Ted Cruz and Chris Christie are still tousling over hurricane relief while Texas is being drenched by Harvey. On Wednesday morning, Christie called out Cruz after the Texan Senator made much ado about helping relief efforts, despite voting “no” on a bill to help rebuild the communities drubbed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. After Christie called out Cruz for hypocrisy, Cruz has clapped back and accused Christie of doing whatever it takes to get his name in Houston related headlines.
Fox and Friends spoke with Cruz from where he’s hunkered down in Houston, assisting in relief efforts. When asked about Christie’s “pointed comments” about Cruz’s vote on the Sandy bill, Cruz first said, “I’m sorry that there are politicians who seem really desperate to get their names in the news and are saying whatever they need to do that.” He went on to elaborate:
“Everyone is rightly focused on saving lives. There is a time in the process when you work on rebuilding, but the first priority has to be saving lives. When we move forward, I think we will see Congress act united to provide relief to the citizens of Texas that they are entitled to under federal law. I know we have the commitment of the President. For folks who are focused on raising political shots and snipes about the Sandy Bill, you know, facts matter.”
There’s just one problem — the facts aren’t on Cruz’s side. Cruz claimed he voted against the Sandy bill while making allegations that the legislation was inflated with unrelated spending. That was not only denied by Christie, but disproven by the Washington Post. However, Cruz feels that until Tropical Storm Harvey has actually passed, the focus should remain on the immediate needs of the displaced, rather than quibbles over what happened in 2012.
That’s a point that Christie emphasized, too. It’s certainly prudent to be thinking ahead about how to craft an effective relief bill after the fourth largest city in the United States is mowed down by a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions. Hopefully, the government’s response to relief efforts will be less contentious than those for Sandy — which are still coming up a full five years after the fact.
(Via Fox News)