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The Texas Republican, who many Republicans and Democrats alike blame for triggering the confrontation that led to the shutdown, told “Politics Confidential” that the agreement that allowed the government to reopen late last week is “lousy.”

“The deal we got ... was a lousy deal,” Cruz said. “The Washington establishment sold the American people down the river. It provided no relief for the millions of people who were hurting because of Obamacare.”

Cruz faulted Senate Republicans for accepting the last-minute compromise that was struck between Senate leaders Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“The reason this deal -- the lousy deal -- was reached ... is because unfortunately Senate Republicans made the choice not to support House Republicans,” he said.

With another possible government shutdown looming on Jan. 15, 2014, if Republicans and Democrats fail to reach a long-term compromise on the budget, Cruz would not rule out the possibility of once again threatening a shutdown unless the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

“What I intend to do is continue standing with the American people to work to stop Obamacare, because it isn't working, it's costing people's jobs, and it's taking away their healthcare,” Cruz said.

Still, Cruz insisted that he never wanted a shutdown in the first place.

“Let me be very clear, I said throughout this, we shouldn't have a shutdown,” Cruz said. “I don't want a shutdown, I repeatedly voted to open the government.”

Instead, he said, the responsibility for the shutdown should be placed on Democrats for their unwillingness to compromise on funding for the Affordable Care Act.

“There never would have been a shutdown if Harry Reid and President Obama hadn't said ‘we will not compromise, we will not negotiate, shut the government down,’” he said.

Asked about the fact that he has faced public ridicule from his colleagues in Congress, including many members of his own party, Cruz said he’s only concerned with the opinions of his Texas constituents -- not his fellow senators.

“I'm not serving in office because I desperately needed 99 new friends in the U.S. Senate,” Cruz said. “Given the choice between being reviled in Washington, D.C., and appreciated in Texas, or reviled in Texas and appreciated in Washington, I would take the former 100 out of 100 times.”

For more of the interview with Ted Cruz, including his explanation about why he says Washington is broken, check out this episode of “Politics Confidential.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who co-sponsored the bipartisan Senate bill that led to the end of the 16-day government shutdown, says the GOP will do anything to get rid of President Barack Obama's signature health care law — except shutting down the government.

"There won't be another government shutdown," McConnell said on CBS' "Face The Nation" Sunday. "You can count on that."

“Shutting down the government, in my view, is not conservative policy," McConnell continued. "I don't think a two-week paid vacation for federal employees is conservative policy. A number of us were saying in July that this strategy could not and would not work, and of course it didn't."

Instead, the Senate Minority Leader said his party is focused on securing more congressional seats in the 2014 midterm elections — and the big seat in the White House in 2016 — to thwart the Affordable Care Act.

“Obamacare is the worst piece of legislation passed in the last half century, the single biggest step in the direction of Europeanizing our country," McConnell said. "We need to get rid of it. If the American people will give us a majority in the Senate and a new president, that's exactly what we're going to do."

McConnell, who was criticized for the inclusion of a $2.9 billion provision in the bill for a dam project in his home state, said he supported the effort in the past, but denied he inserted the line that secured the funding.

Over on "Meet The Press," Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer suggested that to avoid another government shutdown, lawmakers ought to "implement the McConnell Rule, which says that Congress must disapprove, rather than approve, increases in the debt ceiling. If we were to do that, the chances of going up to the brink again, the chances of this kind of debacle, would decrease."

On ABC's "This Week," Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, said Republicans have to follow McConnell's lead and agree that "a shutdown was a bad thing all around."

"Everybody looks bad when something like this happens," Pelosi said. "I agree with the president. There are no winners in this. ... So either the Republicans didn't know or didn't care about those consequences. I believe they do care.

She added: "We have to have common sense as we go forward. We have to go to the table understanding that we cannot shut down and we cannot place in doubt the full faith and credit of the United States of America. But we do have to recognize that among those on the Republican side are those who are anti-government ideologues and they cannot wag this dog. And they cannot wag this dog. They cannot wag this dog."