Cruz says he went on vacation amid storm ‘to be a good dad’

With Texas paralyzed by a winter storm, Sen. Ted Cruz took his family on vacation to Cancun, Mexico, drawing criticism from leaders in both parties and potentially damaging his political ambitions.

In a statement on Thursday, Cruz said he was returning to Texas. He said he accompanied his family to Mexico a day earlier after his daughters asked to go on a trip with friends, given that school was canceled for the week.

"Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon," Cruz said.

"My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas," he continued. "We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm."

Cruz addressed his travels only hours after The Associated Press and other media outlets reported that he had traveled to Cancun on Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of Texans still grappling with the fallout of a winter storm that crippled the state’s power grid and killed more than three dozen people, some while trying to keep warm.

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The statement did little to quell a fierce political backlash that comes as Cruz eyes a second presidential run in 2024. He was already one of the most villainized Republicans in Congress, having created adversaries across the political spectrum in a political career defined by far-right policies and fights with the political establishment.

More recently, he emerged as a leader in former President Donald Trump’s push to overturn the results of the November election. Billboards calling for his resignation stood along Texas highways earlier in the month.

Even the state Republican Party chair declined to come to Cruz’s defense on Thursday.

"That’s something that he has to answer to his constituents about," Texas GOP Chair Allen West said when asked whether Cruz’s travel was appropriate while Texans are without power and water.

"I’m here trying to take care of my family and look after my friends and others that are still without power," West said. "That’s my focus."

Hundreds of thousands of people in Texas woke up Thursday to a fourth day without power, and a water crisis was unfolding after winter storms wreaked havoc on the state’s power grid and utilities.

Texas officials ordered 7 million people — one-quarter of the population of the nation’s second-largest state — to boil tap water before drinking the water, after days of record low temperatures that damaged infrastructure and froze pipes.

In Austin, some hospitals faced a loss in water pressure and, in some cases, heat.

In his statement, Cruz said that his family had lost heat and power as well.

"This has been an infuriating week for Texans," he said.

While the situation will not help Cruz’s political future, the two-term senator is not in any immediate political danger. His current term expires in early 2025, and the unofficial beginning of the next Republican presidential primary election is two years away.

Still, Democrats across Washington were eager to talk about the controversy.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki leaned into a question about Cruz’s "whereabouts" earlier in the day.

"I don’t have any updates on the exact location of Sen. Ted Cruz nor does anyone at the White House," Psaki said, adding that President Joe Biden’s administration is focused on "working directly with leadership in Texas and surrounding states on addressing the winter storm and the crisis at hand."

Cruz’s office declined to answer specific questions about the family vacation, but his staff reached out to the Houston Police Department on Wednesday afternoon to say the senator would be arriving at the airport, according to department spokesperson Jodi Silva. She said officers "monitored his movements" while Cruz was at the airport.

Silva could not say whether such requests are typical for Cruz’s travel or whether his staff had made a similar request for his return flight.

U.S. Capitol Police officials and the Senate sergeant-at-arms have encouraged lawmakers and their staff to be conscious of potential threats and to consider advising law enforcement about their travel at airports and other transportation hubs.

Cruz’s office did not immediately say whether the senator would self-quarantine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people who have traveled to get a coronavirus test three to five days after their return and to quarantine for a full week, regardless of the test results.

Cruz checked in for his return flight Thursday afternoon in Cancun and walked briskly through the terminal pulling a roller bag to security. He wore a golf shirt, jeans and a face mask in the style of the Texas state flag.

He told reporters that he planned to "go home and keep working to get the grid reopened, to get power restored, to get the water back on."
"A lot of Texans are hurting and this crisis is frustrating. It’s frustrating for millions of Texans. It shouldn’t happen," Cruz said.