(CNN) — Sen. Ted Cruz and his spouse and children flew to Cancun, Mexico, he confirmed in a assertion to CNN, as a winter disaster in his home state left tens of millions devoid of electricity or h2o.
Analysis: Cruz’s Cancun trip violates an unwritten rule of politics.
Cruz, a Texas Republican, explained in the statement he flew down for a night time since his daughters “asked to take a vacation with close friends.”
“With school cancelled for the 7 days, our women requested to get a trip with mates. Seeking to be a superior father, I flew down with them very last night time and am traveling back this afternoon,” he claimed in the statement. “My personnel and I are in constant conversation with point out and nearby leaders to get to the base of what happened in Texas. We want our ability again, our water on, and our houses heat. My crew and I will proceed utilizing all our assets to keep Texans educated and risk-free.”
Senator Ted Cruz wheels his baggage at Cancun International Airport in Mexico in advance of boarding a airplane back again to the U.S., even though his house point out of Texas grapples with a deadly deep freeze. Browse much more: https://t.co/nw7qAbV9cZ pic.twitter.com/mHCNp3WPf5
— Reuters Pics (@reuterspictures) February 18, 2021
Cruz examined detrimental for COVID-19 in advance of returning, an aide explained to CNN.
His assertion comes hours soon after multiple Twitter buyers posted pics displaying Cruz and his family members at Houston’s airport and aboard a flight certain for Cancun, Mexico.
The journey was immediately criticized, which include by Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat representing southwest Houston, who tweeted a photo of Cruz aboard a flight, stating Cruz was traveling south “when the point out was freezing to demise and having to boil water.”
Cruz’s office environment also requested that the Houston Law enforcement Department assist the senator during his departure from Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday, Houston Law enforcement Main Artwork Acevedo instructed CNN Thursday.
The law enforcement request from Cruz’s place of work is not abnormal as customers of Congress have been recommended by regulation enforcement to search for law enforcement support as they vacation by air.
Congress is not in session this week subsequent the President’s Day holiday getaway.
Cruz, who was retweeting notices about electrical power and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday, has been silent on social media Thursday.
In a radio job interview Monday, Cruz informed people to “keep household” and not “threat it. Maintain your relatives safe and just stay residence and hug your children.”
As an official elected to federal business, Cruz doesn’t have an on-the-floor part in the reaction to the storm, but pure disasters are typically a time in which constituents frequently reach out to their elected officials for assist and accessibility to resources.
The blame for the outages has mostly been positioned on the Electrical Dependability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Abbott mentioned Wednesday afternoon that he spoke with equally the lieutenant governor and the point out speaker and that an investigation of ERCOT is slated to commence next week.
But in the meantime, hundreds of thousands of Texans ended up left without having ability or jogging water in the wake of the storm. Energy is bit by bit getting restored to properties.
Due to the fact final Thursday, 16 Texans have died owing to the excessive weather conditions, in accordance to a CNN tally.