JD Vance calls Ted Cruz 'ridiculous' in spat over railway safety bill

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) blasted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for what he said was a "ridiculous" stance on a railway safety bill.

In the wake of the Norfolk Southern train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, two Republicans joined with Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee to pass the Railway Safety Act.

During a Wednesday War Room appearance, Vance said he voted for the bill because he supported the increased fines on railway companies.

"It's an important populist issue, Steve, because the question presented here is, do we serve our own voters, or do we serve industry?" Vance said, defending his brand. "Do we listen to the corporate lobbyists, or do we listen to the people who sent us here in the first place?"

Vance said he was part of a "new generation of Republicans," and his voters wanted the railway companies to "pay up."

"But there are a lot of establishment Republicans," the senator lamented. "I hate to say it. Even Ted Cruz has come out and defended the railroad lobby in the wake of this legislation. It's ridiculous to me."

Vance accused the railway companies of being "woke."

"You hear this slogan, go woke, go broke, right?" he asked. "If the railroad industry has gone woke, and it has, if it's setting off chemical bombs in our communities, and it has, isn't it the job of the servants of the people to make them pay up a little? That's all this is about."

The bill is co-sponsored by Vance and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Watch the video below from Real America's Voice.