Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell typically find themselves at odds, but in the past week each expressed optimism that their major bipartisan breakthrough on college sports could set them up to tackle other big things — like artificial intelligence.
Evidence suggests that confidence ought to be tempered.
Cruz, a Texas Republican, and Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, have served together atop the Senate Commerce Committee for nearly four years — with Cantwell first serving as chair before turning the gavel over to Cruz in 2025.
They have occasionally found common ground, such as trying to eliminate hidden ticket fees for concerts and sporting events, and enacting safety measures after the deadly plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Their bill to overhaul the multibillion-dollar college sports industry, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate last week, has been their highest-profile achievement to date, requiring months of brass-tacks negotiations, painful compromises and uncomfortable divisions with colleagues and key constituencies.