Welcome. It is Verdict, live on the road at the Texas Youth Summit.

Ben Ferguson with you with Senator Ted Cruz. Senator, I feel like this is a hostage video. You are in Washington held hostage right now because of a

looming government shutdown. We know that the president, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,

one of your best friends, they're excited about this shutdown. Explain to everybody

what's going to happen with a shutdown and how it's playing out.

Well, for this hostage video, I will try to refrain from blinking SOS with my eyelids.

But I am indeed trapped in a lunatic asylum. I'm in Washington, D.C.

My plan had been to be back there with you. I've been to the Texas Youth Summit multiple years.

It's a fantastic gathering.

Let me say to all the young men, all the young women who are there, who are standing up,

who are speaking out, who are engaging and making a difference, making a difference in

your community, making a difference in Texas, making a difference in the country.

Thank you for your leadership. It is a

great event. That's why I always love coming, but I'm right now stuck in D.C. because we are

hours away from yet another government shutdown. And so if Congress doesn't act, and I think the

chances of Congress acting are very, very low, I think it is extremely likely that we'll have a shutdown. If Congress doesn't act, and I think the chances of Congress acting are very, very low, I think it is extremely

likely that we'll have a shutdown. If Congress doesn't act by midnight tonight, then at 12.01 a.m.,

funding for the federal government will end, and I think we're likely to have an extended

government shutdown. I think it's going to last a while.

Let's talk about the politics of a shutdown. Each side has to have a calculation. They have

these conversations, who wins, who loses, and how this is going to be affecting their party.

What is a shutdown? You've been through a couple of these. What are your concerns?

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