NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has given up his Canadian citizenship, roughly nine months after learning he was a dual citizen, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Cruz, a Republican who is widely seen to be considering a bid for the White House in 2016, received a letter saying his request to renounce the citizenship had been accepted at his Houston home on Tuesday, the Dallas Morning News said.

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A spokeswoman for Cruz could not immediately be reached for comment.

The newspaper first reported the citizenship issue last August, and said the news came to Cruz, who was born in Canada, as a surprise.

The revelation created a potential embarrassment for Cruz and raised questions about whether he was eligible to run for president.

“Nothing against Canada, but I’m an American by birth and as a U.S. senator, I believe I should be only an American,” Cruz said at the time, according to the newspaper.

(Reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Jim Loney)

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[Image via ABC News]