WASHINGTON — A Texas Republican will now make a larger mark on Capitol Hill, leading a committee that oversees big American industries. 

Sen. Ted Cruz is the new chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Focusing on jobs as his top committee priority, Cruz is already working to fulfill a key commitment made by President Donald Trump.

“Texas is the best place in the country to start a business, to run a business, to create jobs, and the great thing about the Senate Commerce Committee is we have jurisdiction over 40% of the U.S. economy. So if you care about jobs in Texas, there are very few places in all of government that can have a greater impact expanding job creation than chairing the Senate Commerce Committee,” Cruz said.

Cruz held a hearing on the Panama Canal’s effects on U.S. trade and national security. This comes as President Donald Trump vowed to take back the waterway amid growing concerns of China’s influence there. Trump and Cruz believe Panama has violated a treaty with the U.S. to maintain the canal’s neutrality. 

“Nobody was talking about this until the president raised it, and I think it is something that impacts American interests profoundly,” Cruz said. 

Throughout his time in the Senate, Cruz has raised concerns about what he views as censorship of conservative voices on social media platforms. Notably, top tech executives got a front-row seat to Trump’s inauguration. 

“It was striking to see the CEOs of just about every tech company in America sitting behind the president, and that is a massive shift. The single biggest threat, I believe, to free speech in America is big tech censorship, and we’ve seen in the past decade, big tech shamelessly censoring and silencing voices they disagree with. Now that changed, and it changed profoundly when Elon Musk purchased Twitter,” Cruz said. 

“As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, my approach is going to be Ronald Reagan’s old approach of trust, but verify. I’m going to hold them to account. We’re going to fight to defend Americans’ free speech rights,” Cruz continued. 

When asked if he took issue with how tech CEOs have shifted, Cruz said, “I will welcome them doing the right thing. I will welcome them defending free speech. That’s what they need to do.”