In an interview with The Washington Post published Sunday, Cruz refused to pledge his support to McConnell, the current minority leader in the Senate, and outlined what he believes should be the chamber's priorities.
While Cruz has campaigned for many mainstream Republican candidates this year, his new comments indicate he's aiming to re-claim the mantle of Republican insurgent, a role that helped define his first year in the Senate in 2013.
The first priority next year, he told the Post, should be a string of hearings on President Barack Obama, "looking at the abuse of power, the executive abuse, the regulatory abuse, the lawlessness that sadly has pervaded this administration."
He also hopes a Republican Senate will "pursue every means possible to repeal Obamacare," just as the GOP-controlled House has tried more than 50 times to dismantle the health care law.
