A Texas Republican is facing the same backlash fellow lawmaker Ted Cruz faced over the last week after he had traveled to Orlando, Florida amid the winter storm.
Republican Representative Gary Gates admitted that he left his Houston house after the pipes burst and 30 percent of his residence was flooded.
He added that his wife was recovering from an illness at home during the ordeal and that his mentally disabled daughter’s room was completely flooded.
“My wife is still recovering from an illness she has been battling for two weeks, and the room of my adult daughter, who is mentally handicapped and still lives with us, flooded,” Gates said.
But the lawmaker’s constituents in Fort Bend County were not convinced with Gates’ justification.
“It really would have been nice to have a state representative helping on the ground, working at a warming center, packing food, etc. rather than immediately flying off on a private plane when the going got tough,” Brian Walz said.
“My neighbors didn’t get to do that when her pipe burst.”
