Sen. Ted Cruz didn’t respond kindly to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s criticism of his decision to vote no on a relief bill for Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Cruz has been accused of hypocrisy for voting against the Sandy bill — which he claims was “filled with pork” — while asking for federal aid to help Texas with Hurricane Harvey. Christie accused Cruz of voting against the bill to prove he was the “most conservative” Senator.
“I’m sorry there are politicians out there who seem really desperate to get their names in the news,” Cruz responded on Fox News Wednesday morning, “and are saying whatever they need to do that.”
“We have a crisis on the ground where people are hurting right now, who are in harm’s way, whose lives and families are in jeopardy,” he continued. “And I’ll tell you, my focus — and I wish the focus of others — would be on saving the lives that are being threatened.”
Cruz denounced people taking “political shots and snipes” during a natural disaster, but again explained why he chose to vote against the Sandy bill.
“Facts matter, and a simple fact is that that Sandy bill was over $50 billion and 70 percent of it was non-emergency,” he said. “30 percent of the funding was emergency funding for the victims of Sandy–part of that spending bill was money for fisheries in Alaska!”
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