As Texans struggle to survive a massive winter storm that has left millions without electricity, oleaginous Senator Ted Cruz decides it’s a great time for a vacation in Cancun.

Then, when he’s caught by people who saw him getting on the plane and posted photos to social media, he uses his daughters as an excuse. How Republican of him.

In a statement, the Texas Republican said he flew with his daughters on Wednesday and would be returning Thursday amid an uproar over the family trip. “With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.”

Senator Ted Cruz carries his luggage at the Cancun International Airport before boarding his plane back to the U.S., in Cancun, Mexico. Photo by Stringer pic.twitter.com/KKDtldAXoE

— corinne_perkins (@corinne_perkins) February 18, 2021

This trip came right after he urged Texans to “stay home and hug your kids.”

In an interview Monday with San Antonio-based radio host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo, Cruz said he was fortunate not to have lost power at his Houston home. He urged his fellow Texans to stay home because of the danger posed by the storms.

“This storm is dangerous, and there’s a second storm expected to hit this week, which will make things even worse,” he said. “So if you can stay home, don’t go out on the roads. Don’t risk the ice.”

Cruz added that he had spoken over the weekend with a meteorologist who said the combination of storms could lead up to 100 people in the state losing their lives this week alone.

“So don’t risk it,” Cruz said. “Keep your family safe, and just stay home and hug your kids.”

The emerging spin from Republicans on Cruz: he’s useless anyway. All he does is consume valuable resources. Better if he isn’t there.

What could @tedcruz do if he were here in Texas? I’m hard-pressed to say. If he’s in Cancun, that means he’s not using up valuable resources of energy, food and water that can now be used by someone else. This is probably the best thing he could do for the state right now

— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) February 18, 2021