Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is committing “governmental terrorism,” according to New York Republican Rep. Peter King.

King, who is supposedly considering a run for president, told The New York Times Tuesday afternoon that Cruz, who has been speaking on the Senate floor for nearly a day to protest Obamacare, is “a fraud”

The former supporter of the Irish Republican Army went on to explain that Cruz’s fight to defund Obamacare, which could theoretically result in a government shutdown, is “just a form of governmental terrorism.”

King said he takes umbrage at the idea that Cruz has created a de facto purity test for opponents of the president’s healthcare law, of which King is one, despite the fact that critics expect Cruz and his allies to fail.

“I still think we should try to repeal the bill. But you repeal it the same way you passed it,” King told The Times. “You get bills through both houses of Congress, and you get the president to sign it. The only way we are going to do that is by electing more Republicans and winning the presidential election.”

King further noted that many of his colleagues in the House agree with him.

“A lot of them are intimidated by the Ted Cruz wing,” he said. “There were robocalls and efforts in districts throughout the country during August against Republicans, telling them why they had to support defunding Obamacare.

“What do you accomplish?” he continued. “You build up this mailing list for Cruz, and a fund-raising list. And you also are going to generate primaries against people who I would consider to be good Republicans, pretty solid conservative Republicans.”

Nevertheless, King said that he does not believe Cruz’s actions will result in a government shutdown.

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