Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 31, is doing everything in her power help the people of Texas as they weather the crisis brought on by a winter storm. The New York senator — who travelled to Houston, TX to help distribute supplies in person — has raised more than $2 million for relief as of Friday, Feb. 19. “Charity isn’t always a replacement for good governance, but we won’t turn away from helping people in need when things hit the fan,” she tweeted. “We’ve now raised $2 MILLION in relief for Texans & are adding more orgs. I’ll be flying to Texas today Airplane to visit with Houston Rep. Sylvia Garcia (@LaCongresista) to distribute supplies and help amplify needs & solutions,” she added.
“People understand that now is the time for collective action and doing what we can w/ whatever we’ve got,” she shared with her 12 million followers, encouraging them to get involved in any way they can. “Alright Houston! We need some helping hands. The Houston Food Bank (one of our relief partners) needs volunteers tomorrow (and onward, I imagine) to help get supplies to Texans in need,” she posted. The funs raised so far are helping a variety of relief and food bank organizations in the area. She also got the help of former Texas senator Beto O’Rourke, who publicly thanked AOC for her work. For his part, O’Rourke organized a virtual phone bank to help 784,000 senior citizens and connect them with water, food, transportation and shelter.
Social media was quick to praise AOC’s work to help Texans. “Thank you for your kindness and support Congresswoman. Being a Texas Republican does mean we do not appreciate the things you do, thank you for helping Texans in need,” one wrote. “You are a hero,” another wrote, while a third shared, “@AOC Thank you for helping the citizens of Texas. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.”
@AOC Thank you for helping the citizens of Texas. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.
— Nicole Williams (@nicoleRUCsister) February 20, 2021
Thank you for your kindness and support Congresswoman. Being a Texas Republican does mean we do not appreciate the things you do, thank you for helping Texans in need.
— Travis Waddell (@travis_waddell) February 20, 2021
AOC and O’Rourke’s efforts come as Rep. Ted Cruz, 50, was spotted flying off to Cancun, Mexico as millions of Texans are without the basic necessity of power. As of Feb. 18, at least 20 people have died due to the freezing temperatures. In photos, Cruz could be seen on the flight headed to the vacation hotspot as well as rolling his luggage through the Cancun airport. After initial backlash, Cruz put out a statement that he was taking the trip due to his daughters Caroline, 12, and Catherine, 10, school being “canceled for the week.” He assured he was “in constant communication” with other state officials through the crisis.
Cruz then returned to Texas by Friday morning, seemingly regretting the trip in a statement made to press who were outside of his home. He dubbed going to Cancun “a mistake,” noting that he “wouldn’t have done it” in “hindsight.” He added, ‘Of course, I understand why people are upset. Listen, we’re in a strange time where Twitter’s been going crazy and the media is going crazy and there’s a lot of venom and vitriol that I think is unfortunate frankly on both sides…I think everyone ought to treat each other with respect and decency and try to understand each other more particularly at a time of crisis.”
Just drove by Ted Cruz’s house in Houston. His lights are off but a neighbor told me the block got its power back last night. Also, Ted appears to have left behind the family poodle. pic.twitter.com/TmLyGQkASy
— Michael Hardy (@mkerrhardy) February 18, 2021
The senator was also under fire for reportedly leaving his dog Snowflake unattended at his Houston home. The small white poodle — who the family adopted in 2014 — could be seen standing through a glass door in photos taken by media. Hillary Clinton criticized Cruz’s move to allegedly leave the dog alone in his home. “Don’t vote for anyone you wouldn’t trust with your dog,” the former Secretary of State and First Lady posted to Twitter.