White House Stews Over Sen. Ted Cruz’s Moves for 2028 Presidential Run

Long-simmering tensions between President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz are boiling over, with White House allies convinced that the Texas Republican is aiming to boost his 2028 presidential prospects at the expense of Vice President JD Vance, Henry J. Gomez reported for NBC News.

Cruz has raised hackles by positioning himself against Trump — and, by extension, Vance — on several key issues. (Photo: Gage Skidmore Flickr)

Cruz has raised hackles by positioning himself against Trump — and, by extension, Vance — on several key issues, three people with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.

“Clearly everything Ted has been doing for the last year has been calculated with his eyes toward 2028,” a person close to the White House said, assessing Cruz’s motivations.

The person, like others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

“He’s doing this dance where he won’t say anything bad publicly about Trump or Vance specifically, but he’s doing things to position himself to the right, and he’s not doing a good job concealing it,” they added.

The irritation dates to the earliest days of Trump’s second term, when Cruz unsuccessfully sought unilateral subpoena power in his role as chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

The move would have given Cruz broad authority to bring administration officials and Big Tech executives friendly with Trump and Vance before his panel.

In recent months, Cruz has clashed with the Trump administration over free speech issues and with Tucker Carlson, the influential conservative commentator with close ties to Vance.

Three people granted anonymity to share details of private conversations say Cruz also opposed Vance and others who recommended Trump’s recent renomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.