Senator Ted Cruz of the Republican Party has represented the state of Texas in the US Senate since 2013. He was re-elected once again in 2024 with nearly 6 million votes. With a population of over 29 million people, Texas has the second-largest economy in the US, with a GDP of $2.66 trillion. If Texas were an independent country, it would be the sixth-largest oil producer in the world.

As the son of immigrants from Cuba, whose father was imprisoned on the island, Ted Cruz has made it a priority to defend democracy and freedom from any encroachments, especially from threats coming from communist and totalitarian regimes. He is the only American legislator who has a painting of a European capital (Berlin) in his office, depicting President Ronald Reagan delivering his speech on June 12, 1987, in front of the Brandenburg Gate, calling on the then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

Ambassador Georgi Panayotov and Senator Ted Cruz discussed successful Bulgarian-American projects in the fields of defense, security, and energy. They discussed the risks and security threats in Europe, the need to protect democracy and freedom, and Bulgaria's contribution to NATO's collective defense. Senator Cruz was intrigued by Bulgaria's actions to ensure energy security not only for their country but also for the European continent.