Texas residents are apparently still furious about Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) decision to take a lavish vacation during winter storm Uri, and they're making sure he knows it, with one group sending a mariachi band to his home to show their displeasure, according to WTRF.
Who sent the mariachi band to @tedcruz’s house today?!?!? ????????????#CancunCruz
pic.twitter.com/5inOBRGwnA— Ryan Graney???????????? (@RyanEGraney) February 22, 2021
Adam Jama started a GoFundMe page to send a mariachi band to Cruz's home in exchange for donations to Texas Children's Hospital.
"Senator Cruz, being an amazing dad, dropped off his family in Cancun in the middle of a major crisis and came back to Texas to continue serving his constituents," Jama wrote, in a manner that appeared to snarkily reference the excuse Cruz gave for why he went to Mexico.
"We want to thank Senator Cruz for his leadership and pay for an amazing Mariachi band to perform for him. No one should go to Cancun and not listen to Mariachi. (All donations will go directly to Texas Children Hospital in Houston)," Jama added.
The fallout from the extreme weather in Texas is still being felt even as electricity, heat and water services are being restored for those who went without it for days.
Dozens of people have been confirmed dead and experts believe several more people have also died, either from the cold or from attempts to keep themselves warm during the historically low temperatures seen in the state last week, according to The Texas Tribune.
During the storm, Cruz and his family headed out for a trip to Cancún, Mexico. He spent the weekend being lambasted by folks on the internet and cable news outlets, with even conservative news stations slamming the Cruz for leaving his constituents during the unprecedented storm, as Blavity previously reported.
After being caught on camera at the airport, Cruz rescheduled his return flight, according to a leaked detail from an airline employee that is now being investigated by United Airlines, per Daily Mail.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz checks into a flight at Cancun’s airport a day after flying there with family while his state suffers power and water failures from a winter storm. CBS News confirms Cruz originally booked his return flight for Saturday, but it was changed Thursday morning pic.twitter.com/sp9fPiwPDW
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 18, 2021
Upon his return, he apologized and took part in some of the relief efforts. He also called his family's decision to go on vacation "obviously a mistake."
“In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done it,” Cruz said, before blaming his daughters for the decision to travel to Mexico.
Throughout the weather conditions, Texans suffered more disruptions to water, electricity and heat, according to the Associated Press. At least 13 million people dealt with disruptions to their water services as others also went days without heat or power.
“A lot of Texans are hurting and this crisis is frustrating. It’s frustrating for millions of Texans. It shouldn’t happen,” Cruz told reporters, according to WTRF.
Officials in Texas did not hold back in their criticism of Cruz. His own party refused to defend his actions and Democratic officials bashed him for leaving millions to fend for themselves.
“Ted Cruz had already proven to be an enemy to our democracy by inciting an insurrection. Now, he is proving to be an enemy to our state by abandoning us in our greatest time of need. For the 21st time, the Texas Democratic Party calls on Ted Cruz to resign or be expelled from office,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said Thursday to WTRF.