Congressman loses voice, jests State of the Union to blame

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) didn’t have much to say at the Senate’s first immigration hearing on Wednesday.

The hoarse freshman senator on Wednesday mustered just enough vocal power to whisper into his microphone that he had lost his voice, joking that it might have been from cheering too heartily for President Obama during his State of the Union address the night before.

“I apologize to the committee, I have lost my voice entirely, perhaps from cheering too much at last night’s State of the Union,” said a raspy Cruz, who was visibly mute and taciturn during Obama’s remarks.

Cruz thanked the witness panel, which included Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, for attending the hearing and said he would be entering his statement for the record, opting to pass on his round of questioning.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) took the next round of questions, but not before chiding her colleague for not letting her pose his queries for him, in a more Democratic fashion.

“I had offered to do Sen. Cruz’s questions for him and just make a few nuanced changes in how I asked them, but he didn’t accept that offer,” said a smiling Klobuchar.