Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, defended his 2013 vote against a Superstorm Sandy relief bill for the New York-New Jersey area on Monday as Hurricane Harvey ravaged parts of his home state and officials turned to the federal government for support.
Cruz stood by his controversial vote when pressed in an appearance on MSNBC, saying that the aid bill for Sandy rebuilding was bloated with "unrelated pork" and "two-thirds of that bill had nothing to do with Sandy."
The senator, who is advocating for federal funds for Texas, said he is confident that the government will provide the needed resources for Harvey's victims and doubled down on his Sandy relief "no" vote, saying "there’s time for political sniping later."
"The accurate thing to say is that I and a number of others enthusiastically and emphatically supported hurricane relief for Sandy," the senator said on MSNBC. "The problem with that particular bill is it became a $50 billion bill that was filled with unrelated pork...it’s not right for politicians to exploit a disaster when people are hurting to pay for their own political wish list."
