AUSTIN, Texas – Ted Cruz’s attempts to rewrite his long history of obstructing bipartisan progress aren’t fooling anyone, the New York Times writes in a brutal new report. That includes his Senate GOP colleagues.

According to the report, Cruz “has earned a reputation in Congress as a rabble-rousing, uncompromising conservative firebrand who tends more toward obstinance and anti-establishment tirades than bipartisanship or teamwork.”

“Did his colleagues think this would be an enduring rebrand?

“‘No,’ [Sen. Thom] Tillis said, before breaking into laughter. ‘Not at all.’”

New York Times: Ted Cruz, Better Known For Derailing Bills, Tries on a New Hat: Legislator

By Kayla Guo

• Senator Ted Cruz is rebranding — at least for now.

• The Texas Republican, whose opening salvo as a freshman senator in 2013 was leading the charge to shut down the government over the Affordable Care Act, has earned a reputation in Congress as a rabble-rousing, uncompromising conservative firebrand who tends more toward obstinance and anti-establishment tirades than bipartisanship or teamwork.

• But for the first time this week, Mr. Cruz, now the senior Republican on the Commerce Committee, embraced a wholly unfamiliar role: managing a major piece of legislation on the Senate floor. It came as Mr. Cruz, who is running for re-election in November…

• His colleagues noted, some with thinly veiled satisfaction, that Mr. Cruz’s entreaties to fellow senators — including members of his ideological cohort who were simply following the playbook he had honed over years — sounded a lot like the ones that others have frequently tried on him.

• But whether his role reversal would stick on Capitol Hill remained to be seen.

• Did his colleagues think this would be an enduring rebrand?  “No,” [Sen. Thom] Tillis said, before breaking into laughter. “Not at all.”

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