U.S. Senator Ted Cruz appeared to stumble over his words, accidentally urging his Senate colleagues to stop "attacking pedophiles" during a Tuesday committee hearing. "Sen. Booker also said we should have bipartisan agreement. I think that's a great ideawe should have bipartisan agreement," Cruz said. "How about we all come together and say, 'Lets stop murders.' How about we all come together and say, 'Lets stop rape.' How about we all come together and say 'Lets stop attacking pedophiles." Cruz did not seem to catch his vocal fumble, moving on to share statistics about President Donald Trump's crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C. The Texas Senator's remarks came during a hearing on the Trump administration's actions addressing crime in cities. Chron contacted Cruz's spokesperson but did not receive a response by the time of publication. The C-SPAN clip of Cruz's blunder quickly caught a wave of attention on social media, notably X, where users could not believe the Lone Star State lawmaker's mistaken ad-lib. "I am old and can't tell if this video is manufactured, but [Cruz] does appear to say 'let's stop attacking pedophiles,'" one user wrote. With another writing, "I beg your pardon???" While other users opted for a funnier approach, sharing memes that expressed shock at Cruz's comments. Cruz's mishap comes at a time of heightened discourse around the Epstein files, with calls from both Republicans and Democrats for the Trump administration to release the undisclosed documents. Notably, House Democrats released a screenshot of what appeared to be a letter signed by Trump, which included a collection of notes sent to Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous American financier-turned-sex offender. The letter displays a conversation between Trump and Epstein, set within what appears to be a hand-drawn outline of a woman's torso. The president's signature is located just below the hips of the drawing. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has since denied that Trump drew the picture and signed the card.
The Senator's remark is presented without comment.