Ted Cruz downplays the idea of another government shutdown

(Image credit: Tom Pennington / Getty Images)

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) on Saturday threw cold water on the prospect of another government shutdown, saying the only person who wanted another one was President Obama.

"There is one person and one person only talking about shutting down the government, and that is the White House," he said at the Americans for Prosperity summit in Dallas.

In a recent interview, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that if the GOP were to retake the Senate in November, the party would stuff spending bills with riders rolling back Obama-era policies. That in itself wouldn't amount to shutting down the government, though it would force Obama to choose between funding the government or vetoing legislation in hopes Republicans would cave.

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As Cruz knows all too well, Republicans got creamed in the polls during last year's shutdown, so the party isn't exactly itching for a repeat of that debacle.

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.