Episode Introduction
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas joined Breaking Battlegrounds hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone in spring 2023, during a period of sharp political attacks on the U.S. Supreme Court. Cruz is a former clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist who has argued nine cases before the Court. He discussed the criticism aimed at the justices and what conservatives can do about corporations taking progressive political positions.
The episode also featured Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat, the Afghan commander who led the defense of Helmand Province before the Republic collapsed, speaking candidly about the U.S. withdrawal. Former Treasury Assistant Secretary Chris Campbell closed the show with an update on the debt ceiling negotiations then underway in Washington.
Quick Answer
In Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 136, released in spring 2023, Sen. Ted Cruz discussed political attacks on the Supreme Court and how conservatives should respond to “woke” corporations. Afghan Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat discussed the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Former Treasury Assistant Secretary Chris Campbell gave an update on the 2023 debt ceiling negotiations.
Episode Overview
Cruz joined the show as the Supreme Court faced intense scrutiny in spring 2023. Critics were pressing for an enforceable ethics code after reporting on Justice Clarence Thomas’s relationships with wealthy benefactors, and many Republicans described that pressure as a campaign to delegitimize the Court’s conservative majority. Cruz also discussed corporate activism on political issues and what conservatives can do in response.
Sadat called in for a frank discussion of the U.S. withdrawal. He commanded troops in the final months of the war, and he argues that Afghan forces could have held if American support had continued.
Campbell, a former Treasury official and longtime Senate Finance Committee staff director, explained where the debt ceiling talks stood and what was at stake.
About Sen. Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz is a Republican U.S. senator from Texas, first elected in 2012. He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, worked as a domestic policy adviser on George W. Bush’s 1999 to 2000 campaign, and later served at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.
As Solicitor General of Texas, Cruz argued eight cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He argued a ninth in private practice. His father, Rafael, fled Cuba after being imprisoned and tortured and later became a pastor in Dallas. His mother, Eleanor, was one of the early women working as a computer programmer at Shell. Cruz and his wife, Heidi, have two daughters.
About Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat
Sami Sadat is a former lieutenant general in the Afghan National Army. He took command of the 215th “Maiwand” Corps in southwestern Afghanistan in late 2020. On August 11, 2021, President Ashraf Ghani named him commander of the Afghan Army Special Operations Command, days before the government fell. He describes leading 15,000 troops in combat against the Taliban in Helmand Province over 11 months as Maiwand Corps commander.
Earlier in his career, Sadat commanded Afghanistan’s Joint Special Operations Command and held senior posts in Afghan intelligence. There he led a clandestine counterterrorism unit that worked with U.S. intelligence against al-Qaeda. His story was told in the Emmy Award-winning documentary Retrograde. In his 2024 book, The Last Commander, he argues Afghanistan could have won the war if American support had continued. He now chairs the Afghanistan United Front, an anti-Taliban opposition organization based in Northern Virginia.
About Chris Campbell
Chris Campbell was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions and served from 2017 to 2018. He then became Chief Strategist at Kroll, the global risk advisory firm, and later founded the strategic advisory firm Incamera Solutions.
Before Treasury, Campbell was majority staff director of the Senate Finance Committee. Roll Call named him one of the 50 most influential staffers on Capitol Hill seven years in a row. Earlier, he was legislative director to Sen. Orrin Hatch. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Professor of Practice at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, his alma mater.
Key Topics Discussed
- Political attacks on the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023
- How conservatives should respond to “woke” corporate activism
- The 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, from an Afghan commander’s perspective
- The 2023 debt ceiling negotiations
Ted Cruz on the Supreme Court Under Fire
In spring 2023, the Supreme Court faced its most intense public pressure in decades. Reporting on Justice Thomas’s undisclosed travel and gifts from a wealthy donor led Democrats to call for a binding ethics code. Many conservatives, including Cruz, saw those attacks as an effort to undermine a Court that had overturned Roe v. Wade the year before. The Court adopted its first formal code of conduct in November 2023.
Taking On “Woke” Corporations
Cruz also discussed the pushback against corporations taking public positions on contested political and social issues, a major theme in conservative politics in 2023.
