GOP Sen. Ted Cruz was on a pre-planned vacation in Greece with his family whendevastating floods hit central Texas, and he sought to travel back "as fast as humanly possible," his office said in a statement. "The Senator was already in the middle of preplanned family vacation travel overseas when the flooding occurred on July 4. Within hours, he spoke by phone with Governor (Greg) Abbott, Lt. Governor (Dan) Patrick, Texas Emergency Management Director Nim Kidd, and President (Donald) Trump, working to ensure that the maximum federal assets were available for search and rescue," Cruz's office said in a statement to CNN. "He and his team worked closely with local officials and with families of missing girls throughout that time. He promptly booked a flight back home. Given the time difference, he left Athens on Sunday morning and was back in Texas that night. And he was in Kerrville on the ground early Monday morning," the statement continued. A tourist in Athens toldthe Houston Chroniclehe spotted Cruz at about 6 p.m. in Athens, Greece – or about 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. in Kerrville – and snapped a photo, which was posted to social media. That was after Abbott issued a disaster declaration due to severe flooding that wasbelieved to have left at least 24 deadand many more missing. The death toll has since risen to more than 100 people. "I get it, he's on vacation," said the tourist, Michael Rocchio, who the Chronicle reported is not a Texan and is openly critical of Cruz's political beliefs. "But after what happened, vacation or not, you should have been back on a plane on his way back to Texas to deal with everything that was going on with those poor kids in the floodplain." Cruz has faced criticism previously for a vacation that came amid a natural disaster. In 2021, the Texas Republicansaid it was "obviously a mistake"to fly to Cancun, Mexico, as a winter disaster in his home state left millions without power or water. The Greece trip wasfirst reported by The Daily Beast. This story has been updated with additional details. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com
