Ted Cruz could have booked numerous flights from Greece to Texas before the one he boarded—despite his office claiming he came home from his European vacation “as fast as humanly possible.”
The Daily Beast’s newsletter The Swamp revealed Monday how Cruz was caught touring the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, 24 hours after the Guadalupe River burst its banks, sweeping away dozens of lives in an unspeakable horror whose full effects are still unfolding.
After we published, Cruz’s director of communications issued the claim about his speed of return, adding that the article was “a bull----piece” that showed “no regard for the tragedy in Texas.” But the Daily Beast has reviewed flight options for Cruz from Athens to San Antonio and discovered several that would have gotten him back sooner than his Sunday return.
Flight data shows multiple flights from Athens to San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5, after the floods hit.
While it is not known how many seats were available on each flight, possible options included flights leaving Athens on Saturday morning and landing in San Antonio that evening via Chicago, Atlanta, or Washington, D.C.
Earlier flights were also available on Friday once the seriousness of the floods was becoming apparent.
Due to high demand, several airlines also announced this year that Greece would have more direct air connections with the U.S. than it has ever had.
In addition to commercial travel options, senators often charter private jets for emergency or even routine travel.
The senator arrived in Athens on Thursday to take a brief break after the Senate voted to pass Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
However, Cruz raised eyebrows among vacationers when he was spotted with his wife lining up outside the Parthenon on Saturday, July 5, at about 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET)—more than 24 hours after the Guadalupe River burst its banks.
“He was with his family and a lone security guard,” said an eyewitness at the Parthenon. “As he walked past us, I simply said, ‘20 kids dead in Texas and you take a vacation?’
“He sort of grunted and walked on,” the Swamp spy continued. “His wife shot me a dirty look. Then they continued on with their tour guide.”
Cruz was back on the airwaves from Texas on Monday morning, telling reporters that he had been in contact with local authorities and the president within hours of the floods to seek support and resources for the community.
He also appeared live on Fox & Friends from Kerrville, Texas, in the area hardest hit by the disaster, and posted a number of messages to X.
“There aren’t words to describe the grief that Texans are feeling. Pray for Texas and Kerr County,” he wrote.
The devastating floods dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in parts of central Texas, killing more than 100 people, including 27 children, according to officials.
Some Democrats have questioned whether Trump’s cuts to the federal government could have impacted the human toll of the disaster.
However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called this a “depraved lie.” She said a flood watch was issued in the early afternoon of Thursday, July 3, followed by a flash flood warning that night and the early morning of July 4, “giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before flash flooding conditions occurred.
“Despite unprecedented rainfall, the National Weather Service executed timely and precise forecasts and warnings,” Leavitt said.
“Many Democratic elected officials are trying to turn this into a political game. It is not. This is a national tragedy.”
