that confidence cannot be gained by people in polling, giving their opinions, and it may be a case potentially that in a few years down the line, when the republicans may not see it coming, they have an issue similar to the democrats? or going forward, do you think the republicans can unify the people and bring that confidence in polling, expressing what you think to the government? gov. haley: i think i understood your accent. [laughter] gov. haley: i appreciate it very much, we are glad to have you here. i think the people spoke. they felt frustration, they trusted their government. they trusted their elected officials. and nothing came of it. we saw frustration like we have never seen before. and republicans were as much to blame for that as democrats.

what happens from here, i think we have to seize an opportunity. the opportunity is not waiting until the next election. the opportunity is we need to see something in 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, and we don't stop. because that is what the american people have demanded. i always side with the american people. i always side with the decisions they make and i always think it is up to us to make the opportunity out of those decisions. so i'm looking for it to be a bright day in america. you will see everyone is very excited. we don't know exactly what president-elect trump is planning as he goes forward, but we owe it to him to give him the support and strength that he needs so that we can all work together to be successful. [applause] gov. haley: thank you again very much. god bless. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its

caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> ted cruz also spoke at the federalist society convention, discussing late justice antonin scalia and the role of the judicial branch. this is about an hour. >> if people could take their seats, please, we are going to begin the next session. an unusually obedient crowd, thank you. it is my pleasure and privilege to welcome our next speaker, a man who really is known to all of us, u.s. senator ted cruz.

please. [applause] >> i should probably stop right there, let me continue. what you might not know about senator cruz is what an impressive life and career he had even before he was elected to the united states senate. i will tell you about that. he is a princeton and harvard law school grad with honors. he was involved in the federal society student chapter at law school. had there been no harvard chapter, he probably would have created one. after law school, he served first in the judicial branch, where he clerked on the third circuit. next, he became the first hispanic to clerk for the u.s. supreme court justice for chief justice rhein quist. switching branches, he served as an associate deputy attorney general of u.s. department of justice and then as a domestic policy advisor to president george w. bush on the bush

cheney campaign. and then as a director of policy planning at the federal trade commission. moving to state government in 2003, he was appointed as the youngest and first hispanic solicitor general in texas and became that states longest-serving solicitor general. in private practice, he spent five years leading his appellate and supreme court practice. amassing a stellar record before the high court, including many landmark victories. now in the legislative branch, senator cruz serves on the judiciary committees on many committees. my math adding up all that experience, i calculate you are approaching your 80th birthday. [laughter] >> a truly impressive resume.

he has been incredibly engaged and influential lawyer at every branch of government. throughout it all, he has stood formally for limited constitutional government, individual liberty, and the rule of law. the federal society is very pleased to welcome our longtime friend, senator ted cruz. [applause] sen. cruz: thank you. thank you for highlighting my persistent inability to hold a job. although in many manifestations, i have always been able to say, i am from the government and i am here to help you. it is wonderful to be back at the federalist society lawyers convention.

like many of you i have been to this convention many, many times. this is one of the first years in a while that at thursday night i was not up on the second floor playing poker at 2:00 in the morning as many of us have done. this gathering of friends and passionate leaders is an extraordinary gathering. as i was observing to dean and leonard and jean a few moments ago, the timing of this convention is always interesting. [laughter] sen. cruz: the timing of this convention, we could have been here in mourning, wondering what might become of the republic, or we could have been here in celebration, many with resumes in your pockets.

[laughter] sen. cruz: or, in the year 2000, nobody could have been here because everybody would have been here in florida in the middle of the recounts. [laughter] sen. cruz: it is always interesting. now is certainly interesting as well. we stand on the cusp of great change. an astounding election occurred just over a week ago. an election that was a mandate for change. an election in which the voters entrusted republicans with control the white house, control

of every federal agency, and control of the senate and the house. that is rare. that does not come along often. it provides an incredible opportunity for real and meaningful change, and also responsibility. responsibility that i believe we have to deliver. we have got to actually deliver the change, the fidelity to the constitution and the defense of liberty that was promised to the voters. i will say, i stand here filled with great hope that we're going to do exactly that. i am pleased to offer words of congratulations to my colleague and good friend jeff sessions who will make an extraordinary attorney general of the united states. [applause] sen. cruz: he is a committed and deeply principled conservative. if those who serve in this administration have even a fraction of his integrity and commitment to principle, we will see an administration that does remarkable things for the people of this country. [applause] sen. cruz: this gathering is also a celebration and remembrance of our friend, justice antonin scalia. many of us knew him personally. he was one-of-a-kind.

his legacy will it -- will endure forever. one of my favorite stories about justice scalia was back when he was a judge in the d.c. circuit. he was one of two leading conservative justices. ronald reagan was in the white house and everyone knew that one or the other was likely get the next supreme court seat. justice scalia was walking through the parking garage of the court, and two u.s. marshals stopped him at the elevator. they said, i am sorry sir, we are holding this elevator for the attorney general of the united states. scalia pushed past them, stepped into the elevator, jammed the button, and as the door was closing, he said, you tell him, bob corker doesn't wait for anyone.

