Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) jabbed at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday after he was spotted flying to Cancun, Mexico, this week as millions in his home state faced power outages amid freezing temperatures.
Plaskett on Thursday juxtaposed photos of her helping distribute packs of water and aid in the Virgin Islands in 2017, when the territory was hit with hurricanes Irma and Maria, with a picture of the Republican senator at an airport this week.
“This is what I was doing after the hurricanes of 2017 hit the Virgin Islands. And this is what a Senator of Texas did after the Texas winter storms. IJS (I’m just saying),” she wrote in a tweet that has racked up over 7,800 likes in almost two hours.
Plaskett is one of a growing number of Democrats and celebrities to knock Cruz after photos went viral earlier in day showing the senator at a Houston airport in route to a vacation with his family.
Over the past week, millions of Texas residents have been left without power after the state’s electric grid, which wasn’t equipped to handle the recent deadly winter storm that battered the state, failed, prompting widespread outages.
More than 35 deaths, so far, have been attributed to the severe winter weather in Texas and in other states.
In statement shared with The Hill on Thursday afternoon, Cruz confirmed the recent trip to Mexico and claimed that he had accompanied his kids on the flight since they had a week off due to school cancellations.
“Wanting to be a good dad,” Cruz said, he decided to fly “with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.”
“This has been an infuriating week for Texans,” he said, adding “the greatest state in the greatest country in the world has been without power. We have food lines, gas lines, and people sleeping at the neighbors’ houses. Our homes are freezing and our lights are out.”
The Republican senator went on to say that his family also “lost heat and power too” amid the storm and added that he and his staff are “in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas.”
“We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm. My team and I will continue using all our resources to keep Texans informed and safe,” he said.