Cruz lays off the corn, turns on the gas

WASHINGTON -- Ted Cruz is holding up the confirmation of a key agriculture nominee to help oil refiners in his home state of Texas – infuriating some of the Iowans who fueled his rise in the 2016 presidential primary.

Cruz is up for reelection this year in Texas, where oil and gas is king and employs hundreds of thousand of people. But he could someday take another run at the White House, and Iowa is traditionally the site of the nation’s first presidential caucuses.

Roughly 315,000 Texans work in the state’s oil and gas industry. Cruz and other free market conservatives say it’s suffering from rising fees connected to renewable fuel standards.

In an effort to force industry players to discuss reconsidering that fee, Cruz this week once again withheld his support to confirm Bill Northey, President Donald Trump’s nominee for a top USDA position.

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