Cruz would have served as White House associate counsel, according to the Associated Press report. | Getty Report: Ted Cruz turned down White House post after 2000 campaign

Ted Cruz is running for the White House, but over a decade ago he stepped back from a job in it.

The Republican Texas senator has frequently talked on the campaign trail about being overlooked for a senior role in the George W. Bush administration. But Cruz actually turned down a position shortly after the 2000 campaign, the Associated Press reported Friday.


Cruz would have served as White House associate counsel, according to the report. However, he thought he was in the running for a more senior position as deputy counsel.

Cruz, who has climbed in recent polls for the Republican nomination, had come under consideration for the associate role after serving as an adviser to Bush on domestic policy issues as well as helping to fight Bush's legal battle for the presidency with Democratic nominee Al Gore.

But the deputy counsel position was reserved for Timothy Flanigan, a Bush administration veteran. Cruz would have been one of nine associate counsels reporting to Flanigan, while Flanigan in turn reported to then-White House counsel and future U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Catherine Frazier, a spokesperson for Cruz, told the AP late Friday that the presidential hopeful's memoir is filled with lessons learned after the Bush campaign, adding, "He did have a meeting expressing interest in the deputy counsel job, but does not recall any job offer being made."