Ted Cruz is doing his favorite thing again: fleeing Texas when the weather gets rough.
The Texas senator was photographed on a flight to Southern California on January 20th, just days before a major winter storm is set to pummel his home state. Political strategist Shea Jordan Smith spotted Cruz on the plane and posted the evidence to X.
THE DETAILS: Cruz’s office told USA TODAY the trip was “pre-planned work travel that was scheduled weeks in advance” and that he’d be back in Texas before the storm hits. Sure.
The storm in question isn’t some minor weather event. Forecasters are warning of a sprawling system that will dump ice and snow across a 2,000-mile stretch of the country from Texas to the Northeast between January 23rd and 25th. The National Weather Service says confidence is increasing that this will be an “expansive major winter storm.”
OF COURSE: This is Ted Cruz’s third strike. In 2021, he famously abandoned Texas for Cancún, Mexico while his constituents froze during a devastating winter storm that killed over 200 people. He later admitted the trip was “obviously a mistake.”
Then in 2025, Cruz was vacationing in Athens, Greece when flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country. His office said he “promptly” booked a return flight that time.
Apparently “promptly” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in Cruz’s vocabulary, because here we are again.
WHY IT MATTERS: Texas has a notoriously fragile power grid that failed catastrophically during the 2021 storm. While the state has made some improvements since then, major winter weather still poses serious risks to millions of Texans—especially vulnerable populations.
A senator’s job during a crisis isn’t necessarily to be physically present. But when you’ve already been caught fleeing your state during emergencies twice, maybe skip the California trip when forecasters are screaming about incoming severe weather. Read the room, Ted.
The man who represents 30 million Texans simply cannot help himself. When the going gets cold, Ted Cruz gets going—somewhere warmer.