Republicans are scrambling to defend Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz after he flew to Cancún, Mexico with his family for a beachside vacation, all while hundreds of thousands of his constituents were freezing, without power or heat.
The Lone Star State experienced widespread blackouts after the frigid temperatures from a devastating arctic blast booted insufficiently winterized power sources offline.
Texts from Cruz's wife, Heidi Cruz, to family friends reveal the Cruzes made the sudden decision to stay at a Ritz Carlton by the ocean in Mexico to escape their "FREEZING" house.
After widespread backlash, Cruz returned early to Texas where he said the trip was due to his young daughters' requests for a getaway while schools were shut down.
Initially, Cruz implied he was simply shuttling his family to their destination and staying for one night before getting back to work.
In an interview with far-right Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, Cruz said he'd intended to work from home through the weekend—but not before Hannity attempted to throw the Senator a lifeline by saying the trip was only supposed to be for one night.
Watch below.
Ted Cruz responds to controversy surrounding Cancun travel on 'Hannity'youtu.be
Hannity said:
"Now, you went and you took your daughters to Cancun and you came back. I think you can be a father and be the senator of Texas all at the same time and make a round trip, quick drop-off, quick trip, and come home."
Cruz had already revealed he'd intended to stay the weekend in Cancún, but rebooked his trip around 6 am Thursday morning to return to Texas that afternoon.
Cruz told Hannity:
"I had initially planned to stay through the weekend and to work remotely there, but as I was heading down there, you know, I started to have second thoughts almost immediately because the crisis here in Texas, you need to be here on the ground."
The interview didn't do much to control the damage.
Cruz continues to face widespread rebuke for the ill-advised trip—especially in relation to the work of other prominent political figures to help relief efforts in Texas.
Power is slowly but surely being restored to the Lone Star State.
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