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The firebrand Texas conservative said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that Republicans have given up their leverage to halt President Barack Obama's immigration actions.

READ: Johnson says furloughs coming to DHS if funding stalls

Cruz had advocated late last year to attack Obama's immigration action in a measure to fund the government. But GOP leaders delayed that fight until this month, when they've tried to undermine those actions in a bill that solely funds the Department of Homeland Security -- opening the party up to accusations that it's playing politics with national security.

"It's now up to leadership to lay out their strategy," Cruz said of Republicans. "I told them this was not a winning strategy and they went down this road anyway."

But he also laid into the "stunning irresponsibility by Senate Democrats" who have used procedural votes to block a bill that funds Homeland Security, but blocks Obama's immigration actions, from moving forward.

"The Democrats need to stop holding national security hostage for partisan political objectives. What they're doing is wrong and irresponsible," Cruz said.

"It is time to see some Senate Democrats willing to take on their own president, but right now, they're putting partisan politics ahead of principle, and that's why they're filibustering the funding for Homeland Security," he said.

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Cruz hits GOP leaders, Democrats on Homeland Security

TIME Politics White House Samuel CorumAnadolu Agency/Getty Images President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 2, 2015.

President Barack Obama argued in a new interview that the Senate should all-but eliminate the use of the filibuster, just as Democrats in the upper chamber have begun to make use of it.

In an interview with the online policy site Vox, Obama argued that the now-routine requirement that a measure get 60 votes to pass the Senate is causing legislative gridlock and leading to polarization.

Probably the one thing that we could change without a constitutional amendment that would make a difference here would be the elimination of the routine use of the filibuster in the Senate, he said. Because I think that does, in an era in which the parties are more polarized, it almost ensures greater gridlock and less clarity in terms of the positions of the parties.

The interview was published just one week after Democrats used the filibuster to block a bill that would attempt to undo Obamas recent executive actions on immigration. The bill failed on a 51-48 vote, gathering a simple majority but falling far short of the 60-vote threshold. (Of course, even if the bill had gotten through Congress, Obama would have vetoed it.)

Obama couched his criticism of the filibuster in sweeping constitutional terms.

Theres nothing in the Constitution that requires it, he said. The framers were pretty good about designing a House, a Senate, two years versus six-year terms, every state getting two senators. There were a whole bunch of things in there to assure that a majority didnt just run rampant.

The President has flip-flopped not just on the filibuster but on how it relates to gridlock. As a senator in 2005, Obama argued that changing the Senate rules to reduce the use of the filibuster would only lead to more bitterness and gridlock.

But as President he supported a move by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid to eliminate the filibuster on most nominations, which allowed him to get key judges and officials confirmed while his party still controlled the Senate.

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Obama Criticizes the Filibuster, Just as Democrats Start Using It

Eleven Democrats vote against extending Speaker #39;s power
No more term limits for the powerful House Speaker seat. 22News explains why the final vote was so surprising.

By: WWLP-22News

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Eleven Democrats vote against extending Speaker's power - Video

GSU Young Democrats: Herman Cain #39;s 999 Plan
http://adf.ly/70849/mcnwithfullapprove The Georgia Southern Young Democrats would like to bring you Herman Cain #39;s 999 tax plan.

By: soelaksono kalih

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GSU Young Democrats: Herman Cain's 999 Plan - Video

Facing the biggest crisis of his decades-long political career, Gov. John Kitzhaber finds himself increasingly isolated.

Few of Kitzhaber's fellow Democrats are sticking up for him as he confronts a barrage of criticism, calls for his resignation and, potentially, a recall petition.

After simmering for months, influence-peddling allegations boiled over on Kitzhaber last week, when an editorial by the Oregonian newspaper calling for his resignation shined a national spotlight on the controversy. On Friday, another newspaper, the Yamhill Valley News-Register in McMinnville, followed suit, saying Kitzhaber has "ardently resisted coming straight."

"While you have enjoyed many successes, your once-admirable legacy has become soiled by your refusal to recognize and rectify wrong turns," the newspaper's editorial team wrote in a letter to Kitzhaber.

Unlike the Oregonian, which endorsed Kitzhaber's re-election bid last year, the McMinnville paper had endorsed Kitzhaber's Republican rival, Dennis Richardson.

A series of newspaper reports since October have revealed that Kitzhaber's fiance, Cylvia Hayes, did paid consulting work for organizations with an interest in Oregon public policy. During the same period, she worked as an unpaid adviser in the governor's office on some of the same issues. Kitzhaber has said repeatedly that he and Hayes took care to avoid conflicts, and a state ethics commission will decide whether conflict-of-interest laws were broken.

Kitzhaber's troubles overshadowed the first week of the legislative session as Democrats moved aggressively to advance some of their top priorities, including a measure to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that Kitzhaber and Hayes strongly support.

In response to questions about the growing controversy surrounding Kitzhaber, legislative leaders demurred.

"This session is off to a productive start," House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, said in a statement. "As the Oregon Government Ethics Commission does its job, we must remain focused on our job as legislators, which is to serve Oregonians by advancing policies that improve people's lives and strengthen our state."

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, offered his compassion, but he also said he's focused on his own job. Spokespeople for Courtney and Kotek declined to say whether the leaders believed Kitzhaber could effectively govern after the Oregonian editorial said he could not do so.

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Democrats Leave Oregon Governor Isolated in Controversy