U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, broke from his own party in voting against a bipartisan bill that would bar lawmakers from being able to singlehandedly launch an objection to a state's presidential election results.
The bill, dubbed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, aims to prevent a constitutional crisis like the one that nearly occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, when Cruz filed an objection to the result of Arizona's presidential election. It clarifies procedural ambiguities that former President Donald Trump tried to exploit in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and makes it harder for senators to hold up vote certifications as Cruz did.