Ted Cruz returning to Texas after leaving for Cancun amid power outage
Sen. Cruz and his family have left Texas during its unprecedented winter-weather state of emergency.
Sen. Ted Cruz is returning to Texas after intense backlash of the Republican traveling to Texas despite the winter storm battering the Lone Star State.
The Texas senator was photographed on his way to board a flight back home on Thursday. The Associated Press confirmed through a source that the Republican was returning to Texas.
It has been 11 hours since he arrived in Cancun despite that Texas is in the throes of a devastating winter storm that has left thousands in the state without heat and water after record low temperatures.
It has also been revealed that Cruz enlisted the help of Houston police to provide an escort for him and his family on Wednesday.
Cruz released a statement amid the uproar, explaining that the trip to Cancun was only meant to accompany his young daughters.
“With schools cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas,” the statement read.
Cruz came under intense criticism as the state of Texas is under a state of emergency. An unprecedented winter weather storm has left millions in the dark as bitter cold and ice have caused power outages and treacherous road conditions during a deadly coronavirus pandemic that already has its citizenry afraid and isolated.
Well, thankfully, not all of them.
Wednesday night, photos circulated on Twitter that appear to show Cruz flying out of the state, heading to Cancun, Mexico.
Cruz’s office did not confirm his travel plans, however, MSNBC anchor David Shuster shared on Twitter that he had indeed confirmed the person being shown in those pictures was the Lone Star State Republican. His followers co-signed the newsman’s sighting.
“Just confirmed @SenTedCruz and his family flew to Cancun tonight for a few days at a resort they’ve visited before,” he tweeted. “Cruz seems to believe there isn’t much for him to do in Texas for the millions of fellow Texans who remain without electricity/water and are literally freezing.”
More than four million Texans are without power and heat after the state’s private power management company, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said demand exceeded supply, leading to rolling blackouts.
Read More: Texas mayor resigns after telling residents without electricity to ‘come up with game plan’
“We are working around the clock to restore power to Texans,” ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness said. “We made progress today, but it will not be good enough until every person has their power back.”
The collapse of the electrical grid means many homes are not just without lighting, but also heating, as many Texas homes are heated with electricity. Water supplies are also dwindling, and the state is under a boil-water advisory — which far too many cannot do because they have no power.
Twitter users are appalled that Cruz has seemingly abandoned his suffering state for the balmy 80-degree weather of Cancun.
Read More: At least 5 killed in massive crash on icy Texas interstate
An account called Turn Texas Blue wrote that Cruz’s 2018 challenger, Beto O’Rourke, had volunteers calling “151k Texas seniors to make sure they’re okay and help provide assistance. Greg Abbott goes on Fox News and blames a non-existent Green New Deal, Democrats, and Windmills. Ted Cruz is vacationing in Cancun while Texans freeze to death. Unreal.”
In an article from The Texas Tribune, Brianna Blake, a mother of two young sons, shared how “to go through all of that and then also to have stuff like this happen, it’s like, ‘one more historical event, and I’m going to develop PTSD. I cannot do this.”
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Blake and her family are sleeping on bundles of blankets in front of their fireplace. They were reportedly forced to burn a piece of artwork from their walls to keep the flames going.
“This was poorly managed,” she said. “It was clarifying, to be honest with you, because now we know when things hit the fan, we’re in it alone.”
At least when it comes to the support of one Texas senator, she might be right.
Stephanie Guerilus contributed to this report
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