[laughter] [applause] sen. cruz: that is a true story. the rest, as they say was history. shortly after justice scalia's passing, members of the senate were invited to submit into the congressional record statements commemorating his remarkable career. i am sure that the federalist society crowd here can see the irony in a request to supplement the congressional record, of all things, with praise for justice scalia. given his sterling sense of humor, i suspect he would have rather enjoyed learning about that request. we're talking about a man who waged a 30 year war against

legislative history. the idea that the congressional record was something more than the public musings of self-important legislators who like to hear themselves talk, well, he would have been amused by that. i must say that i am very glad personally that that is not a failing i suffered. [laughter] sen. cruz: i can almost see the justice scalia leaning back, grinning ear to ear, saying that is some request. how about if they really care, they just stop passing unconstitutional laws. [applause] sen. cruz: irony aside, i was pleased to comply with the request. i will share a little bit of what i submitted. antonin scalia was one of the greatest supreme court justices in the history of our country.

a lion of the law. he spent his tenure on the bench championing federalism, the separation of powers, and are fundamental liberties. he was a passionate defender of the constitution. not the constitution as it has been contorted and revised by generations of activist jurists, but as it was understood by the people who ratified it and made it the law of the land. he understood that if the constitution's meaning was not grounded in its text, history, and structure, but could instead be revised by judicial fiat, then the people were no longer sovereign. no longer with the nation be governed by law, which expresses the will of the people, it would be governed by, as he put it, "an unelected committee of nine. this robs the people of the most important liberty the people asserted in the declaration of independence and won in the revolution of 1776, the freedom to govern themselves." the laws of justice scalia

helped shape the recent presidential election. as a referendum on his ideas. would americans choose to be ruled by the constitution as written, or would they be ruled instead by unelected activist justices with life tenure? that was the question put to the american people. i would note, it was not a question that we the people would have been able to answer if the senate had confirmed president obama's replacement. the senate, mitch mcconnell, together stood up and rightly said, in exercising our

constitutional advice and consent, our advice is that the people will determine who replaces this seat. [applause] sen. cruz: that is how our democratic republic is supposed to work. the referendum that the voters expressed on election day was stunning. the stakes, had hillary clinton been elected and nominated an activist judge to replace justice scalia, we would have seen the very contours of the constitution and bill of rights altered for generations. they surely would have rolled back basic protections on free speech and the first amendment, including, as she promised, overturning the citizens united decision. the case, i might note, where the government was seeking to ban a movie critical of hillary clinton.

i cannot imagine anyone wanting to be critical of hillary clinton. [laughter] sen. cruz: they also would have narrowly interpreted religious liberty, stripping away the right to free exercise, to follow your faith, and instead giving government the power to force you to choose between abandoning your faith and principle or face the coercive power of the government. they would have reversed the second amendment right to keep and bear arms, the individual rights upheld in heller, justice scalia's most consequential decision. they likely would have banned the death penalty and struck down a federal ban on partial-birth abortion. all that was on the ballot just over a week ago. instead and in contrast, president-elect trump assured the american people that if

elected he would nominate constitutionalists in the mold of justice scalia. in a very real respect, justice scalia was on the ballot as well. thanks to the historic victory we saw last week, it gives me immense pleasure to say the people have spoken and justice scalia has won as well. [applause] sen. cruz: that is fitting because justice scalia never lost faith in the american people. never lost faith in the goodness and the ability of americans to govern ourselves.

