Democrats slam Sen. Ted Cruz for flying to Cancun while Texans are 'literally freezing to death'

• Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas flew to Cancun on Wednesday.
• His vacation coincided with one of the worst winter storms Texas has experienced in years.
• Democrats are criticizing the senator for his trip.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas flew to Cancun on Wednesday, a trip that has sparked intense backlash as his constituents continue to struggle with one of the worst winter storms in years.

The vacation, confirmed on Thursday morning by multiple news outlets, comes following hours of speculation on Wednesday night about the senator's whereabouts after photos of him and his family at the Houston airport appeared on Twitter.

The trip opened floodgates of criticism against the outspoken Texas senator, who as recently as December attacked public officials for neglecting public health guidelines during the pandemic.

"This tweet did not age well at all," one Twitter user wrote, along with a photo of Cruz at the airport. (The CDC advises limiting travel in order to prevent further transmission of COVID-19 as cases remain high across the country.)

Cruz's former Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke slammed him Thursday morning for "vacationing in Cancun right now when people are literally freezing to death in the state that he was elected to represent and serve."

Cruz was captured at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston in several photos standing at a gate, at an airline lounge and onboard a plane. He was spotted wearing the same mask emblazoned with the phrase "come and take it" seen while he was on Capitol Hill.

"The photos speak for themselves," a Republican source told Fox News.

The Texas Democratic Party has since made multiple calls for Cruz to resign. Congressional lawmakers are also ripping into Cruz over his visit.

"People in Texas are literally freezing to death and yet Ted Cruz went on vacation to Cancun," Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington tweeted Thursday. "I guess spending so much time denying climate change must leave him pretty exhausted."

Cruz also came under fire on Tuesday after an August 2020 tweet in which he mocked California's "failed energy policies" resurfaced as Texans struggled without electricity. "I got no defense," the senator later responded to the backlash. "A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good."

On Tuesday, the day before his flight to Mexico, Cruz on a talk show told fellow Texans to "just stay home and hug your kids," BuzzFeed News reported.

After hours without comment, Cruz released a statement on Thursday that he is returning to Houston in the afternoon.

"With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends," he said. "Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon."

Beyond this week, Cruz has been denounced in recent months after he amplified claims pushed by former President Donald Trump that the 2020 presidential election was subject to voter fraud. The FBI and state and local election officials have said no widespread voter fraud occured in the race. Cruz helped lead a challenge to the election results when Congress had met to certify the count for then-President-elect Joe Biden on January 6. Democrats have said Cruz is partly to blame for the violent insurrection that later unfolded at the Capitol that day.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who said Cruz should be expelled from the Senate after the Capitol riot, renewed those calls on Thursday.

"If Sen. Cruz had resigned back in January after helping gin up a violent insurrection that killed several people, he could've taken his vacation in peace," she tweeted. "Texans should continue to demand his resignation."

Roughly 2.7 million households were without power in Texas as of Wednesday morning. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas reported on Thursday morning that a "majority of customers" have had their power restored. Roughly 485,000 Texans are still without power, according to PowerOutage.US.

President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Texas on Sunday. Drinking water is limited and in many areas, "boil notice" warnings have gone into place, advising that it's not safe to drink water out of the tap without boiling it first.

Many Texans have been without heat for several days. Hospitals throughout the state have reported that they are experiencing heat and water issues. The extreme cold across the region has been tied to the deaths of at least 20 people.

Houston, Cruz's hometown, is under a boil water notice and the Houston CBS-affiliate KHOU reported that people have taken to draining water out of water heaters and collecting rain water in order to stay hydrated.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.