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- Princeton’s American Whig-Cliosphic Society voted to strip Sen. Ted Cruz of a public service award.
- Society members voted 37-32 in favor of rescinding the honor, The Daily Princetonian reported.
- Cruz is facing criticism for his role in the insurrection on January 6 and an ill-timed Cancun trip.
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America’s oldest collegiate debate society has voted to strip Sen. Ted Cruz of its highest honor, according to The Daily Princetonian.
Princeton University’s American Whig-Cliosphic Society passed a motion to rescind the James Madison Award for Distinguish Public Service awarded to Cruz in 2016, the newspaper reported.
Members of the society proposed the motion because unhappy at Cruz’s support of baseless voter fraud claims in the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol attack.
The award – introduced in 1960 – is bestowed upon individuals who have “taken up the arduous but righteous cause of dedicating their life to the betterment of society,” according to the society’s website.
This is the first time in the society’s history that members have voted to rescind this award, The Daily Princetonian said.
After a 90-minute debate, 37 people voted in favor of rescinding, 32 voted not to rescind, and five people abstained, the newspaper reported.
Cruz graduated from Princeton in 1992 and was considered a brilliant orator in his youth.
The society's Board will now make a decision of Trustees as to whether the award should formally be revoked, according to The Daily Princetonian. They are expected to approve.
Cruz's approval rating has tanked in recent weeks. An ill-timed trip to Cancun while his home state of Texas experienced a catastrophic winter storm cost him in the polls.
His approval rating dropped from +6 to -5 between February 18 and-28, according to a Morning Consult poll of over 2,000 registered voters.
Cruz's reputation is also tarnished by his refusal to accept the 2020 presidential election result.
The senator spearheaded the Senate GOP effort to object to the certification of President Joe Biden's victory. Several lawmakers called for Cruz to resign after a pro-Trump mob violently stormed the Capitol minutes after he gave a speech on the Senate floor.