Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) brought some unintentional comedy gold to national television.

The conservative senator railed against Democrats on Tuesday for not being enthusiastic about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency that, while claiming to have found alleged fraud and corruption, has prompted the firing of thousands of federal workers.

Cruz appeared to choke on his own water, however, while discussing as much on “Hannity.”

The senator was so impassioned about the dismantling of USAID, a government agency that administers civilian foreign aid but has been targeted by DOGE, that he slammed Democrats for speaking out and not blindly celebrating Musk’s purported findings.

“The Democrats are … the party of waste, fraud and abuse,” Cruz told the Fox News host Tuesday. “You don’t see a single Democrat saying, ‘This is great that Elon Musk is tracking this down!’ Instead they’re defending … they are defending … ”

It was at this moment that Cruz took a sip of water and seemingly choked — only to conclude his tirade with the cartoonish words “sex change operations in Guatemala!” The moment has since been clipped and shared on social media to viral results.

“Ted Cruz shouting ‘sex change surgery in Guatemala’ as he chokes on his own drool is about what you’d expect tonight from that troglodyte as Congress guts medicaid and veterans programs,” wrote one user on Bluesky, with another asking: “What even is this?!?”

The supposed fraud he criticized Tuesday concerns a $2 million USAID grant to one LGBTQ rights group in Guatemala. The grant wasn’t exclusively used for surgeries as Cruz claims, but reportedly financed medication, mental health care and speech therapy as well. Only a fraction of the funds — $350,000 — has even been allocated to the organization since April 2024.

Cruz has actively opposed transgender rights for years. He not only made transgender participation in youth sports a primary focus of his 2024 reelection campaign, but launched a Senate probe into Bud Light the year prior for making an ad starring a trans influencer.

DOGE has been dismantling federal agencies left and right since Trump retook the White House and made Musk a special government employee. Voters on both sides of the aisle have since rung the alarm on Musk’s seemingly clear-cut conflicts of interest.

Social media appears just as united, meanwhile, in mocking Cruz’s inability to drink water.