Trump floats Ted Cruz as Supreme Court justice, says he would breeze through Senate confirmation

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times - Wednesday, October 28, 2026

President Trump is floating Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas as a potential pick if a Supreme Court seat opens up.

Mr. Trump said it would be an easy confirmation battle because senators want to get rid of him.

“I would pick Ted Cruz to be the next Supreme Court justice,” Mr. Trump said in Lubbock, Texas. “Wouldn’t even have to make a phone call.”

People were interested in these podcasts

Mr. Cruz is a conservative who went to Harvard Law School and served as Texas solicitor general. He has served in the Senate since 2013. He earned a reputation as a hard-charging legislator early on, when he led an ill-fated attempt to defund Obamacare before it fully launched.

“The Democrats will 100% vote for it because they hate the guy and want to get rid of him,” Mr. Trump said at the campaign rally. “The Republicans would 100% vote for it, because they can’t stand him. They would like to get rid of him. So I’d get 100% of the vote, and he would be a Supreme Court justice and he’d do a great job.”

Mr. Trump, who picked three Supreme Court justices during his first term, is mindful of rumors that Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito might retire. Republicans hold a Senate majority, but Democrats are looking for a net gain of four seats in November’s midterms to retake the chamber.

Mr. Cruz ran for president in 2016 but lost the primary to Mr. Trump. He is considered among the Republicans who might run in 2028 to replace Mr. Trump after his second term.

Other possible GOP contenders include Vice President J.D. Vance, who’s been a top surrogate in the midterms, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Mr. Cruz is campaigning this year for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the GOP Senate nominee in his state. He’s also crisscrossing the country on behalf of Senate candidates in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and South Carolina.

Mr. Cruz has also maintained a national profile through his podcast, “Verdict With Ted Cruz,” which he launched in 2020 with conservative commentator Ben Ferguson. The senator recently devoted an entire episode to arguing that alleged ties between Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood raise red flags.

More broadly, Mr. Cruz has framed the next Republican nomination fight as a broader debate over the party’s future, saying it will help determine whether the GOP remains a “small-government, free-market conservative party” or becomes a “big-government, nanny state party.”

• Seth McLaughlin contributed to this report.