Dianne Feinstein Keeps Lighting Into Ted Cruz: He 'Patronized' Me

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) continued to rip into Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday, telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer that she "felt patronized" by Cruz during Senate Judiciary Committee discussion earlier in the day on gun control.

"I just felt patronized," Feinstein said. "I felt he was somewhat arrogant about it. And you know, when you come from where I've come from and what you've seen, when you've found a dead body and put your finger in bullet holes, you really realize the impact of weapons."

She told Blitzer that she didn't speak to Cruz afterward because she "needed to cool down."

Earlier on Thursday, Feinstein and Cruz exchanged words during a contentious Senate Judiciary Committee session on a bill to ban assault-style weapons, which eventually passed out of committee on party lines.

Cruz — who opposes the assault-weapons ban — questioned Feinstein on its constitutionality, comparing it to placing limits on the First Amendment or Fourth Amendment rights.

Feinstein shot back and accused Cruz of lecturing her, telling him that she was "not a sixth grader."

"I thank you for the lecture. Incidentally, this does not prohibit — you used the word 'prohibit' – it exempts 2,271 weapons," Feinstein said. "Isn’t that enough for the people of the United States? Do they need a bazooka? Do they need other high-powered weapons that other people use in close combat? I don't think so."

Talking Points Memo has the video of Feinstein's appearance on CNN: