- President Joe Biden is going to Texas on Friday to assess the storm’s recovery efforts.
- But he won’t be meeting Sens. Cruz or Cornyn.
- Cruz will give a speech on cancellation culture at CPAC that day.
- Visit the Insider Business section for more stories.
President Joe Biden is going to Texas on Friday to visit some of the most affected areas of the state, but while there, he will not meet Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
That’s because Cruz will be speaking on that day at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. He will deliver a speech entitled “Declaration of rights, freedom and cancellation of culture”. Canceling culture seems to be the main theme of the conference; Former President Donald Trump will deliver a speech on Sunday entitled “America Not Canceled”.
While it is common for senators to travel with the president when visiting their states, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there were “space limitations” in Air Force One, making it impossible for Cruz or his fellow Republican Senator, John Cornyn, join. Instead, Texas Governor Greg Abbott will accompany the president.
“There are some limitations on available space, so there are no members, I don’t believe, of any party traveling with the president to Texas,” Psaki told reporters, noting that the first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, would join the president at his trip. “But again, he will spend the day traveling with Governor Abbott and assessing the damage to the ground.”
According to Psaki, Biden will “meet with local leaders to discuss the winter storm, relief efforts, progress towards recovery and the incredible resilience shown by the people of Houston and Texas”.
Some speculated that Cruz was left out of Biden’s travel plan because of the senator’s recent and controversial trip to Cancún.
Cruz angered many last week when he was spotted heading to Cancun amid one of the worst winter storms in the state’s history. Many accused the senator of abandoning his constituents, and Cruz later admitted that the trip was “obviously a mistake”.
The White House did not comment directly on Cruz’s behavior, although Psaki said last week that “Many people across the state are without power [and] without the resources they need, and we hope that this will be the focus of anyone in the state who is elected to represent them ”.
Insider contacted the Cruz and Cornyn offices for comment.