AUSTIN (KXAN) — As several state, local and national politicians move to help Texans receive winter storm aid, many in the Lone Star State are noting the “silence” of Republican Senator John Cornyn — especially in the wake of the state’s other senator, Ted Cruz, sparking outrage with a flight to Cancun last week.
On Sunday, “WheresCornyn?” and “WheresJohnCornyn” both appeared on Twitter’s trending page, with many knocking the senator’s response to the devastating storms and lack of visibility in their wake.
Increased pressure for the senator to have a more vigorous response also come in the wake of notable lawmakers and former lawmakers, like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke, worked to get Texans water, food and shelter.
Last week, Ocasio-Cortez launched a relief fundraiser that eventually raked in over $3 million. The New York legislator then helped at a Houston supply distribution event. Meanwhile, O’Rourke helped run a virtual phone bank to connect senior citizens with resources.
Now, many Texans say they want to see the same kind of verve from Cornyn.
Although the senator has shared many resources for Americans to help Texas, the seeming lack of action has some wondering whether Cornyn is even in Texas — especially after Cruz was seen helping at a water distribution on Saturday.
Despite the criticism, ERCOT said both Cornyn and Gov. Greg Abbott helped get an emergency order from the U.S. Department of Energy to allow federal rules to be set aside during the outages. These changes allowed “generation units to run at full power if they were able.”
KXAN has reached out to Cornyn’s office for updates on possible plans for relief event organization/appearances and will update once we’ve heard back. A press rep for Cornyn did respond to an inquiry about rumors the senator travelled to Cabo San Lucas during the storms, which was refuted, with the representative saying, “No he is not and did not go to Cabo at any point.”
