Ted Cruz on latest Texas lawsuit: DOJ 'operates as a partisan arm to target red states'

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, responded to President Biden's latest lawsuit against his home state by accusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) of functioning as a political tool for Democrats.

"I think it is impressive how quickly the Department of Justice has shifted operational control to the Democratic National Committee," Cruz told Fox News on Tuesday.

Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing at the Capitol on Dec. 7, 2021, to examine U.S.-Russia policy. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)

"Sadly, under Joe Biden, DOJ operates as a partisan arm to target red states rather than an impartial law enforcement agency."

BIDEN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES TEXAS OVER REDISTRICTING MAPS

Ammar Moussa, a DNC spokesperson, criticized Cruz in a statement to Fox News.

"Republicans across the country, and especially in Texas, have done everything in their power to make it more difficult to vote and draw maps that discriminate against voters of color," said Moussa. 

"Of course Ted Cruz is upset to see the Department of Justice work harder to protect his constituents than he ever has. While he bloviates and books flights to Cancun, Democrats will continue to work to make voting more accessible and fight back against Republicans' attacks on this fundamental freedom."

DOJ declined to comment. Cruz's remarks came just a day after DOJ announced its third major legal challenge against the state since September. 

DOJ's lawsuit alleged that Texas' redistricting plan suppressed Black and Latino votes in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In recent months, the administration also sued the state over its controversial abortion law and challenged another state law on voting.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta announce on Dec. 6, 2021, that the Justice department is suing Texas over their recent redistricting. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Announced Monday, DOJ's lawsuit claimed that the state legislature "eliminated Latino electoral opportunities in the State House plan through manipulation or outright elimination of districts where Latino communities previously had elected their preferred candidates."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Later that evening, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton balked at the DOJ's claims and, like Cruz, accused the administration of trying to gain political advantage.

Paxton said he thought the administration wanted "control over Republican states. They want to turn them into Democratic states, and they'll do it any way possible – whether it's doing damage to our economy by allowing illegals to come in that potentially cause crime and transport fentanyl, whether it's the transmission of COVID from across the border. They're all about allowing things and promoting things that hurt Republican states."