Senate

Cruz threatens to subpoena Treasury officials

by Jordain Carney - 05/27/15 6:23 PM ET

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warned Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday he could force department officials to testify over ObamaCare.

The presidential hopeful wants Mark Mazur, an assistant secretary for tax policy; Emily McMahon, deputy assistant secretary for tax policy; and Cameron Arterton, deputy tax legislative counsel for tax policy, to testify before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing next month.

{mosads}But Cruz said he had been told the three wouldn’t be able to testify about subsidies under the Affordable Care Act because of an ongoing court case.

“This refusal is unacceptable and interferes with Congress’s and this Committee’s obligation to ensure proper functioning of federal agencies and the federal rule making process,” the Texas Republican wrote in his letter to Lew.

Cruz added that the officials should have to testify “regardless of any perceptions of poor timing by, or inconvenience to, the executive branch.”

He warned that if the Treasury officials do not agree to testify, he could compel them to testify “at any time deemed convenient for the Committee.”

The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision in the case King v. Burwell sometime in June. The ruling will determine whether people who sign up for insurance through the federal ObamaCare exchange are eligible for subsidies.

But Cruz notes in a footnote of his letter to Lew that he doesn’t believe congressional testimony would affect the court’s decision.

The 2016 candidate chairs the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on oversight.

Tags Ted Cruz