Texas Senator Ted Cruz has won the right to get special security escorts through US airports and hidden TSA screening after slipping in an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Act, which went to mark up in the Senate on Thursday.
The Republican lawmaker’s amendment will require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and airport police departments to provide special security escorts for high-profile lawmakers and federal judges through U.S. airports.
The 53-year-old Senator wrote the amendment in order to provide additional security to lawmakers or judges, along with their spouses or children, who have been the “subject of a threat”.
Cruz is a ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has been considering the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act 2023. In a lengthy statement, Cruz said the bill would help make the “nation’s aviation system safer and more reliable”, although the Senator did not directly address his amendment.
In 2021, Cruz became embroiled in a scandal after he was caught flying out of Houston Airport to Cancun just as Texas was experiencing a historic winter storm that left millions of people without heating or power as temperatures plunged below freezing.
It only emerged that Cruz had escaped the extreme weather impacting his home state after another passenger spotted him at Houston Airport and took photos of him. Cruz had asked the Houston Police Department to escort him through the airport.
One amendment which didn’t survive the markup phase was an attempt by some lawmakers to increase the pilot retirement age by two years to 67 years old. There had been strong arguments on both sides of the debate, but the committee ultimately decided to stick with international regulations that prohibit commercial airline pilots working after they reach 65.
I’m tired of Cruz thinking he’s entitled