MSNBC issued a correction to an op-ed published Thursday by Rep. Colin Allred of Texas in which the two-term Democrat attacked Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for supposedly blocking President Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Allred, who is running for Cruz’s Senate seat in 2024, wrote an op-ed for MSNBC accusing Cruz of holding up the confirmation of Biden nominee Jack Lew, even as Israel responds to a Hamas terrorist attack that left over 1,400 people dead. (RELATED: Texas Dem Who Voted To Reduce Carjacking Penalties Silent After Rep. Cuellar Victimized In DC)
“Yet Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, continue to block the confirmation of Jack Lew, the eminently qualified nominee for ambassador to Israel,” Allred wrote in the original version of the op-ed, an archived version of the article shows. “Further, were it up to Cruz and other extremists in Congress, the United States government would have to face this crisis while mired in a shutdown.”
MSNBC issued a correction Friday to Allred’s op-ed and clarified that Sen. Cruz is not holding up Lew’s pending appointment.
“A previous version of this article misstated Sen. Ted Cruz’s procedural stance on Jack Lew’s appointment. While he has not agreed to expedite Lew’s nomination, Cruz has not placed a formal hold on it,” MSNBC’s correction reads.
The edited version of Allred’s op-ed states that Cruz and other Republicans “have not agreed to expedite the confirmation of Jack Lew,” instead of accusing Cruz of blocking Lew’s appointment. Biden nominated Lew in September, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has a confirmation hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Colin Allred wants to be a Senator but he doesn’t know anything about how the Senate works.
His flak keeps tweeting that Ted Cruz is holding an ambassador before a hearing (not how any of this works).
Tonight he tried to publish it on MSNBC – which just issued a correction. pic.twitter.com/hHxMwrrnar
— Macarena Martinez de Aldecoa (@macamrtz) October 13, 2023
“Colin Allred wants to be a Senator but he doesn’t know anything about how the Senate works,” Cruz spokesperson Macarena Martinez de Aldecoa said in a statement. “His flak keeps tweeting that Ted Cruz is holding an ambassador before a hearing (not how any of this works). Tonight he tried to publish it on MSNBC – which just issued a correction.”
Allred is scheduled to attend a fundraiser Tuesday with an anti-Israel progressive group that has donated $200,000 to his 2024 senate campaign. His Senate campaign and congressional office did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Allred previously praised Imam Omar Suleiman, a Muslim activist who sided with Hamas in the wake of its attack on Israel. Hamas’ assault on Israel has claimed more than 1,000 civilian lives including 30 American citizens, according to the U.S. State Department. The Israeli military has launched a counteroffensive in the disputed Gaza Strip territory in response to the attack.