we now have an historic opportunity to return to the constitution, an historic opportunity to restore integrity to the federal government. one of the most shameful aspects of the last eight years was the obama administration's unprecedented assault on the rule of law. .rule of law. a repeating willingness to defy the law, over and over and over again. obamacare changed unilaterally over and over again by an executive branch unwilling to comply with statutes and united states code. immigration law, welfare reform. an administration that would routinely ignore or attempt to unilaterally change the law. then of course there was the abuse of power of the irs targeting individual citizens for exercising free speech rights inconsistent with the

political desires of the administration. we must not forget that the law is a real manifestation of the voice of the people. if we ignore the law, we ignore the people. if we change the law without authority, we supplant the voice of the people. if we abuse the law, we abuse the people. the people are sovereign only so long as law is sovereign. as no man or woman is above the law, but rather we are all one nation. governed by rule of law. because of the election we in this room have an enormous opportunity to help revive and restore our nation. if you look around at this gathering, this gathering may well be the single largest collection of individuals or -- who are likely to serve in the new administration. if you look down the aisles at your friends and neighbors and colleagues, i have great confidence that we are collectively looking at scores of federal judges. that we're looking at many men and women in this room who will

choose to go to work in the department of justice, working to restore the integrity to that department which it has had under both republicans and democrats for centuries, and in integrity that has been badly shaken. we have men and women who may be serving in every federal agency, independent agencies, going to serve our nation. that is a remarkable opportunity. it is a remarkable responsibility. that also means that in doing so, for those who choose to serve, who have the opportunity to serve, we cannot do better. than to follow the example that was blazed by justice scalia. [applause]

senator cruz: it is important to remember that before he was our beloved justice, well before he was even a judge, he was general counsel of the office of telecommunications policy. he was chairman of the administrative conference of the united states, and assistant attorney general for the office of legal counsel. it was in positions like these where he met leviathans face to face while honing his skills. for each of us, i look forward to continuing to work hard in the senate, to fight for the principles this country was founded on, and for many in this room it will be our opportunity once again to do our part and serve, for some a new, for others another time serving our nation. i would note the mission of

public service particularly in these times is not for the fainthearted. the federal government can be overwhelming, almost to massive to comprehend. the challenges are daunting. the established interests are entrenched. as they say in politics, it is not beanbag. we need all hands on deck. i'm so grateful for an institution like the federalist society, one that is devoted to ideas, not a partisan organization, a gathering of individuals who cherish and value freedom and the constitution.

those ideas and a fidelity to them desperately need to be returned to the federal government. before i close, i would like to share a few guiding principles for those of you thinking about taking the opportunity to serve. first and simply, be honest and trustworthy. if we are to be good stewards of the law, we must be good stewards of our souls. do not follow the example of the previous administration. the practice of law is or should be deeply moral undertaking. to faithfully interpret and apply the law, especially in service of the people, requires the utmost integrity. the people, after all, have every right to expect the government officials reached their conclusions in good faith. if the citizenry believes that the law is being subverted to illegitimate ends, they will lose faith in the government, in the rule of law, the idea of justice itself when faith in these things is lost, all that

is left is cynicism. that is a breach of trust that is not easily repaired. we await it to our fellow citizens and to our cause not to let that happen. second, always remember that you serve they cause far greater than yourself. pride comes before the fall. be humble. i know that is an unusual admonition from a politician, we are not generally known for our excessive humility. history is littered with examples of worthy causes that failed because of infighting, because of petty grievances and selfishness. ignore the petty politics. don't bicker agency to agency, office to office, official to official. if we are to succeed in turning the leviathan, we must overcome those impulses.

we must work together to accomplish the job. third, the constitution must be our lodestar. restoring the rule of law must begin with restoring the constitution. to do that, we must be peerless at the gets of the proposition best expressed by justice joseph story, that the constitution has a fixed meaning and is not dependent on the passions or parties of particular times, but the same yesterday, today, and forever. no constitution is worth the paper it is written on if it can be ignored or revised on a whim

by judicial or executive fiat. just ask the soviet union as so many totalitarian regimes we have seen through history. we must rebuild our legal culture so that both the legal profession and the people he embraced the people implicit in a written constitution that the law is not something to be shaped as a potter molds clay, rather it is to be dispassionately applied. the judge's task is to apply the law, not to invent it. fourth, we should continue focusing on law students and

young people, just like justice scalia to. as i described in my remarks to the congressional record, justice scalia understood that changing the languishing legal culture would take drastic measures. he wrote his dissent with a specific target in mind -- law students. his aim was to delight their senses and engage their brains. to this end, he liberally employed colorful metaphors, pithy criticisms, biting logic. he mercilessly and playfully exposed the abundant flaws in the writing and reasoning of other justices. pure applesauce.

