Texas Democrats call on Cruz to resign

Texas Democrats are calling on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to resign or be expelled after pictures surfaced of him traveling to Cancun, Mexico, while millions in his home state are without power or clean water because of a winter storm.

In a statement, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called Cruz’s actions “disturbing and disappointing.”

He ripped Cruz for challenging the Electoral College vote ahead of the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, and said Cruz should now resign for “jetting off to Mexico while Texans remain dying in the cold.”

“The Texas Democratic Party calls on Ted Cruz to resign or be expelled from office,” Hinojosa said. “Barring that, we will put all of the resources we have into defeating him and every Texas Republican who abandoned us in this disaster, including Governor [Greg] Abbott and Lieutenant Governor [Dan] Patrick, in 2022 and 2024. We are in a battle for the soul of our state. We must restore ethics, competence, and a government that works for the people.”

Cruz’s office has not responded to a request for comment from The Hill, but The Associated Press and Fox News both confirmed that he traveled to Mexico with his family. He is expected to return immediately, the reports say.

Millions of Texans have been without power for days after a strong winter storm swept across the state, taxing an energy grid that is not equipped to deal with freezing temperatures.

There have been dozens of deaths related to the extreme weather after many suffered power outages and temperatures plunged into the single digits earlier in the week. 

Officials have been scrambling to restore power but the situation has only grown worse in Austin, the state’s capital, as new snow fell Thursday. 

Austin and other cities have told residents to boil water after the city’s treatment plant lost power. Many Texans are experiencing frozen pipes or, if they have water, cannot boil it because they have no energy.

Many grocery stores are closed because they have no power and the few that are open have long lines and have been picked clean of food and bottled water.