Cruz has rallied the tea party in his campaign against Obamacare. | M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Ted Cruz: 'I would do anything'

Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday said he wouldn’t rule out using the threat of shutting down the government as a possible negotiating tactic in the future.

ABC News’ Jon Karl asked Cruz if he would rule out another shutdown and Cruz avoided showing his hand.


“I would do anything, and I will continue to do anything I can, to stop the train wreck that is Obamacare,” Cruz told Karl. “The test that matters Jon, is are we doing anything for all the people that are getting hurt from Obamacare?”

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was instrumental in crafting the deal that ended the shutdown and prevented a default on the nation’s debt, has said that he would not allow a government shutdown to happen.

“A government shutdown is off the table,” McConnell told National Review’s Robert Costa on Thursday. “We’re not going to do it.”

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While Cruz has received much criticism from Democrats and moderate Republicans, tea party activists have rallied to support Cruz. In a recent Pew poll, Cruz’s favorability rating among tea partiers soared to 74 percent, up from 47 percent in July. By contrast, his favorability among more moderate members of the Republican Party is 25 percent.