Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, is once again coming under fire from the public for being abroad when a natural disaster struck his state.
Mr. Cruz was on a scheduled family vacation in Greece on Friday morning when floodwaters swept through Central Texas. According to his spokeswoman, Macarena Martinez, the senator immediately scheduled a flight home, landing in Texas on Sunday night, the earliest he could return.
By early Monday morning, Ms. Martinez added, he was on the ground in Kerrville, one of the hardest-hit communities. At that point, scores more were reported missing and over 80 had been pronounced deceased.
Images that went viral on the internet seemed to show Mr. Cruz and his family visiting the Parthenon in Athens on Saturday, indicating that the senator might have carried out at least some of his previously planned sightseeing as the death toll rose. The senator’s spokesperson chose not to respond, and the Times has not independently verified the photos.
On social media, Mr. Cruz’s decision to spend the first 72 hours following the deadly flooding in a popular vacation destination rather than in Texas drew harsh criticism. Some even compared it to the senator’s departure from the state in 2021 after a winter storm cut off power for millions of Texans.
Later, Mr. Cruz said that flying to Cancín, Mexico, with his family to stay at a posh resort was clearly a mistake, while his countrymen endured bitter cold.
In this instance, Mr. Cruz kept working while he was overseas. According to Ms. Martinez, the senator was working closely with the families of missing victims, including the girls of Camp Mystic, and coordinating from Greece over the weekend with President Trump, Governor Greg Abbott, and other high-ranking state officials to make sure that the most federal resources were available for search and rescue.
On July 4, Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy, who represents a portion of the flood-affected area, returned from Washington and arrived late that evening in his district. He spent the entire weekend on the ground in Kerr County, speaking with the victims’ relatives and conducting interviews with the media by the river, which was obstructed by fallen trees and other debris.
