Video shows Congress “erupting” over U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s remarks.
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No, Congress didn’t ‘erupt’ when Sen. Ted Cruz made these comments
If Your Time is short
- This video doesn’t show Congress "erupting" over U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s comments.
Shouting and jeering may be common in the British Parliament, but less so in the U.S. Congress. It would be unusual for American lawmakers to howl at something their colleague said on the House or Senate floor.
And yet, that’s what a recent Facebook post suggests happened.
"Congress ERUPTS as Ted Cruz UNLEASHES Hell on AG Merrick Garland," a description of a video in a Jan. 29 Facebook post says.
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)
Reasonable minds can disagree on what, exactly, "unleashing hell" on someone looks like, but anyone excited to see Congress erupting should save themselves 13 minutes and skip the video.
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It’s a compilation of three clips.
The first, from October 2021, shows Cruz testily questioning Attorney General Merrick Garland during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Cruz is forceful — he "grills" Garland, according to a press release from Cruz’ office — but it elicits no Congressional eruption.
The second clip shows Cruz delivering a Senate floor speech on Jan. 6, 2021, before protesters breached the U.S. Capitol. In it, Cruz questioned the 2020 presidential election’s results. But no eruption, and no Garland.
The third clip shows Cruz questioning FBI Director Christopher Wray during a Senate Judiciary hearing in August. Again, no eruption and no Garland.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Jan. 29, 2023
Ted Cruz, Sen. Cruz grills AG Garland: ‘Apparently ethics are not a terribly high priority in the Biden Justice Department, Oct. 27, 2021
The Washington Post, Ted Cruz’s electoral vote speech will live in infamy, Jan. 6, 2021
Ted Cruz, Senator Cruz Torches FBI Director Wray Over Politicization of the FBI, Aug. 4, 2022
HuffPost, End The Shouting, Jeering And Heckling In Parliament, Most People Say, Jan. 9, 2020
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No, Congress didn’t ‘erupt’ when Sen. Ted Cruz made these comments
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