Long a lightning rod for partisan debate, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is on the verge of wielding sweeping authority as the incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Fresh off his reelection victory, Cruz is set to leverage this powerful position to shape the nation’s regulatory landscape, with Republicans now in control of the Senate.
The committee’s purview—spanning telecommunications, transportation, and energy—offers Cruz a stage to champion his vision of limited government and unfettered markets. From regulating commercial space exploration to confronting antitrust issues involving tech giants, the committee will give Cruz a high-profile platform to advance his legislative priorities.
“Being the chairman of the commerce committee comes with an incredible amount of power,” said Kevin DeGood according to the Houston Chronicle. DeGood is the director of infrastructure policy at the Center for American Progress. “Their mandate is so wide, Sen. Cruz could hold hearings on almost any topic he likes and use that to advance his own conservative agenda.”
During his victory speech in Houston, Cruz made clear his intentions to pursue a bold agenda. “We must defend our God-given rights, not some of them, not most of them, but all of them,” he said. Border security, energy independence, and what he calls “Americans’ freedoms” are at the forefront of his platform.
“Senator Cruz has brought a lot of attention to the power of the tech companies on our lives,” said Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at the ACLU. “But we don’t always see eye to eye. One of the things reinforcing tech’s power is how they’re abusing our data, and Sen. Cruz’s success as chair will hinge on addressing that.” […]
— Read More: trendingpoliticsnews.com
