Ted Cruz was photographed on Tuesday on a plane headed to a popular beach town as the state of Texas braces for a winter storm.
Political strategist Shea Jordan Smith shared a photo of the Republican Texas senator standing in the busy aisle of an aircraft, dressed in what appeared to be a blue suit. Smith claimed the plane was departing for Laguna Beach, a small coastal city in Orange County, California, and a popular vacation destination.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was spotted earlier today, January 20, 2026, on a plane heading to Laguna Beach as the state of Texas braces for a rare ice threat and arctic cold front. pic.twitter.com/lVTcqP8LR4
— Shea Jordan Smith (@shea_jordan) January 21, 2026
“Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was spotted earlier today, January 20, 2026, on a plane heading to Laguna Beach as the state of Texas braces for a rare ice threat and arctic cold front,” Smith wrote on X, sharing the image.
A spokesperson for Cruz told the Daily Beast in a statement: “Senator Cruz is currently on pre-planned work travel that was scheduled weeks in advance. He will be back in Texas before the storm is projected to hit.”
The senator has previously drawn attention for leaving Texas during major emergencies affecting the state.
Last July, Cruz was on vacation in Greece while Texas experienced deadly flooding, the Daily Beast revealed. He was also went on a trip to Cancun, Mexico, in 2021 as a winter storm struck Texas, leaving millions without power or water.
“People in Texas are literally freezing to death and yet Ted Cruz went on vacation to Cancun,” Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal wrote on X at the time.
Activist Charlotte Clymer accused the senator of fleeing the state to Cancun in 2021 “while millions of vulnerable Texans” were “without heat and water.”
Responding to the Daily Beast’s reporting that Cruz was in Athens last year, the senator’s communications director claimed he returned from Greece to Texas “as fast as humanly possible”, although an internal review of flight options found he could have been back sooner.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS) have warned that a large portion of Texas could be affected this weekend by “dangerously cold temperatures.”
Moderate to heavy accumulations of snow, sleet, or ice are likely across the region Friday through Saturday night. In addition, dangerously cold temperatures are expected Saturday night through Monday morning,” NWS said in an alert for North and Central Texas.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Cruz said his team was monitoring the situation.
“My team and I are monitoring the incoming cold front that could bring snow, ice, and disruptive weather conditions to parts of the Lone Star State later this week,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Governor Greg Abbott urged Texans to “remain weather-aware.”
“A storm system is expected to move through the state, bringing the possibility of freezing rain, sleet, and snow that could create hazardous travel conditions into the weekend and cause impacts to infrastructure,” the governor’s office said.
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