"I think Chuck Schumer and the Democrats want a shutdown," Cruz said on "Fox & Friends." "I think they're trying to provoke a fight, and Schumer is just trying to put more and more unreasonable demands, trying to force a shutdown to appease those who want total resistance, total opposition — who don't want the Trump administration to succeed."
Cruz also blamed the left-wing base for encouraging the party to adopt a sweeping agenda of opposition that led Senate Democrats to filibuster Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch's nomination earlier this month. In response, Republicans voted to change Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.
Congress must pass a federal funding bill ahead of a Friday deadline in order to avert a government shutdown. But a fight has emerged between Democrats and Republicans over funding for ObamaCare subsidies for insurers.
One possible spending bill would see Republicans agreeing to fund the cost-sharing program in exchange for Democrats agreeing to an additional $15 billion in defense spending.
Democrats also vowed to block a spending bill that included funding for President Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump seemed to back away from his demands to include such funding in the measure, saying on Tuesday that "the wall will get built" but not specifying when.
In 2013, Cruz was instrumental in shutting down the government in an attempt to defund ObamaCare.
