Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Tuesday that the Department of Justice under Attorney General Merrick Garland has become a ''partisan arm'' of the Democratic Party.
''I think it is impressive how quickly the Department of Justice has shifted operational control to the Democratic National Committee," Cruz told Fox News. "Sadly, under Joe Biden, DOJ operates as a partisan arm to target red states rather than an impartial law enforcement agency."
Garland's DOJ filed a lawsuit on Monday against Cruz's home state of Texas, arguing that its redistricting plan for state and federal legislative districts violate the Voting Rights Act, denying ''electoral opportunities'' to Black and Latino voters.
''The United States' complaint contends that Texas' redistricting plan for its congressional delegation violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because it has the discriminatory purpose of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color or membership in a language minority group in that it deliberately minimizes the voting strength of minority communities,'' DOJ said in a press release announcing the suit Monday.
''The lawsuit also claims that Texas violated Section 2 because its congressional redistricting plan has the discriminatory result of leading to an inequality in the opportunities for minority voters to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice,'' the release stated.
It is the third time in a year the department has sued the Lone Star State, with lawsuits pending regarding the state's new abortion restrictions, and another voting law that the agency asserts violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
''The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the fundamental right to vote for all Americans,'' Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a press release Nov. 4 announcing that lawsuit.
''Laws that impair eligible citizens' access to the ballot box have no place in our democracy. Texas Senate Bill 1's restrictions on voter assistance at the polls and on which absentee ballots cast by eligible voters can be accepted by election officials are unlawful and indefensible,'' Clarke said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton responded to Fox News on Tuesday, saying that it appears the Justice Department under Democrats' control is seeking to force the party's agenda on the state ''any way possible.''
''They want to turn them into Democratic states, and they'll do it any way possible — whether it's doing damage to our economy by allowing illegals to come in that potentially cause crime and transport fentanyl, whether it's the transmission of COVID from across the border,'' Paxton said. ''They're all about allowing things and promoting things that hurt Republican states."
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Ammar Moussa pushed back against Cruz.
"Republicans across the country, and especially in Texas, have done everything in their power to make it more difficult to vote and draw maps that discriminate against voters of color," Moussa told Fox News. ''Of course Ted Cruz is upset to see the Department of Justice work harder to protect his constituents than he ever has.
''While he bloviates and books flights to Cancun, [Mexico], Democrats will continue to work to make voting more accessible and fight back against Republicans' attacks on this fundamental freedom."
DOJ declined to comment to Fox News, the story said.
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