'He doesn't give a damn about Texas': Lawmakers slam Cruz over Cancun getaway

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is facing growing criticism after he flew to Cancun, Mexico, for a family vacation amid a growing humanitarian crisis in his home state, where millions have been without power for days in freezing temperatures.

“As millions of Texans remain without power and don’t have access to clean water or food, @TedCruz has fled to Mexico for a beach vacation,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) tweeted Thursday afternoon. “We knew he didn’t give a damn about our democracy. Now we know he doesn’t give a damn about Texas families freezing to death.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) tweeted,”People in Texas are literally freezing to death and yet Ted Cruz went on vacation to Cancun. I guess spending so much time denying climate change must leave him pretty exhausted.”

And Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) tweeted Thursday morning, “It must be easy not to believe in climate change if you can just leave millions of Texans suffering without power or water to sit on a beach in Cancún.”

Cruz had remained silent for hours after photos surfaced of him at the airport heading to Cancun on Wednesday, as reports said people in Texas were freezing in their homes and had run out of drinkable water and food.

As of Thursday morning, roughly 500,000 people were without power for a third consecutive day, leading to fears of hypothermia. Millions are under boil water advisories after power was cut to water treatment plants — if they can even get water from their taps at all due to frozen pipes and water main breaks, and if they have power to use their stoves.

Grocery store shelves are bare as supply chain issues mount as roads remain impassable.

At least 10 people have died as a result of the storm so far.

Cruz finally broke his silence Thursday afternoon, saying in a statement that he traveled to Cancun with his family because his daughters asked him to go and he wanted “to be a good dad.”

After seeing reports that Cruz was returning to Texas, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tweeted, “‘Expected to return immediately,’ because he got caught. I could never imagine leaving my district when they needed me the most. I hope Texas sees Senator Cruz for what he really is. Someone who cuts & runs when his elected responsibilities are needed the most.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.