jiggery pokery. arglebargle. if you squinted hard enough, you could almost convince yourself that gk chesterton had taken up a seat on the supreme court. [applause] senator cruz: this election may help save the day for now, but to prevail in the long run, we must capture the hearts and minds of young people and impress on them the same fidelity to law and devotion to liberty that built our nation. finally, in the battles to come over the rule of law and our nation, there will be bitter disappointments and setbacks that are inevitable in any worthwhile and difficult endeavor. i was told that yesterday at this conference justice alito gave very good advice. when those times come, we should always ask yourselves, what would scalia do? perhaps we should even get wristbands made. after all, justice scalia was always the academy of the happy warrior. always hopeful, always good-natured, even when the republic was hanging in the balance. his joy for life was evident for all. everyone of us could do very, very well to find inspiration in his worthy example.

above all, we must keep up the fight and never ever, ever give in. our nation, our people, our constitution is worthy of our utmost devotion. thank you. [applause] senator cruz: now i am happy to answer or dodge any question you like. [laughter]

>> thank you very much. i would like to thank the federalist party for posting this wonderful convention. and to your comments during the referendum campaign, indeed you mentioned referendum, we had one earlier this year to leave the european union, and historic vote. i wondered what your thoughts were now that you all have a new president for the new year and we have a new prime minister about the special relationship between our nations? senator cruz: i think that relationship is vital. i think a sad aspect of the last eight years is how poorly it has been treated. starting at the outset of the obama administration with returning the bust of winston churchill. it is my hope that the churchill bust will return. [applause]

senator cruz: the brexit vote was historic. it was more than a little curious that president obama before that both thought it was somehow helpful to cross the atlantic and condescendingly lecture of the british that they should not dare exercise their own sovereignty. perhaps the most puzzling thing was why he thought that would somehow helpful in moving the vote in the direction we wanted it to go. i think brexit poses a tremendous opportunity, an opportunity to strengthen the free trade relationship between the united states and the united kingdom, unlike what obama said about getting to the back of the queue. i believe we should strengthen it and demonstrate what actual free trade means, not a backdoor for a multinational regulator trying to oppose stifling

regulations on everything, but rather an agreement that lowers tariffs and opens trade and commerce and benefits friends and allies, and i think that poses a remarkable opportunity. i hope also it provides real and meaningful economic competition for europe to improve all involved. [applause] >> good morning, sir. i'm from tallahassee via jamaica. i don't have a question. i want to say thank you. thank you for everything you have done. i am a fellow immigrants. i want you to know how much we appreciate you and how many people in jamaica, as you know, really appreciate you. thank you so much. thank you for leading us in the right direction.

we appreciate you. [applause] senator cruz: thank you very much for those kind and generous comments. yes, sir. >> thank you for your wonderful speech and for being with us. i am also from -- i am from the university of oxford in england. i was raised in the countryside. i know what it is like to be told that you are stupid because of how you speak, to be think that you are forgotten by your government. they say it is not affordable to bring the services to where you

live. you don't really matter. with the presidential election, we saw that rural americans who thought they were left behind stood up and expressed their voice in such large numbers, what sorts of words of encouragement to you have for those people who feel that they have been left behind? senator cruz: i think the election was an incredible vindication for the american people across this country. especially those you mentioned in rural america in what elites on both coasts considered to be flyover country. this election could be well understood as the revenge of flyover country. [applause] senator cruz: one of the things that was most striking was the utter astonishment of the hillary clinton campaign, of the press, of democrats. i am reminded of an earlier election, a question from manhattan. how could richard nixon have

won? i don't know anyone who voted for him. i think the clinton campaign on themselves flabbergasted. i don't think they contemplated the fact they might not prevail. i think that is a direct result of not listening to and not hearing the american people, the voices of frustration, the voices that have been ignored, the voices that were crying out more than anything else, we've us alone. those voices have not been heard in washington. by democrats and far too often by republicans either. i think this election poses an opportunity for us to listen to the voices of the american people, to hear them and to come together and actually solve the problems of this country. when you are given control of the executive and legislature, it is time to put up or shut up. there are no excuses. we have got to deliver.

