California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) went to Harvard Law School with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the mid-’90s. Wiener mentioned Cruz’s bad reputation from back in the day when Cruz falsely accused him of sending people naked pictures.
Wiener was talking about an article discussing federal appeals court nominee Adeel Mangi, who, if confirmed, would be the first Muslim American federal appeals court judge in history. The article said the Senate might not have the votes to confirm Mangi.
The CNN article mentioned that Cruz is one of the opponents of Mangi’s confirmation. Cruz brought up Mangi’s connection to the Center for Security, Race, and Rights at Rutgers University, an organization that Cruz accused of antisemitism.
At his confirmation hearing, Cruz asked Mangi to “condemn the atrocities of the Hamas terrorists,” something often asked of Muslim Americans, as if they are likely to support terrorism. Mangi responded that the October 7 attacks “were a horror involving the deaths of innocent civilians.” But Cruz pressed him further, as if Mangi was going to justify the attacks.
“This is straight up Islamophobia,” Wiener, who is Jewish, posted on X. “This nominee is highly qualified. Ted Cruz grilled him about October 7. That’s no different than grilling a Jewish nominee about Israel’s conduct of the war.”
“Are they asking other nominees these questions? Of course not. Only the Muslim nominee.”
Cruz responded by accusing Wiener of getting “thrown out of Congress for sending naked pictures of himself.” Wiener has never been in Congress—he is a state senator—and Cruz may have been thinking of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), who spells his name differently and is from the other side of the country.
Furthermore, it’s strange that Cruz made the mistake, considering he went to law school with Scott Wiener.
But Wiener wasn’t fazed.
“Ted, remember when we went to law school together & everyone hated you?” he clapped back.
Mangi’s appointment to federal court has the support of the Anti-Defamation League.
“As the Anti-Defamation League made clear, the debunked rightwing smear campaign against Mr. Mangi is ‘profoundly wrong,’” a White House spokesperson said when asked about the possibility that Mangi won’t be confirmed. “Mr. Mangi was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the White House continues to fight for his confirmation and to repudiate the vicious hate and bigotry with which he has been targeted because of his Muslim faith.”
While Democrats hold the majority in the Senate, CNN reports that some Senate Democrats may not support his confirmation.
Cruz has long been criticized by his colleagues. A BBC article from 2016 says that his colleagues and former classmates called him “abrasive,” “creepy,” and “arrogant.” In 2016, after Cruz defended a Texas state bill against adult “self-stimulation” devices, Cruz’s freshman-year roommate from Princeton University, Craig Mazin,
wrote via social media , “Ted Cruz thinks people don’t have the right to ‘stimulate their genitals.’ I was his college roommate. That would be a new belief of his.”California state Senator Scott Wiener (D) went to Harvard Law School with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the mid-’90s. Wiener mentioned Cruz's old reputation when Cruz wrongly accused him of sending people nude photos.
Wiener talked about a piece on federal appeals court nominee Adeel Mangi, who might become the first Muslim American federal appeals court judge. The article stated the Senate might lack the votes to confirm Mangi.
The CNN article
stated Cruz is against Mangi's confirmation. Cruz brought up Mangi's ties to the Center for Security, Race, and Rights at Rutgers University, which Cruz accused of antisemitism. During the confirmation hearing, Cruz asked Mangi to condemn the acts of the Hamas terrorists, something commonly asked of Muslim Americans, as if they are prone to support terrorism. Mangi replied that the October 7 attacks were a horror involving the deaths of innocent civilians. But Cruz continued to press him, as if Mangi was going to justify the attacks.
Wiener, who is Jewish, called this straight up Islamophobia. He posted on X that the nominee is highly qualified. Ted Cruz questioned him about October 7, which is no different than questioning a Jewish nominee about Israel's actions in the war.
“Are they asking other nominees these questions? Of course not. Only the Muslim nominee.”
Cruz responded by accusing Wiener of getting “thrown out of Congress for sending naked pictures of himself.” Wiener has never been in Congress—he is a state senator—and Cruz may have been thinking of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), who spells his name differently and is from the other side of the country.
It's strange that Cruz made the mistake, considering he attended law school with Scott Wiener.
But Wiener wasn't bothered.
“Ted, remember when we went to law school together & everyone hated you?” he clapped back.
Mangi’s nomination to the federal court has the support of the Anti-Defamation League.
“The Anti-Defamation League pointed out that the discredited rightwing smear campaign against Mr. Mangi is ‘profoundly wrong,’” a White House spokesperson said when asked about the possibility that Mangi won’t be confirmed. “Mr. Mangi was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the White House continues to fight for his confirmation and to repudiate the vicious hate and bigotry with which he has been targeted because of his Muslim faith.”
Even though Democrats control the Senate, CNN reports that some Senate Democrats may not back his confirmation.
Cruz has long been criticized by his colleagues.
A BBC article from 2016 says that his colleagues and former classmates called him “abrasive,” “creepy,” and “arrogant.” In 2016, after Cruz defended a Texas state bill against adult “self-stimulation” devices, Cruz’s freshman-year roommate from Princeton University, Craig Mazin,
wrote via social media , “Ted Cruz thinks people don’t have the right to ‘stimulate their genitals.’ I was his college roommate. That would be a new belief of his.”Cruz has long been despised by his colleagues. Apparently, this goes back to when he was in school.
