Despite his office insisting that Senator Ted Cruz returned to Texas “as fast as humanly possible,” flight records suggest he had multiple opportunities to come home sooner after catastrophic floods devastated the state—opportunities he didn’t take.
According to The Daily Beast’s, Cruz was still vacationing in Athens, Greece, more than 24 hours after the Guadalupe River overflowed, killing over 100 people, including at least 27 children. The death toll continues to rise as search efforts persist.
Cruz’s communications director lashed out at the report, calling it a “bull—- piece” and accusing it of lacking compassion for the tragedy. However, flight data reviewed by The Daily Beast shows there were several commercial flights departing Athens on Friday, July 4, and Saturday, July 5, that could have gotten Cruz home to San Antonio much earlier than his Sunday arrival.
Options included flights connecting through major U.S. hubs like Chicago, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., some landing in Texas the same day. Given the unprecedented demand for U.S.–Greece travel this year, increased direct routes made such travel even more accessible.
Cruz had arrived in Greece on Thursday following the Senate’s passage of Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” and was photographed sightseeing at the Parthenon with his wife on Saturday evening—well after the floods had begun wreaking havoc in central Texas.
“He was standing in line with his family and one security guard,” an eyewitness told The Swamp. “I said, ‘Twenty kids dead in Texas and you take a vacation?’ He just grunted and walked away. His wife gave me a dirty look.”
By Monday morning, Cruz had returned to Texas and was back on Fox News, appearing live from Kerrville, one of the hardest-hit areas. He told viewers he had been in contact with local officials and President Trump to request emergency assistance.
“There aren’t words to describe the grief that Texans are feeling. Pray for Texas and Kerr County,” Cruz wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The floods, which struck over the July 4th holiday weekend, dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in just 48 hours. Entire communities were engulfed, including Camp Mystic, where 27 campers and counselors lost their lives.
Critics have questioned whether recent federal funding cuts—many supported by Trump—may have made the disaster worse. Some Democrats argue that slashed FEMA budgets and delayed infrastructure investments hindered preparedness and response.
The White House pushed back on those claims. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the accusations “a depraved lie,” citing prompt flood watches issued as early as Thursday afternoon, followed by flash flood warnings later that night and early Friday morning.
“Despite unprecedented rainfall, the National Weather Service executed timely and precise forecasts and warnings,” Leavitt said.
Still, Cruz’s delayed return has reignited memories of his infamous 2021 trip to Cancún during a deadly Texas winter storm—another moment when many questioned whether the senator truly grasped the urgency of his constituents’ suffering.
