'Texas ranks near last!' Sparks fly as Ted Cruz hammered by Dem lawmaker in fiery debate

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) fired off at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) late Saturday night in a heated social-media exchange over taxing billionaires, reminding Cruz of how regressive tax policies in his own state have negatively impacted his own constituents.

The spat was sparked after Khanna publicly championed a proposed ballot measure in California that would, if approved by voters next year, impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of Californians worth more than $1 billion, payable over five years. The proposal has already sparked fear among billionaires, including pro-Trump billionaire Peter Thiel, who is reportedly considering cutting ties with the Golden State were it to be adopted.

Late Saturday, Cruz encouraged Khanna to raise the proposed tax from 5% to 50% under the guise that it would drive more billionaires to flee California and potentially move to Texas.

“Please continue driving all the job creators out of California. If anything, 5% is too low. Why not 50%?” Cruz sarcastically quipped. “Texans are enjoying the prosperity!”

Khanna fired back, reminding Cruz of the impact of regressive tax policies on millions of Texans.

“It's a matter of values. We believe billionaires can pay a modest wealth tax so working class Californians have the Medicaid your party cut,” Khanna wrote in a social media post on X Saturday.

“Texas ranks near last in healthcare, education funding, and worker protections. Meanwhile, we still have an $18 trillion innovation economy because of investment in education & science and attracting hard working immigrants. Happy to show you around the Valley anytime!”

Texas has the 7th most regressive state and local tax system in the nation, meaning low-income Texans pay a disproportionately larger share of their income in taxes than those with high incomes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Perhaps consequently, Texas also ranks poorly in health care performance, education funding and worker protections.

Regarding health care, the Lone Star State ranks 50th for overall health care performance, has the highest uninsured rate in the nation – by a “wide margin” – and ranked the lowest for health care access and affordability. Texas ranks 44th in terms of per-pupil funding relative to education spending needs, and ranks 45th in worker protections.