Text messages appear to show how quickly Ted Cruz's ill-advised Cancun trip was planned


Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has blamed his tween daughters for the family's international vacation to Mexico, but text messages obtained by The New York Times and Reform Austin News show that his wife, Heidi, was messaging friends and neighbors on Wednesday about heading south of the border amid a harsh winter storm that has left millions of Texans without power and water.
Cruz was spotted at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday afternoon, leaving behind cold Houston for warm Cancun. He was swiftly criticized for fleeing the state as millions of his constituents suffered amid brutal conditions, and he returned to Texas on Thursday. During his first attempt to smooth things over, Cruz said his daughters — who are 10 and 12 — "asked to take a trip with friends" and "wanting to be a good dad," he agreed to take them to Cancun.
The text messages obtained by the Times show Heidi Cruz messaged friends and neighbors to say her house did not have electricity and was "FREEZING." The family was staying with friends, she added, before asking: "Anyone can or want to leave for the week? We may go to Cancun." Cruz said they could stay at the Ritz-Carlton, leaving that afternoon and coming back on Sunday. No one showed any interest in joining Ted Cruz on vacation, so Heidi Cruz offered up her home's gas stove in case anyone needed to heat water.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Houston Police Department confirmed with the Times that someone from the senator's office called and asked for officers to provide "assistance upon arrival" Wednesday at the airport, and law enforcement was also spotted with Cruz when he returned to Houston on Thursday. Back in the U.S., Cruz offered a new statement, telling reporters it was "obviously a mistake" to go to Cancun and claiming he had "second thoughts" as soon as he got on the plane. His daughters, he said, had "a tough week," and "all of us who are parents have a responsibility to take care of our kids, take care of our families, but I also have a responsibility that I take very seriously of fighting for the state of Texas."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot