House Republican leadership aide: 'Wendy Davis has more balls than Ted Cruz'

An aide to a House Republican leaders on Wednesday said that Democratic Texas state Sen. "Wendy Davis has more balls than Ted Cruz" (R-TX) because the Republican senator refused to filibuster a bill to defund President Barack Obama's health care reform law after he spent all summer insisting he would shut down the government if he had to.

At a press conference on Wednesday, House Republican leaders did exactly what Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) had been calling for, they announced plans to advance a measure that funded everything in the government except Obamacare.

And then Cruz and Lee infuriated Republican House members by refusing to filibuster when Senate Democrats add Obamacare funding back to the measure.

"[Senate Democratic Majority Leader] Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so," a statement from Cruz said. "At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people."

Senior GOP leadership aides told CNN that Republicans in the House were outraged at Cruz and Lee.

"They said nothing is impossible if you fight hard enough, and the minute the House announces the vote, they give up the fight? It's crazy." one aide said. "They should walk the walk."

"It is disappointing to see that Wendy Davis has more balls than Ted Cruz," another aide to Republican leadership told the network.

Davis received national attention earlier this year when she filibustered a bill in the Texas legislature that would have restricted abortions. Gov. Rick Perry (R) was eventually forced to call a special session to force the bill through.

House Republicans also expressed their frustration to NBC News.

"Cruz, Lee and [Florida Sen. Marco] Rubio are like the kids in high school who would yell fight, fight, fight, but have never thrown a punch in their entire life," one senior aide said.