Montana governor vacationed in Italy while Yellowstone faced catastrophic flooding that caused $29 million in damage

• Yellowstone National Park faced historic flooding this week, which destroyed roads and bridges and forced evacuations.
• Montana Gov. Gianforte's office confirmed to NBC he was in Italy while the natural disaster occurred.

As Yellowstone National Park faced historic flooding this week which caused millions of dollars in damage and destroyed bridges and roadways, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte's office confirmed he was on vacation in Italy.

"The governor departed early Saturday morning to Italy with his wife for a long-planned personal, private trip," Gianforte's office said in a statement to NBC Montana. "When severe flooding struck, the governor delegated his authority to respond to the disaster to Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras with whom he worked closely over the last four days to take swift, decisive action."

The historic flooding, which caused an estimated $29 million in damages to the national park and surrounding areas, began June 13 and prompted the evacuation of more than 10,000 park visitors during one of its busiest tourism seasons of the year. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported.

Gianforte faced heavy criticism for his absence from constituents and political rivals, who started the social media tag #WhereIsGreg upon realizing the state's disaster declaration had been signed by the Lieutenant Governor. For several days, Gianforte's office did not state where the Governor was, citing unspecified "security concerns."

"In a moment of unprecedented disaster and economic uncertainty, Gianforte purposefully kept Montanans in the dark about where he was, and who was actually in charge," Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, told the Los Angeles Times.

Though he had portrayed himself on Twitter as actively participating in the official response to the floods, the Republican Governor returned to Montana on Thursday night.

"Grateful to be back in Montana, the governor looks forward to being on the ground in Gardiner this morning to survey damage and meet with residents and local officials about recovering and rebuilding," Gianforte's office said in a statement to NBC Montana.

The incident prompted comparisons to Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who recieved scrutiny for similarly vactioning during a 2021 weather disaster in his state. During a frigid winter storm that resulted in $80-130 billion in damages and nearly 250 deaths, Cruz spent time vacationing at a luxury hotel in Cancún.

Cruz called the trip a "mistake" after intense backlash, but later joked about the incident on Twitter. Unlike Cruz, Gianforte left for vacation before the flooding occurred.

Gianforte's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.