Ted Cruz blames Biden for Texas border battle 

(NewsNation) — Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, blames the escalating border battle between the Biden administration and Texas officials entirely on President Joe Biden.

“I salute Texas for stepping up and trying to solve this crisis,” Cruz said during a Thursday appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance.” “The Biden administration created the crisis and they want it to happen. The amazing thing is, Biden could fix this today.”

The Biden administration instructed Texas to stop impeding the Border Patrol’s access to a park along the Rio Grande after the state National Guard took over last week.

“Texas’s actions are clearly unconstitutional and are actively disrupting the federal government’s operations. We demand that Texas cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access in the Shelby Park area,” Department of Homeland Security General Counsel Jonathan Meyer said in a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton responded to Meyer on Wednesday, slamming Biden for authorizing DHS to “send a threatening letter through its lawyers” instead of “addressing Texas’ urgent requests for protection.”

Despite the Biden administration’s warning, Texas officials told NewsNation that state military operations at Shelby Park will continue. On Wednesday, Texas’ Department of Public Safety confirmed to NewsNation’s Ali Bradley that they will not be allowing Border Patrol into the area.

On Tuesday night, Cruz officially endorsed former President Trump for reelection, just one day after the former president won the Iowa caucuses.

“I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for President. Now is the time for us to unite to oust Joe Biden and save our country from the Democrats’ destructive agenda,” Cruz wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

NewsNation’s Ali Bradley contributed to this report.