Eyes roll as Ted Cruz denies role in 2013 government shutdown ; ` Speechless ' says one senator .
Ted Cruz
"If we have a shutdown , it will be because Harry Reid holds that absolutist position and essentially holds the American people hostage ," Cruz told NBC 's Meet the Press days after his filibuster , and just before the shutdown began . 
Over the next couple of weeks , with much of the federal workforce furloughed , Cruz huddled with House conservatives to encourage them to dig in against a deal that included any capitulation on the Obamacare demands . 
WASHINGTON -- To hear Sen. Ted Cruz tell it , he deserves no blame for the 2013 government shutdown that cost the U.S. economy $ 24 billion . 
"You 've left me speechless ," Maine Sen. Susan Collins , a moderate Republican who seethed at Cruz throughout the 2013 episode , told reporters when asked about her Texas colleague 's stance . 
Cruz argued Monday that he voted repeatedly to keep the government running . 
Cruz spent the summer of 2013 promoting the idea that the fight to defund Obamacare was worth the risk of shutdown , and stirring public pressure on GOP leaders . 
The episode remains a key moment in Cruz 's five-year Senate career , elevating his status among tea partiers and propelling his 2016 presidential bid . 
But while Cruz 's stance caused dismay and allegations of revisionism , he has always maintained that Democrats bore responsibility for the 16-day shutdown -- along with GOP congressional leaders who lacked the backbone to back him up in the crusade to defund Obamacare . 
"There 's no end result other than shutting the government down , for which Republicans are going to be blamed ," Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said after a meeting with Cruz , shortly before the shutdown . 
On Monday , Cruz called it "a media narrative" that he was responsible for the 2013 shutdown . 
House Speaker John Boehner rejected the tactic and later called Cruz a "jackass" for pursuing it .
"If we have a shutdown , it will be because Harry Reid holds that absolutist position and essentially holds the American people hostage ," Cruz told NBC 's Meet the Press days after his filibuster , and just before the shutdown began . 
Over the next couple of weeks , with much of the federal workforce furloughed , Cruz huddled with House conservatives to encourage them to dig in against a deal that included any capitulation on the Obamacare demands . 
WASHINGTON -- To hear Sen. [TGT] tell it , he deserves no blame for the 2013 government shutdown that cost the U.S. economy $ 24 billion . 
"You 've left me speechless ," Maine Sen. Susan Collins , a moderate Republican who seethed at Cruz throughout the 2013 episode , told reporters when asked about her Texas colleague 's stance . 
Cruz argued Monday that he voted repeatedly to keep the government running . 
Cruz spent the summer of 2013 promoting the idea that the fight to defund Obamacare was worth the risk of shutdown , and stirring public pressure on GOP leaders . 
The episode remains a key moment in Cruz 's five-year Senate career , elevating his status among tea partiers and propelling his 2016 presidential bid . 
But while Cruz 's stance caused dismay and allegations of revisionism , he has always maintained that Democrats bore responsibility for the 16-day shutdown -- along with GOP congressional leaders who lacked the backbone to back him up in the crusade to defund Obamacare . 
"There 's no end result other than shutting the government down , for which Republicans are going to be blamed ," Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said after a meeting with Cruz , shortly before the shutdown . 
On Monday , Cruz called it "a media narrative" that he was responsible for the 2013 shutdown . 
House Speaker John Boehner rejected the tactic and later called Cruz a "jackass" for pursuing it .