FLYIN' TED
Ted Cruz claims he was just ‘dropping kids off in Cancun’ as he returns to US 24 hours after fleeing storm-ravaged Texas
TED Cruz will return from vacation "immediately" after sparking outrage for leaving Texas in the midst of a record-breaking snowstorm.
Photos circulating on Twitter on Thursday showed the senator on a flight to Cancun, prompting many to during the crisis.
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Cruz is accused of fleeing the Lone Star state during one of the worst storms in its history, which has left more than 37 dead and millions without power.
The Republican senator claimed he traveled to Mexico just to drop his daughters off for their vacation.
According to The Associated Press, a source said the Republican lawmaker went with his family for a long-planned trip to Cancun.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Cruz was expected to return immediately.
And the Houston Police Department confirmed the senator's staff contacted them on Wednesday afternoon to assist him in his arrival and movements through Houston's international airport.
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Cruz is standing by for a United Airlines flight from Cancun back to Houston and is scheduled to depart Thursday afternoon.
He was originally due to fly back Houston on Saturday, but that Cruz booked his return ticket home at 6am on Thursday.
Cruz addressed the furore on Thursday afternoon hours after he faced backlash for leaving the US - and said the storm had produced an "infuriating week for Texans."
According to the , the statement read: “With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends.
"Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.”
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It added: "My staff and I 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.”
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The Sun has contacted Cruz's office for comment, which is yet to confirm or deny whether or not he had left Texas.
The snaps show a man who looks similar to Cruz in an airport and on a plane.
Texans have been outraged at the possibility that the senator may have abandoned his state during the emergency.
A number of social media users spotted pictures of a man bearing resemblance to Cruz at an airport check-in and aboard a flight from Houston to Cancun.
One Twitter user said: "Ted Cruz abandon the people of Texas during a natural disaster crisis...that just unacceptable and honestly unforgivable in my opinion."
Another said Cruz "chooses ‘love of sun’ over love of state".
But another jumped the Senator's defence, saying pointing our how "most family’s plan vacations like this months in advance."
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‘It appears in the middle of the worst energy crisis in the history of Texas, Ted Crus [sic] is on his way to Cancun with his family,’ one person wrote on Twitter, alongside a series of photographs which supposedly show the Senator aboard the flight.
Meanwhile the to resign from his post.
A statement from Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa read: “Ted Cruz jetting off to Mexico while Texans remain dying in the cold isn’t surprising but it is deeply disturbing and disappointing."
It added: “Cruz is emblematic of what the Texas Republican Party and its leaders have become: weak, corrupt, inept, and self-serving politicians who don’t give a damn about the people they were elected to represent.
"They were elected by the people but have no interest or intent of doing their jobs.”
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Texas state Representative, Gene Wu, tweeted out another picture, writing: "Guess which US Senator from Texas flew to Cancun while the state was freezing to death and having to boil water?"
It's not clear at this stage if Cruz and his family traveled to Mexico on Wednesday or how recently the photos were taken.
A Republican source toldthat the allegations Cruz was traveling to the Mexican city are true.
"The photos speak for themselves," the source said.
Power outages have hit most major cities in Texas, including Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
All of Texas is under a winter storm warning, while President has declared an emergency in the state.
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