PoliticsArmed ServicesTed CruzElections 2016

Ted Cruz Brushes Off Poor Senate Armed Services Attendance Record

Ted Cruz Brushes Off Poor Senate Armed Services Attendance Record
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Senior Politics Reporter, HuffPost

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In this March 10, 2015, photo, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Legislative Conference and Presidential Forum in Washington. A pair of lawyers who have represented presidents from both parties at the Supreme Court says Cruz is legally eligible to run for president. Solicitor General Paul Clement and former Obama acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal are writing in the Harvard Law Review that the Canadian-born Cruz meets the constitutional standard to be a presidential contender. The bipartisan duo's commentary comes as Cruz moves toward an expected White House run. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday brushed off concerns about his spotty attendance at hearings held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which he is a member.

"When you’re putting together a campaign for president, like I’ve been, that entails a lot of time," Cruz said in an interview with radio host Dana Loesch. “It's not like I've been at the beach sipping a piña colada.”

The 2016 Republican presidential candidate instead accused the press of making a mountain out of a molehill.

"It is revealing when the mainstream media fires every cannon they can at conservatives," he said.

According to Politico, Cruz attended only three of the committee's 16 public hearings so far this year, a track record perhaps best explained by his many trips out of Washington to early primary states ahead of his official declaration of a presidential run last week.

The first-term senator, who is a defense hawk known for frequently sounding off against President Barack Obama's foreign policy, missed opportunities to question the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, as well as other military officials, about the effect of the sequestration's automatic budget cuts to the Pentagon. By comparison, Politico noted, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another possible White House contender, attended 11 of 16 hearings.

Cruz's attendance record may give potential rivals an effective line of attack in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. During the 2014 election cycle, similar critiques were lobbed against former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and then-Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), both of whom lost their campaigns for Senate, as well as then-Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who lost her re-election bid.

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Before You Go

Sen. Ted Cruz
(01 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) left, greets Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) after introducing her at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Saturday, March 16, 2013. Diehard activists at the three-day conference are already picking favorites in what could be a crowded Republican presidential primary in 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (credit:AP)
(02 of17)
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FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2013 file photo Armed Services committee member, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), questions former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, during Hagel's confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Weeks into his job, Texas Republicans are cheering Cruz's indelicate debut and embracing him as one of their own. The insurgent Republican elected with the tea party's blessing and bankroll, has run afoul of GOP mainstays, and prompted Democrats to compare his style to McCarthyism. Also seen from left are Sen.s Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Mike Lee, R-Utah. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) (credit:AP)
(03 of17)
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Ted Cruz, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, addresses the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (credit:AP)
(04 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to the media, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Houston a day after defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a runoff. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (credit:AP)
(05 of17)
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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 13: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) holds a news conference to announce their plan to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, at the U.S. Capitol March 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. Although Cruz and his fellow sponsors expect the legislation to fail, they believe it is an important survey of who supports health care reform. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(06 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz of (R-Texas) addresses the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (credit:AP)
(07 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) answers questions from the media at a voting precinct Tuesday, July 31, 2012, in Houston. Cruz faces Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the Republican primary runoff election for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (credit:AP)
(08 of17)
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Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) answers a question during an event held by the Austin Chamber of Commerce in Austin, Texas on Friday, April 5, 2013. Titled "A Conversation with Senator Ted Cruzon Business Issues," the event was held at the Four Seasons hotel and featured moderator John Holmes who asked Sen. Cruz questions from the audience. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon) AUSTIN CHRONICLE OUT, COMMUNITY IMPACT OUT, MAGS OUT; NO SALES; INTERNET AND TV MUST CREDIT PHOTOGRAPHER AND STATESMAN.COM (credit:AP)
(09 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to the Spring Branch Republican Club Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Houston. Cruz is running against Democrat Paul Sadler to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (credit:AP)
(10 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) arrives to speak at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Saturday, March 16, 2013. Diehard activists at the three-day conference are already picking favorites in what could be a crowded Republican presidential primary in 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (credit:AP)
(11 of17)
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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 22: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) listens to testimony during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on April 22, 2013 in Washington, DC.The committee is hearing testimony on border security, economic opportunities and the Immigration Modernization Act. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(12 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) debates Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, not shown, at the King Street Patriots event hall, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Houston. The two Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate have repeatedly torn into each other during the third debate as early voting began across Texas. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Michael Paulsen) (credit:AP)
(13 of17)
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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 13: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) holds a news conference to announce their plan to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, at the U.S. Capitol March 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. Although Cruz and his fellow sponsors expect the legislation to fail, they believe it is an important survey of who supports health care reform. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(14 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) waves as he arrives at a polling station to speak to media and voters in Dallas, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Cruz faces Democratic candidate Paul Sadler for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (credit:AP)
(15 of17)
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Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cruz, along with other Republican officials, announced that they believe that Medicaid is a broken system, and that expanding it under the Affordable Care Act is the wrong move for Texas. Shown, from left, are Governor Rick Perry, US Senator John Cornyn and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon) (credit:AP)
(16 of17)
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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 22: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) talks with a reporter outside the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill March 22, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Senate voted on amendments to the budget resolution on Friday afternoon and into the evening. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(17 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), left, smiles as he listens to campaign chief consultant Jason Johnson go over election results as they come in Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Houston. Cruz is running against Democrat Paul Sadler to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (credit:AP)
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