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Ted Cruz Not the Only One Under Fire for Fleeing Texas

AG Ken Paxton and wife state Sen. Angela Paxton went to Utah
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 23, 2021 4:00 AM CST
Ted Cruz Not the Only One Under Fire for Fleeing Texas
This Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks in Washington, at a rally in support of President Donald Trump.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

It wasn't just Ted Cruz who escaped his state during Texas' devastating freeze last week. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with his wife state Sen. Angela Paxton, left on the same day as Cruz, just not for Cancun. Rather, they traveled to Utah on Wednesday, where the Republican AG had work meetings, Business Insider reports. "Attorney General Paxton attended a previously planned meeting with the attorney general of Utah to discuss several matters," including the Google antitrust lawsuit and a police training program, his rep tells CNN. But, he added, the AG "did not leave Texas until after power had returned to most of the state, including his own home." More than 2 million Texans were still without power Wednesday night, the Hill reports.

As for state Sen. Paxton, she joined her husband "on a previously planned trip to Utah which included meetings that benefit her efforts to promote human dignity and support law enforcement," her rep says. Democratic officials in Texas were nonetheless livid. "Texas Republicans do not give a damn about the people they were elected to represent, and they continue to focus on issues that don't affect the lives of everyday Texans to gaslight them into thinking they are doing their jobs," Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. Texas State Rep. Gary Gates, also a Republican, flew to Florida in a private jet Wednesday; he said he did so after his home lost power, his pipes burst, and 30% of the house flooded. (More Texas stories.)

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