Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, speaks to members of the media in the Senate Subway at U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Not content with amplifying rhetoric that resulted in an insurrection on the Capitol last month, it looks like Sen. Ted Cruz decided to bail on Texas by flying with his family to a Mexican holiday resort during one of the biggest crises in his state’s history.The senator’s trip has been confirmed by multiple news outlets. Cruz’s departure was first noted on Wednesday, when he was pictured with this wife and daughter in Houston Bush Airport boarding a 4:44 p.m. United Airlines flight to Cancún. Cruz was wearing the the same mask that he wore to President Joe Biden’s inauguration with the phrase “Come and Take” written on the side.
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Cruz’s staff contacted Houston Police Department personnel and requested assistance when he arrived at the airport on Wednesday. “A member of his staff reached out to our police personnel at the airport and said he was going to be arriving [at the airport] yesterday afternoon,” Jodi Silva, a Public Information Officer for the Houston Police Department, told VICE News on Thursday. “I know nothing about a return or assistance on a return. I just know we monitored his movements and he requested assistance when there was a departure yesterday,” she added. The timing of Cruz’s departure from his home state for a non-emergency vacation is mind boggling.Millions of his constituents are without power and water across the Lone Star State following an unprecedented winter storm that hit in recent days. Now people are running out of food, too. And as Cruz suns himself in Cancún, where the temperature is currently around a balmy 84 degrees, Texans are preparing for more snow and plummeting temperatures.Unsurprisingly, Cruz’s flight to Cancún led to some strong reactions on social media:
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Many others pointed out that while Cruz was flying to Cancún, Beto O’Rourke, who lost out to Cruz in 2018’s Senate election, was organizing volunteers who spoke to over 150,000 people across Texas, giving them advice and getting them help.
Ted Cruz’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.On Thursday morning, it appeared that rather than remain in Mexico, the senator had decided to return home. CNN reported that Cruz was booked on a flight back to Houston in the afternoon. News crews were already at the airport, waiting to welcome him home.