Ted Cruz is a Republican politician and attorney who has served as the junior U.S. Senator from Texas since 2013, making history as the first Hispanic American to represent the state in the Senate. Born in Calgary, Canada, to a Cuban father and an American mother, Cruz graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School before becoming the Solicitor General of Texas (2003–2008). He rose to national prominence for leading the 2013 federal government shutdown in a failed attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act, and later became a serious contender in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, where he fiercely challenged and eventually endorsed Donald Trump. Reelected in 2018 and 2024, Cruz has been the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee since 2025 and drafted the TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed into law by President Trump that same year. He is also notable for introducing a bill in 2025 that created what later became known as "Trump accounts." Cruz is slated to become Texas's senior senator in 2027 when John Cornyn leaves office.