Gen. Sami Sadat on the U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan
Sadat offers a perspective American audiences rarely hear: that of an Afghan general who was still fighting as the Republic collapsed. In an August 2021 New York Times essay, he wrote that Afghan forces lost the contractor logistics and maintenance support their combat operations depended on. He has argued since that the Afghan army was undermined rather than unwilling to fight.
Chris Campbell on the Debt Ceiling Standoff
In May 2023, House Republicans and the Biden administration were negotiating over raising the federal debt limit as the Treasury approached default. The talks produced the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which President Biden signed on June 3, 2023. It suspended the debt limit until January 2025 in exchange for spending caps.
Campbell drew on his experience running the Senate Finance Committee staff to explain the negotiations.
Key Takeaways From the Conversation
- Cruz, a former Supreme Court clerk and a veteran Supreme Court advocate, gave a conservative defense of the Court during the 2023 ethics controversy.
- Sadat argued, as he has since, that the Afghan army’s collapse followed the loss of American support rather than a failure of will.
- Campbell’s debt ceiling briefing came weeks before the Fiscal Responsibility Act resolved the standoff.
Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes
Chris Campbell spent years as Sen. Orrin Hatch’s legislative director, and Hatch comes up again in Patrick Byrne’s account of The Enemy Within. Campbell also serves on the board of tZERO, the company Byrne founded. For the political landscape six months earlier, see Erick Erickson on the 2022 midterms and the road to 2024. You can learn more about hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Ted Cruz discuss on Breaking Battlegrounds?
In Podcast 136, released in spring 2023, Sen. Ted Cruz discussed political attacks on the U.S. Supreme Court during that year’s ethics controversy, and how conservatives should respond to corporations taking progressive political positions. Cruz is a former Supreme Court clerk who has argued nine cases before the Court.
Who is Sami Sadat?
Sami Sadat is a former Afghan Army lieutenant general. He commanded the 215th Maiwand Corps in Helmand Province and was named head of Afghan special forces days before Kabul fell in August 2021. He wrote The Last Commander, was featured in the documentary Retrograde and chairs the anti-Taliban Afghanistan United Front.
Who is Chris Campbell?
Chris Campbell is a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions (2017 to 2018) and former majority staff director of the Senate Finance Committee. He was legislative director to Sen. Orrin Hatch, later served as Chief Strategist at Kroll and founded Incamera Solutions.
How was the 2023 debt ceiling standoff resolved?
The standoff ended with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which President Biden signed on June 3, 2023, after negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The law suspended the debt limit until January 2025 in exchange for caps on federal spending.
Conclusion
Podcast 136 brought together three very different perspectives from spring 2023. Ted Cruz spoke to the fight over the Supreme Court’s legitimacy and the backlash against corporate activism. Sami Sadat described America’s exit from Afghanistan as a commander who was still fighting when Kabul fell. Chris Campbell explained the debt ceiling standoff, which was resolved within weeks. All three issues have stayed in the news, which keeps the episode relevant.
Related Reads
- Inside The Enemy Within with Patrick Byrne
- Erick Erickson on the Midterms, Georgia’s Runoff and 2024
- Breaking Battlegrounds Hosts
Sources
- Wikipedia, “Sami Sadat” and “215 Azam Corps”
- The Strauss Center and LBJ School, University of Texas, The Last Commander book talk biographies
- Simon & Schuster, The Last Commander book listing
- Sami Sadat, New York Times opinion essay (August 25, 2021), as reproduced by Brown Pundits
- Wikipedia, “Christopher Campbell”
- Concordia, Christopher Campbell profile
- Kroll / Duff & Phelps, “Chris Campbell Joins Duff & Phelps as Chief Strategist” (November 12, 2018)
- U.S. Senate, Sen. Ted Cruz official biography: https://www.cruz.senate.gov (recommended primary source)
- Supreme Court of the United States, Code of Conduct (November 13, 2023): https://www.supremecourt.gov (recommended primary source)
- Congress.gov, Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (recommended primary source)
Editorial Note: This article is intended for informational and analytical purposes. Political developments, policies, polling, and public statements can change over time. Readers should consult primary sources and official government information for the latest details.
