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.

Beast reported that while rescue teams searched floodwaters in Texas, Cruz remained in Greece, continuing to sightsee.

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,