Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is dismissing criticism from the Republican leadership, which is attempting to marginalize him as he runs for president as an outsider who has stood up to the establishment from the inside.

“One of the amazing aspects of the D.C. establishment is that they believe that they have the power to render judgment on who is fit to serve,” he said Wednesday during an appearance on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”

Ingraham asked if Republican leaders in the House and Senate fight President Obama as hard as they fight against Cruz and like-minded lawmakers.

“Not even close,” Cruz said. “They don’t fight at all against Obama. Right now, Republican leadership spends all of their time fighting to defund conservatives. They don’t spend any time trying to honor their commitments to the men and women who elected us.”

Rejecting the anger directed at him because of such charges, Cruz said, “The reason they’re ticked off at me is that I say it out loud.”

Cruz pointed to Tuesday’s debate on his “sanctuary city” bill as Exhibit A. Senate Democrats blocked passage of the measure, which would have cut off federal funds for jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The House passed a similar bill in July.

It also contained “Kate’s Law,” named for a woman who died at the hands of an illegal immigrant in San Francisco over the summer. Illegal immigrants convicted of aggravated felonies who return after deportation would have served a mandatory five-year prison sentence under the proposed law.

Cruz called defeat of the bill a “moment of clarity” for Democrats who claim to support securing the border. But he also criticized Senate GOP leaders for refusing his request to attach the immigration bill to “must-pass” legislation that would make it harder for Democrats to filibuster.

Cruz voted against giving Obama “fast track” authority to negotiate a trade agreement with 11 Pacific Rim nations. He said he has not made up his mind about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact, the text of which has not yet been made public.

“I have some real skepticism about TPP,” he said. “I want to wait and read it first before making a final decision. But the behavior of the Obama administration has been so untrustworthy for six and a half years that I am so to be very interested to see what the text of this agreement is.”