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Ted Cruz flies to Cancun as winter storm leaves Texas without power

United States Senator Ted Cruz has returned home to a storm of political controversy after flying to Cancun in the middle of a crisis.

Sam ClenchSam Clench
@SamClench
5 min read
February 19, 2021 - 3:55AM
Senator Ted Cruz says Mexico trip amid winter storm was a 'mistake'

United States Senator Ted Cruz has landed back in his home state of Texas after leaving it to head to Cancun, Mexico yesterday while his constituents suffered through the fallout of a massive winter storm, which has left hundreds of thousands without power.

Record low temperatures have hit huge swathes of the US this week, with about a third of the country experiencing sub-zero conditions. At least 30 people have died, most of them in Texas, which is located in the Deep South.

The state has been blanketed in snow, and its power grids have been overwhelmed. Rolling blackouts started on Sunday night, and as of this morning - four days into the crisis - about 537,000 residents were still without power.

Today, officials from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas revealed the entire state's power grid was minutes away from "catastrophic failure" when the outages were first imposed.

The freezing cold temperatures have also damaged Texas's infrastructure, bursting water pipes and leaving many residents without any running water.

Making matters worse, the outages have affected water treatment plants. As a result, last night seven million Texas were under instructions to boil tap water before drinking it to ensure it was safe.

Amid all of that, Mr Cruz flew to Cancun with his family yesterday. But he was spotted and photographed at the international airport in Houston, and then on the flight, with the ensuing outrage causing him to return home this afternoon.

He landed in Houston around 4pm local time, and subsequently spoke to reporters outside his home. Protesters could be heard chanting "Resign!" nearby.

"Whether the decision to go was tone deaf, look, it was obviously a mistake. And in hindsight I wouldn't have done it. I was trying to be a dad," Mr Cruz said.

"All of us have made decisions - when you've got two girls who have been cold for two days and haven't had heater power, and say, 'Hey, we don't have school, let's get out of here ...'

"I was taking care of my family, the way Texans all across the state were."

The Senator said he understood why people were upset with him, and added that he started to regret his decision as soon as he boarded the plane to Cancun.

When the photos of Mr Cruz emerged on social media yesterday it was unclear whether the man pictured was actually the Republican Senator, though he was wearing a distinctive face mask Mr Cruz has frequently donned in public.

The Senator's office did not respond to requests for comment from the news media. Eventually, both Fox News and The Associated Press confirmed he had gone on holiday with his family, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation.

After that, the Houston Police Department told NBC Mr Cruz's staff had contacted them for assistance yesterday afternoon regarding his trip to the airport.

"They reached out to us, let us know that we was going to be arriving and could we assist, so upon his arrival to the Houston airport we monitored his movements," a department spokesperson said.

At about 10am this morning, eastern time - as Mr Cruz's office still remained silent - Punchbowl News reported that the Senator appeared to be heading back to the US, as his name appeared on the upgrade list for the afternoon flight from Cancun to Houston.

The list included the name "CRU, R". Mr Cruz's first name is Rafael (Ted comes from his middle name, Edward).

Finally, shortly after 1pm, Mr Cruz issued a statement.

"This has been an infuriating week for Texans. The greatest state in the greatest country in the world has been without power," he said.

"We have food lines, gas lines, and people sleeping at neighbours' houses. Our homes are freezing and our lights are out. Like millions of Texans, our family lost heat and power too.

"With school 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. We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm. My team and I will continue using all our resources to keep Texans informed and safe."

That statement brings to mind Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's controversial family holiday to Hawaii during the bushfire crisis in 2019, and his explanation that he was keeping a promise to his daughters.

Mr Cruz did not say when he had booked his flight back today - i.e. whether he had always planned to stay in Cancun for a single night, or whether he booked the flight back after media reports of his trip emerged.

According to both NBC and CBS, the answer is the latter.

In addition, The New York Times has obtained text messages Mr Cruz's wife Heidi sent to friends of the family ahead of the trip, proposing others accompany them.

"Anyone can or want to leave for the week?" Mrs Cruz wrote.

"We may go to Cancun."

She suggested a stay at the Ritz-Carlton, with a return flight on Sunday.

Meanwhile, during a radio interview with The Joe Pags Show on Monday, Mr Cruz urged other Texans to "stay home".

"This storm is dangerous, and there's a second storm expected to hit this week which could make things even worse," he said.

"So if you could stay home, don't go out on the roads, don't risk the ice.

"I was speaking this weekend with a meteorologist expert, who was saying the combination of these two storms, we could see up to 100 people lose their lives this week in Texas. So don't risk it. Keep your family safe, and just stay home and hug your kids."

Mr Cruz's political opponents have accused him of neglecting his duty to his constituents.

"I understand (he's) vacationing in Cancun right now, when people are literally freezing to death in the state that he was elected to represent and serve," Beto O'Rourke, the Democrat who lost a Senate race to Mr Cruz in 2018, said on MSNBC last night.

"It's just unbelievable," said another Democrat, Texas state House member Chris Turner.

"Just when I think Ted Cruz couldn't disappoint Texans more, he finds a new way to do it.

"As far as I'm concerned, it'd be fine if he remained in Cancun. He doesn't do anything for us in Texas or in Washington. So I don't know that we're going to notice when he comes back."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also took a shot at the Senator during today's media briefing.

"Our focus is on working directly with leadership in Texas and the surrounding states on addressing the winter storm," she said.

"We expect that would be the focus of anyone in the state, or surrounding states, who was elected to represent them."

Mr Cruz does have his defenders, however, among them the son of former president Donald Trump.

"It's not a real time crisis that Ted Cruz, the Senator from Texas, can do anything about," conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said today.

"Do they expect Ted to go there with, like, a blowtorch and start defrosting all of the pipelines?"

It's not quite "I don't hold a hose, mate," as Mr Morrison infamously said. But as defences go, it's certainly in the same ballpark.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/ted-cruz-flies-to-cancun-as-winter-storm-leaves-texas-without-power/news-story/6bce8c7013341043ab9f4550eb8977f2