The Republican senator, who was on a preplanned family vacation, did not return to his state until 72 hours after the deadly disaster, which his office said was as quickly as possible.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is drawing heat for chasing the sun in Europe as his constituents back home dealt with a devastating crisis. Cruz was captured queuing up to visit the Parthenon in Athens, Greece,

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz was on a pre-planned vacation in Greece with his family when devastating floods hit central Texas, and he sought to travel back “as fast as humanly possible,” his office said.