Ted Cruz Sworn in as Senator, Gets Committee Assignments

Texas officially has a new senator. Sen. Ted Cruz was sworn in in Washington this morning. He won the seat vacated by the retired Kay Bailey Hutchison last year, finishing second in the primary and then defeating Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the run-off that followed. He easily won the general election in November.

The 42-year-old Cruz, who is the son of immigrants who escaped Fidel Castro’s tyranny in Cuba, has already found out which Senate committees he will sit on. Cruz picked up plum assignments on the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Commerce Committee, Armed Services Committee and the Rules Committee.

The Tea Party-backed conservative Cruz previously served as Texas’ solicitor general, and argued cases before the United States Supreme Court.