Sen. Ted Cruz gets some heat for Cancun trip amid winter crisis in Texas

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) -Senator Ted Cruz is getting some heat for taking a trip to Cancun as his constituents in Texas dealt with a winter storm disaster.

Like many of his fellow Texans, Cruz and his family were living without electricity and heat at their Houston home when they decided to take a trip to Cancun. They hopped on a plane Wednesday and headed to a luxury resort in Cancun, but their getaway didn’t last long.

Cruz returned home Thursday after having “second thoughts.”  Speaking to reporters outside his Houston home, the Republican senator said the trip was his daughters’ idea.

“We had spent two days without power and my girls wanted to take a trip with their friends, and frankly get somewhere where it was warmer,” said Cruz. “My intention was to take care of my family, which is– which was the intention of Texans– every Texan across the country and across the state who– who lost heat, lost light.”

Cruz said he intended to work remotely on the phone, the internet and on Zoom, but he realized he needed to be here.

“It was obviously a mistake. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done it,” said Cruz.

He said he decided to cut his trip short because he didn’t want it to become a distraction as the state tries to solve the issues that left millions without power or water.

“Our priority should be fixing this problem, and making sure it doesn’t happen again. And I didn’t want all the screaming and yelling about this trip to distract even one moment from the real issues that I think Texans care about, which is– which is keeping all of our families safe,” said Cruz.

Last year, Cruz criticized the democratic mayor of Austin for taking a trip to Cabo San Lucas during a COVID-19 lockdown.

ABC News video of Cruz’s statement.

“It was obviously a mistake. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Sen. Ted Cruz returned to Texas a day after flying to Mexico with his family as his state reels from a historic storm that has left hundreds of thousands of people without power. https://t.co/7ndXNlccsO pic.twitter.com/GVglObf9tc

— ABC News (@ABC) February 19, 2021