Ted Cruz says more Chinese consulates in U.S. 'may well be closed'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told CBS News' Margaret Brennan during an appearance on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation that more Chinese consulates in the U.S. "may well be closed" after the one in Houston shut down over allegations of spying and intellectual property theft.

The senator, of course, can't unilaterally make that decision, but Washington's latest actions, including shuttering the Houston consulate and declaring Beijing's South China Sea claims to be unlawful, suggest that the White House and State Department are leaning more toward's Cruz traditionally hawkish view on China nowadays.

On Sunday, Cruz, who was recently barred from entering China, said the big takeaway during the coronavirus pandemic in terms of foreign policy is indeed that "people are understanding the threat China poses" to the world, which he said he has argued for years.

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Cruz then went on to blame the Chinese government for covering up the origins of the coronavirus by silencing whistleblowers and subsequently allowing it to spread across the globe. Tim O'Donnell