Ted Cruz Spotted on Vacation as Republicans Refuse to End Shutdown

Senator Ted Cruz is jet-setting in tough times again.TMZ spotted the Texas politician at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Tuesday, protected by a security detail composed of police officers, even as TSA agents aren’t being paid thanks to a partial government shutdown. Like several other Republican senators, Cruz hightailed it out of Washington, D.C., over the weekend, first heading to Houston before swinging by the CPAC convention in Dallas. His Florida trip is only the latest time Cruz has decided to take a vacation instead of looking out for his constituents.In January, Cruz headed off to sunny Laguna Beach, California, as a major winter storm was set to hit Texas. Last July, Cruz was sightseeing in Athens during Texas’s deadly floods, and five years ago, he earned the moniker “Cancún Cruz” for heading to Mexico rather than sticking around to help with relief efforts as many in his state lost electricity during catastrophically low temperatures. At least 246 people in Texas lost their lives during that winter storm in 2021, but Cruz doesn’t appear to have learned to at least try to act like he cares. Since many TSA agents aren’t being paid, travelers are dealing with long security lines across the country and the Trump administration has deployed ICE agents to stand around in airports and do nothing except intimidate immigrants.Meanwhile, negotiations on how to resume funding the Department of Homeland Security and at least attempt to reform ICE are going nowhere. Cruz and fellow Republicans don’t seem all that concerned as they head to more relaxing destinations.