Indianapolis -- Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced Carly Fiorina as his vice president pick after "a great deal of consideration and prayer."

Cruz praised Fiorina as a “woman of extraordinary intelligence” and “a woman of deep principle.”

“Carly respects the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and she understands the threats facing America,” Cruz said. “She understands this is a dangerous world and in naming her as my vice presidential nominee, I am also telling you that she is someone you can be confident in.”

Cruz also touted her confrontation with Donald Trump at the Sept. 16 Republican primary debate, responding to Trump’s comments on her appearance.

“She is careful and she is measured and serious and she doesn't get overly excited or rattled by everything that is getting thrown at her,” Cruz said.

In a veiled attack against Trump, Cruz argued: "If you see a leader who deliberately surrounds themselves with people who are not capable, who are not informed, who are not skilled, and who would never, ever stands up to that leader, it tells you that leader is not a leader, but, rather, someone not at all secure in who they are."

Cruz said Monday his campaign was in the process of vetting a short list of potential vice presidential picks. An aide to Fiorina confirmed that she was being vetted by the Cruz campaign.

Fiorina, a former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, announced her bid for the Republican nominee last year, but dropped out of the race following the New Hampshire primaries. She endorsed Cruz for president March 9 and since then has been an active surrogate on the campaign trail for the Texas senator.

Cruz's announcement comes after a night of losses to GOP front-runner T rump in five primaries and before the Indiana primary May 3 and the May 7 California primary, where Fiorina ran and lost for a Senate seat in 2010.