that is what the voters across the country expect. that is what i very much hope we will give them. [applause] >> thank you, senator. i am from across the ocean in europe. we're wishing you all the luck. >> could you talk about the problems -- now that we finally have across-the-board red, how do we start at? most of the public knows that something is wrong. they don't know what it is. now we can finally start. how would you suggest we start? senator cruz: that is a fabulous question. one of the things men and women here understand is that the growth of leviathan has no greater manifestation than the regulatory state, the army of unelected bureaucrats who often believe they answer to no

political authority higher than themselves, they do not answer to the people. we see these regulations growing and growing and stifling freedom, stifling job creation, stifling wages. we have an opportunity to fix that. indeed, i would turn that argument that venue and encourage everyone here -- back on you and encourage everyone here to use your training to think about how we can ratchet back the regulatory state. i brought my entire senate office together and i said i want all of us to start working hard and creatively, to pull out a notepad and think about what can and should be done to stop stifling job creators, what can be done with executive authority. the one silver lining of obama's abuse of executive power, everything he did can be undone through executive power. [applause] senator cruz: i have spent some time visiting with the

president-elect, the transition team, and very much encouraging that team to use executive authority not only to turn back the abuses of the obama era, but also to use it in legitimate ways to reduce the burdens of government. when it comes to the regulatory state, what obama has done wrong with executive power is he has intruded into the article one legislative authority of congress. it is congress that makes the law, and the president cannot change the law or ignore the law. in article two, the president has robust executive authority. the executive authority is vested in one president of the united states, and the entire regulatory state represents congress over the decades trying to tie the hands of the president of the executive.

it is my hope this administration takes on the vigorous regulatory reform, not in the past as it has been a oneway ratchet. we have seen democrats regulate like crazy, and republicans continuing to regulate a little more slowly. i had a friend of mine suggested bumper sticker, "republicans, we waste less." [laughter] senator cruz: i hope that at the end of this administration, we will not be saying that. instead we will be saying that we used this mandate from the people to take on the regulatory

state, to rescind regulations, to fire regulators who were abusing their power, to retake liberty. [applause] senator cruz: last question. >> thank you. i am from new york. the suburbs of westchester county. senator cruz: wonderful. >> i do have a thought. during the course of the campaign, particularly the primaries, i did imagine you in another capacity. senator cruz: so did i. [laughter] >> i am wondering now if perhaps that ninth seat, any possibility? [applause] senator cruz: well, thank you for the kind encouragement. what i will say is that history is long and can take unexpected paths.

i think it is absolutely vital that in seat and every other seat that comes vacant on the court be filled by principal constitutionalists who will be faithful to the law and checked their own policy preferences at the door and simply honor their oath. right now i have the privilege of serving in the united states senate and representing 20 million texans. that is a privilege and responsibility i take seriously. i look forward to continuing to carry out the responsibility and continuing to fight for the principles of freedom and principles embodied in the constitution and bill of rights. they are very much in jeopardy right now. i, like many of you, and very

excited by the historic opportunity we have been given. i look forward to working very hard to make the most of this opportunity to make the biggest difference for our country. thank you. [applause] >> senator cruz. thank you so much for being with us today, senator cruz. we appreciate it.

[indiscernible room noise]

>> are used to be an aerospace engineer.

>> no. [laughter] -- >> i used to be an arrow engineer. >> i don't know. [laughter] >> thank you. >> you are? : we've got a number of supporters there. >> nice. senator cruz: i'm also from miami. [indiscernible] >> cowboy hat [indiscernible] miami. >> i was very encouraged.

sen. cruz: hopefully we can get a lot done. [indiscernible] >> i went to law school with him. i appreciate all you done for us. >> [indiscernible] security [indiscernible] china's rise [indiscernible] top-secret clearance, i would like to express this concern. thank you very much.

[indiscernible] >> local party chair. >> pleasure to meet you. it atoms sends his regards. dick adamsm -- sends his regards. [indiscernible] constitution [indiscernible] inspiring [indiscernible] that last question. sen. cruz: thank you. [indiscernible] >> federal society. >> he's a huge fan of yours. [indiscernible] >> ok. >> ready? 3, 2, 1. >> hi, thank you for your service. sen. cruz: thank you. www.c-span.org [laughter] thank you.

[laughter] >> cool. [indiscernible] >> i would love it. >> thank you so much. [indiscernible]

>> godspeed in all you may do. [indiscernible] >> thank your father. sen. cruz: thank you. [indiscernible] >> appreciate what you are feeling. -- doing.

>> thank you for your hard work. [indiscernible] sen. cruz: thank you very much. [indiscernible] >> pleasure --my pleasure. >> good to see you. it happened. it just happened. >> a short list of politicians. >> it is good to see you.

we are excited for what is to come. sen. cruz: how are things going? >> very good. i don't think it could be much better. we are excited to catch you up. sen. cruz: i have had those conversations. >> i have heard. a bunch of people helping. a lot of people helping. i will say people trust ted cruz on judges. you are wonderful. thank you. so good to see you and to be here. thank you. base.s like home oh, captain, my captain. thank you for being here. happy to see you.