Ted had touched down in D.C. when we asked if Congress should look into overseeing the way the league handled investigations ... in the wake of the Kareem Hunt situation.

But, Cruz pivoted during the conversation and brought up the national anthem demonstrations -- and important to note, he's been strongly AGAINST players like Colin Kaepernick who took a knee.

"I think it has been amazing watching the NFL do unprecedented damage to their brand and the way they handled the anthem protest I think was spectacularly harmful to professional football," Cruz said.

So, we asked if Congress should have stepped in and gotten involved (outside of President Trump's public critiques) ... to which Cruz replied, "At the end of the day, I trust the fans to exercise the appropriate check."

Trump had called for the league to fire players who repeatedly took a knee. Instead, the league has imposed no penalty for kneelers.