overturn a legitimate election. pic.twitter.com/y5IvUr0Nwz
— The Recount (@therecount) May 11, 2021
Additionally, Cruz re-tweeted a video from The Recount that pointed out he was drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper during the hearing.
The outlet later shared a video with a timestamp that appeared to show he re-tweeted the video during Klobuchar’s comments.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was tweeting at us while ignoring Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). pic.twitter.com/HMB9zV6YBd
— The Recount (@therecount) May 11, 2021
He also re-tweeted The Recount’s video of him using his phone during Klobuchar’s comments and added, “She’s still reading her statement.”
