Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Monday suggested the Republican Party could embrace a directional shift after President Donald Trump leaves office, a transition that promises to leave a gaping hole in the GOP. 

Cruz is known as a critical ally of Trump’s in the Senate, but he has also represented a more traditional brand of conservatism than the president, at times questioning Trump’s more protectionist, isolationist, and populist tendencies. In an MS Now interview this week, the Texas Republican questioned the view that Vice President JD Vance will be Trump’s heir, positing instead that the party will have to undergo some soul-searching to find its way forward. Cruz also left the door open for a presidential run himself in 2028, saying, “There’ll be time to figure that out.”