Ted Cruz Backs Mark Meadows, Calls John Boehner's Punishment 'Shameful'

GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) posted on Twitter Monday: “What happened to @RepMarkMeadows is shameful. No one should be punished for voting his or her conscience.”

Cruz is the second GOP presidential candidate to stand up for Meadows, who was punished for voting against House leadership prior to the final vote on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) granting President Obama fast-track trade authority.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) removed Meadows from chairing his subcommittee as punishment.

Meadows first discussed the punishment due to his vote with Breitbart News’s Matthew Boyle on Sirius XM Breitbart News Sunday, where Meadows told Boyle, “this is really a new low by House Republican leadership.”

GOP presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee issued a statement Monday evening also condemning Meadows’s punishment.

Huckabee said, “I salute Congressman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) for his backbone, courage and commitment to North Carolina workers.”