After twelve years as a self-proclaimed Washington outsider, U.S. Sen Ted Cruz is fresh off a successful reelection campaign and on the cusp of taking over one of the Senate's most coveted and powerful positions.
As ranking member on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Cruz is in line to chair that committee after Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate earlier this week. That will give Cruz, one of the most divisive figures in U.S. politics, authority to litigate issues ranging from the rules around commercial space exploration to questions about whether to rein in the powerful tech industry and limit the pharmaceutical industry's ability to profit off prescription medication.