Ted Cruz, who peddled election misinformation for weeks before the Capitol riot, plans to attend Biden's inauguration
- Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas plans to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, after weeks of elevating misinformation about the election results.
- Cruz has faced immense backlash and increasing pressure to resign following his objection to the election certification last week.
- Biden has even criticized the Texas senator and said he should be defeated in 2024.
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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas plans to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week. The senator had objected to the election certification and spent weeks elevating misinformation about the 2020 presidential results.
Since November, Cruz has sown doubts into the electoral process, regularly pushing President Donald Trump's unfounded claims of voter fraud and that the election was stolen and rigged. A staunch supporter of the president, the Texas senator had even offered to represent Trump in a Supreme Court case to overturn the results. The court never took up the lawsuit, adding to the dozens of legal battles that Trump and his lawyers have waged and lost.
A spokesperson for Cruz confirmed to Insider on Friday that the senator will be at inauguration on January 20. The news was first reported by NBC-affiliate station KXAN. Trump has said he will not be at the inauguration, becoming the first outgoing president since 1869 to refuse to attend his successor's swearing-in.
Cruz announced his commitment to challenge the results in Congress in early January, despite state officials and former Attorney General William Barr concluding that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Cruz first objected to the electoral votes in Arizona last Wednesday, shortly before swarms of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol. After Congress reconvened to complete the election certification, Cruz continued his objection and voted to reject the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The Texas Republican has been blamed for helping incite the Capitol riots and has faced immense backlash for his actions, with growing calls for his resignation from Democratic lawmakers and Texas state legislators. Cruz's communications director, Lauren Blair Bianchi, also left her job in the wake of the siege.
Biden has also criticized Cruz along with Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who also challenged the election results.
"I think they should be just flat beaten the next time they run," Biden said last Friday, when asked if the two Republican senators should step down.
Cruz has defended his behavior and claims that he had been trying to "find a way to reestablish widespread trust in the system."
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