Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, must have had flight miles expiring soon, otherwise it’s hard to explain the extreme inopportune timing of his luxe family vacation.
Cruz was spotted on a relaxing tour of the Greek Parthenon Saturday as his constituents continued to suffer from deadly flooding, which has claimed at least 95 lives as of Monday—including 27 young girls from a nearby summer camp.
Meanwhile, while on vacation in Athens, Cruz was allegedly approached by a woman who said, “20 kids dead in Texas and you take a vacation?”
“He sort of grunted and walked on. His wife shot me a dirty look. Then they continued on with their tour guide,” she told The Daily Beast.
Cruz and his family are no strangers to dipping out when weather takes a turn for the worse. When Texas was hit with a massive winter storm in 2021 that left many without power and water, Cruz fled to Cancún, Mexico.
As for his timeline in Europe, Cruz reportedly jetted across the pond the day after a state of emergency was declared in Texas on July 3, and he returned on July 6.
Of course, as soon as he hit the ground, Cruz was quick to hop on Fox News to pretend that nothing happened.
“In the face of disaster, Texans come together. This is every parent’s nightmare, but we will come through this,” he wrote on X alongside a clip of him on Fox.
And while Cruz may be back to work, another bigger issue is brewing in Texas: the nearly 600 layoffs to the National Weather Service that likely contributed to the flood’s death toll.
In May, former NWS directors penned a letter warning that these cuts would lead to deaths in the case of extreme weather. Now, Democrats are calling for an investigation into whether these job cuts are directly linked to the growing number of deaths in Texas.
Regardless of who’s to blame, Cruz has an ongoing habit of jetting off when the going gets tough—a habit that unfortunately comes with receipts.