Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Illinois Dem. Sen. Dick Durbin got into a heated spat during Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for President Biden’s pick to fill the number three post at the Justice Department.
Cruz strongly questioned associate AG nominee Vanita Gupta, accusing her of demonstrating “significant hostility to religious liberty.”
“Today’s Democratic Party has abandoned religious liberty,” Cruz told Gupta. “Indeed, the Equality Act, of which you are a vocal supporter…is a radical piece of legislation that among other things explicitly repeals significant aspects of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA),” he went on before asking her if she agreed with stripping American’s religious freedoms.
Newsweek’s fact check, published Monday, waded into Sen. Cruz’s “claim that millions of illegal immigrants would receive stimulus payments.” The publication first dubbed the claim “mostly false” before having to issue a correction.
As a result of the correction, Cruz called out Durbin on Wednesday, tweeting that “facts are stubborn things.” Durbin previously accused Cruz of being untruthful during a vote-o-rama on the Senate floor Saturday.
2/x Now that Newsweek has CONFIRMED that it’s TRUE that millions of illegal aliens will receive $1400 stimulus checks…
Will Daily Beast retract its story wrongly saying my claim was false? (no)
Will @DickDurbin apologize for wrongly calling me a liar on the Senate floor? (no)
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 10, 2021
“Cruz’s claim that millions of illegal immigrants would receive stimulus payments is not true, although some people who overstay their visas might be eligible for a stimulus payment based on their tax filings,” Newsweek originally wrote according to an archived version of the post.
One day after publication, Newsweek was forced to correct its fact check and give the claim a “true” rating. The magazine added in a statement from Customs and Border Patrol in its updated article as well.
“Cruz’s claim that millions of illegal immigrants would receive stimulus payments is true, given the amount of people who have overstayed their visas over the years. Once they overstay, they technically are considered ‘illegal,’” Newsweek’s current fact check reads.
The Daily Caller notes,
Customs and Border Patrol confirmed to Newsweek that if an individual overstays their visa, “they are here illegally” and may be deported.
Cruz applauded Newsweek for the correction in a statement.
“I want to commend Newsweek for doing the right thing and making the responsible journalistic decision to correct their story,” Cruz said
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