Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., raised more than $ 2 million for relief efforts in Texas on Friday afternoon, before traveling to Houston to assist in the recovery effort.
“Charity is not always a substitute for good governance, but we will not fail to help those in need when things go wrong,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez.
Funds raised by the progressive legislator will go to 12 food banks and aid organizations, including the Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, Family Eldercare, Feeding Texas and Houston Food Bank, according to the donations page.
The congresswoman will meet with Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, this weekend to distribute supplies and raise awareness for the millions of Texans who lack basic necessities after a record winter storm that left at least 46 dead in 10 states, mostly in Texas and millions across the country without heating, water or electricity.
Some critics argued that the catastrophe was preventable, blaming the state’s independent and insufficiently equipped power grid and the deregulation policies under its republican governance.
Meanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was criticized for vacationing with his family in Cancún, Mexico, in the midst of the crisis. Facing a flurry of requests to resign on social media, Cruz told reporters on Thursday that the decision to leave the country was “obviously a mistake”.
Ocasio-Cortez, who last month accused the senator of “trying to kill me”, fueling allegations of electoral fraud before the Capitol insurrection on January 6, accessed Twitter again on Thursday to say that Texans should demand the resignation of the senator.
“If Senator Cruz had resigned in January after helping to trigger a violent uprising that killed several people, he could have taken a vacation in peace,” she tweeted.
The senator defended his actions in a press release on Thursday, stressing that “he wants[ed] be a good father ”taking his daughters on the trip and that he returned to Texas“ on the first available flight ”after originally planning a longer stay.