Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, is facing renewed criticism for being out of the country during a natural disaster that impacted his state.
As floodwaters rose in Central Texas on Friday morning, Senator Cruz was vacationing in Greece with his family. According to his office, he “promptly booked a flight” back home, arriving in Texas on Sunday night, the earliest possible return.
By early Monday morning, he was in Kerrville, one of the areas most severely affected by the flooding. At that time, over 80 fatalities had been reported, with many others still unaccounted for.
Images circulated online showed Cruz visiting the Parthenon in Athens on Saturday, suggesting he may have continued sightseeing despite the escalating crisis in Texas. The authenticity of these images has not been verified, and his office did not respond to inquiries regarding them.
Cruz’s absence during the critical first 72 hours following the flooding drew significant backlash on social media, prompting comparisons to his previous departure during a winter storm in 2021 when he traveled to Cancún, Mexico.
In that incident, Cruz later acknowledged it was “obviously a mistake” to leave Texas while residents were facing severe weather conditions.
In contrast, Cruz’s office stated that he was actively coordinating with President Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and other officials from Greece to ensure federal resources were deployed for search and rescue efforts. He also reported working closely with families of missing individuals, including those affiliated with Camp Mystic.
The senator's office did not address queries about whether he attempted to secure an earlier flight home.