Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reportedly is considering a 2028 presidential run, which could put him on a collision course with Vice President JD Vance.

Cruz privately has been signaling to allies that he's hearing growing encouragement to jump into the next open Republican primary, as the party begins to look past President Donald Trump's second term, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Cruz's deliberations, the newspaper said, have intensified as he positions himself as a leading voice for a more traditional, hawkish GOP foreign policy — and as he wages an increasingly public feud with influential MAGA media figure Tucker Carlson.

Cruz's flashpoint is Israel and what he describes as a troubling rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment on parts of the right.

The Post detailed how Cruz has urged Republicans to repudiate Carlson, accusing him of spreading "poison" in the movement through broadsides against Israel.

Carlson has rejected that characterization, and their rivalry has turned personal since a heated June interview in which Cruz stumbled on basic facts Carlson pressed him on.

But the politics beneath the feud are bigger than a personality clash.

Cruz's attacks on Carlson also place him on a potential collision course with Vance, Carlson's ally and the figure many Republicans already view as the early front-runner for 2028.

The Post reported that Cruz has privately criticized Vance's foreign policy views to donors, warning that what he sees as "isolationism" could weaken America's national security posture at a moment when the U.S. is confronting threats from Iran, Russia, and terror networks.

That split highlights a larger fight inside the GOP about whether "America First" means a restrained U.S. role abroad or a hard-edged, peace-through-strength posture that aggressively backs allies and confronts adversaries.

Cruz is effectively betting that Republican voters won't ultimately embrace a foreign policy that shrugs at Israel, downplays terrorism, or treats U.S. power as something to be shelved.

The early maneuvering is also revealing who may clear the field for Vance, and who may not.

Vanity Fair recently reported Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he would not run in 2028 if Vance enters the race, calling him the likely nominee and pledging early support.

Rubio's comments, paired with Trump's public praise of both men, underscore how the establishment wing may try to consolidate around Vance, unless a challenger such as Cruz can rally donors and activists uneasy with the party's populist drift.

Cruz faces obvious hurdles. He's no longer an outsider, and memories linger from his bruising 2016 clash with Trump.

Still, as the Post noted, Cruz has strong name recognition, a national network, and a record of cultivating activists and donors.

Axios last month reported the senator has been expanding his footprint through speeches, endorsements, and media platforms, laying groundwork for another bid.

In other words, the 2028 GOP race may be shaping up as more than a standard succession fight.