When senators are sworn into office they must take an oath to stand by their individual states and the country no matter what. Texan Senator Ted Cruz cognizantly said, “I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.” However, it is clear that he must have forgotten the part of not evading his duties when he flew to Cancun, Mexico on Wednesday amidst one of the worst climate disasters his state has ever seen. Most likely, Senator Cruz could not bear the weather so he decided to take a “well-deserved” vacation as a public servant. Yet, politicians know their duties when they are elected into office and the fact that Ted Cruz flew off to Cancun while millions of Texans were suffering without power or safe drinking water because of the winter storms shows that this prestigious oath did not matter to him.

If it were not for the people on the flight and his wife’s friends in their group chat exposing the senator, he could have gotten away with leaving his state to suffer while he went off on vacation. Feeling the scrutiny from millions, Senator Cruz returned to Texas on Thursday even though he planned on relaxing at an expensive beachfront hotel for a week. He admitted “it was a mistake” to leave, but did he actually mean it? Or is to maintain his already tarnished political image?

On top of the fact that Senator Cruz went to Cancun while his constituents were dying, his excuse was a shock. When he was questioned on his decision to flee, he used his daughters as an excuse as to why he went to Cancun by mentioning how they wanted to travel. This was a strategy to attempt to victimize himself to the media when truthfully he was trying to get out of the situation without giving a formal and respective apology like a real politician.

“I think it’s extremely irresponsible and tone-deaf,” senior Isabella Rodriguez said.

When politicians exhibit these kinds of behaviors it makes them seem more like actors than politicians. This comes from an era of having a president that constantly lied and acted this way throughout his presidency. Politicians like Ted Cruz feel entitled to go to Cancun during a crisis just like Trump constantly went to the golf course during the COVID-19 crisis. To provide a glimpse of the severity Texans are facing, 1.4 million people have experienced water disruptions as of Wednesday, and as of Friday of last week it reached 14.9 million with some completely without water. The aftermath of the storm will cost Texas billions to recover as well as very expensive electricity bills for residents.

Again and again, we see the complacency of the Republican Party in times of uncertainty, pain and crisis. Trump might be gone but the damage the Republican Party faces is not just on him but on Senators like Ted Cruz. He won by slim margins to Beto O’Rourke in the last election so one would think he would want to make sure to leave a reliable impression on his constituents, but that is not the case. Even Representative Alexandra Ocasio Cortez of New York took on her own initiative to raise 4 million dollars in an effort to aid in the recovery process for Texas. This is an example of a real politician and what Ted Cruz should be doing instead of creating a scandal. In the past years the Republican Party has slowly lost the essence of what it means to be a politician.

Senators have an oath to uphold and so far Senator Cruz has done a terrible job of keeping his promise to the Constitution and now his own Texans. If he actually cared about his constituents and the crisis, he would not have even thought about going to Cancun. Senator Cruz is an example of the corruption of the Republican Party that Trump caused and if this behavior continues, it will be difficult to move forward and be successful in the world of politics.