Ted Cruz Confirms His Mexican Vacation After Storm Slammed Texas

DALLAS (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has acknowledged that he had traveled to Mexico for a family vacation this week, leaving his home state as thousands of constituents struggled without power or safe drinking water after a powerful winter storm.

The high-profile Republican who's a potential White House candidate in 2024 says in a statement that he had accompanied his family after his daughters asked to go on a trip with friends, given that school was canceled for the week.

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

The revelation drew immediate criticism from Democrats and Republicans in Texas and beyond.

On Wednesday, almost 3 million Texans were without electricity. By Thursday, that number has shrunk to less than 500,000 but there are still thousands without heat, due to the storm cutting power.

16 Texans have died as a result of the storm, and thousands more have been displaced, according to CNN.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa told The Washington Post that Cruz "is proving to be an enemy to our state by abandoning us in our greatest time of need."

“Ted Cruz jetting off to Mexico while Texans remain dying in the cold isn’t surprising but it is deeply disturbing and disappointing,” Hinojosa continued. “Cruz is emblematic of what the Texas Republican Party and its leaders have become: weak, corrupt, inept, and self-serving politicians who don’t give a damn about the people they were elected to represent. They were elected by the people but have no interest or intent of doing their jobs.”

Cruz is not the only politician receiving criticism either, as CBS News reports that the mayor of Colorado City, Texas has resigned after telling his city that "Only the strong will survive and the weak will [perish]." The full statement can be read below, but Tim Boyd, the then-mayor of Colorado City has already resigned and apologized, amid vapid criticism.