Ted Cruz Says He Will Vote Against Bill To Codify Gay Marriage ...

You came here for Texas news.

Never miss a story with The Brief, our free newsletter.

JOIN THE LIST

The Best of the Tribune in your Inbox

Keep tabs on Texas politics and policy with our morning newsletter.

Sign up Close Search for: Search

• Investigations
• Guides
• About
• Events
• Data
• Newsletters
• Donate

Close Skip to content

About

Corrections and Clarifications

About The Texas Tribune | Staff | Contact | Send a Confidential Tip | Ethics | Republish Our Work | Jobs | Awards | Corrections | Strategic Plan | Downloads | Documents

Our reporting on all platforms will be truthful, transparent and respectful; our facts will be accurate, complete and fairly presented. When we make a mistake — and from time to time, we will — we will work quickly to fully address the error, correcting it within the story, detailing the error on the story page and adding it to this running list of Tribune corrections. If you find an error, email [email protected].

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said he will vote against a bill to codify same-sex marriage protections into federal law, ahead of a potential showdown in the Senate over one of the few remaining Democratic priorities expected to get a vote before the midterm elections.

On an episode of his podcast Tuesday, Cruz said the bill would be an attack on religious liberties. The nay from Cruz comes after he said in July that while he thought the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize gay marriage was “clearly wrong,” it would also be “more than a little chaotic for the court to do something that somehow disrupted those marriages.” Later that month he also said Texas should repeal a now-defunct law banning gay sex.

Sen. John Cornyn will also vote against the bill, according to his office.

The Respect for Marriage Act passed the House in July with the support of 47 Republicans, including Rep. Tony Gonzales, the only Republican in Texas to vote in favor of the bill. The House bill was motivated by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurrence on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, in which he said the court should reconsider its ruling protecting same-sex marriage.

Angling for a vote this month, Democrats are pushing to get Republicans in an uncomfortable position before the November election.

“This bill without a religious liberty protection would have massive consequences across our country, weaponizing the Biden administration to go and target universities, K-12 schools, social service organizations, churches and strip them all of their tax-exempt status,” Cruz said on an episode of his podcast The Verdict.

Several Senate Republicans have suggested publicly they are open to the bill, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, according to CNN.

For the bill to pass the chamber, Senate Democrats would have to keep the entirety of their fragile 50-member majority together — and siphon off at least 10 GOP votes to overcome a Republican filibuster. Cruz said he and allies are fighting to keep Republicans from voting for the act.

“We are having vigorous arguments in the conference about it,” Cruz said. “I and several others are pushing for an amendment to the bill that would be a strong protection of religious liberty.”

While Republicans lobby one another on the vote, Democratic leadership may be planning to pressure the GOP to support the same-sex marriage bill by pairing it with a stopgap bill to continue federal government funding, according to Reuters. Lawmakers must pass the stopgap bill before the end of the month to avoid a partial federal shutdown.

The Best of the Tribune in your Inbox

Keep tabs on Texas politics and policy with our morning newsletter.

Sign up

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who determines when and if the chamber will consider the same-sex marriage bill, said on the Senate floor Tuesday, “Democrats are going to work in good faith to avoid even a hint of a shutdown. And it is my expectation that our Republican colleagues will do the same.”

But while Cruz said he was a steadfast opponent of the legislation, he was not sure how the saga would play out.

“I don’t know if we will succeed in getting the vote on that amendment, and I don’t know how the vote will shake out,” Cruz said. “I hope it doesn’t pass, but I don’t know what will happen.”

The full program is now LIVE for the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 22-24 in Austin. Explore the schedule of 100+ mind-expanding conversations coming to TribFest, including the inside track on the 2022 elections and the 2023 legislative session, the state of public and higher ed at this stage in the pandemic, why Texas suburbs are booming, why broadband access matters, the legacy of slavery, what really happened in Uvalde and so much more. See the program.

Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

You've read article this month. You have unlimited free articles remaining because we don't have a paywall.

Texans need the truth. Help us report it.

Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?

Support Independent Texas News

Become a member. Join today.

Choose an amount or learn more about membership.

$18 $20 $25 Other Donate Now

You've read articles this month. You have unlimited free articles remaining because we don't have a paywall.

Texans need the truth. Help us report it.

Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?

Support Independent Texas News

Become a member. Join today.

Choose an amount or learn more about membership.

$18 $20 $25 Other Donate Now

Stephen NeukamD.C. Reporting Fellow

[email protected]

Stephen Neukam was a 2022 fall reporting fellow in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate journalism student at the University of Maryland, where he is learning investigative and data journalism. Before joining... More by Stephen Neukam

READ MORE

As Corpus Christi water shortage worsens, residents and businesses may soon have to cut their usage 25%

March 17, 2026

Applications for private school vouchers close today. Demand already exceeds available money.

March 17, 2026

Rep. Jasmine Crockett confirms security team member killed by Dallas police in standoff

March 16, 2026

Afghan man with pending asylum case dies in ICE custody in Dallas

March 15, 2026March 16, 2026, 1:56 p.m. Central

One on one with Don Huffines

March 13, 2026April 14, 2026, 9:00 a.m. Central April 14, 2026 View More Events

latest from our reporters

Why an East Texas rancher donated part of his water rights to the state

by Alejandra Martinez March 16, 2026

Trump’s DOJ is pushing prosecutors to pursue “fatally flawed” cases against Texas border crossers

By Agnel Philip and Abe Streep, ProPublica; Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica; Pratheek Rebala, ProPublica; visuals by Paul Ratje for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica March 16, 2026

After Monica De La Cruz helps migrant teen in ICE custody, Texas man seeks similar aid for fiancée

by Berenice Garcia March 14, 2026

Texas students with disabilities struggle to qualify for extra school voucher funds

by Jaden Edison March 12, 2026March 13, 2026, 9:58 a.m. Central

Democratic turnout doubles in Rio Grande Valley where four Hispanic counties previously went for Trump

By Alejandro Serrano, graphic by Apurva Mahajan March 13, 2026

Texas clarifies voucher rules to help more families access future special ed support

by Jaden Edison March 12, 2026

“God is nonbinary”: GOP activates over Talarico’s past comments characterizing him as too radical for Texas

by Kayla Guo March 12, 2026

Dallas Democrats drop lawsuit seeking to count primary ballots cast during extended voting hours

By Natalia Contreras, Votebeat and The Texas Tribune March 12, 2026

Link Copy link