--- description: Ted Cruz defended his 2013 vote against an aid package for Superstorm Sandy, facing accusations of hypocrisy amid Hurricane Harvey recovery title: Ted Cruz Defends Vote Against Superstorm Sandy Aid Amid Harvey Destruction image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4aa026d626874172/6988db9a196cf45975041aef/ted-cruz-hurricane-harvey-spending.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Texas](/tag/texas/) ## Texas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ted Cruz Defends Vote Against Superstorm Sandy Aid Amid Harvey Destruction  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2017 11:43 PM CUT  Texas Sen. Ted Cruz attends a Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing for ambassadorships, on June 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz attends a Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing for ambassadorships, on June 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C.Mark Wilson/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2017 11:43 PM CUT Texas Sen. [Ted Cruz](http://time.com/4771960/sally-yates-ted-cruz-trump-travel-ban-watch/ "undefined") on Monday defended his 2013 vote against an aid package in the wake of [Superstorm Sandy](http://time.com/3544072/hurricane-sandy-anniversary/ "undefined"), facing accusations of hypocrisy as he deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in his state. “There’s time for political sniping later,” Cruz said in an [interview on MSNBC](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/ted-cruz-says-he-enthusiastically-backed-sandy-storm-aid-he-n796926 "undefined"), when asked about his vote against the relief package after the 2012 storm [wreaked havoc](http://time.com/4058045/expensive-hurricanes-joaquin/ "undefined") on New Jersey and New York. “The accurate thing to say is that I and a number of others enthusiastically and emphatically supported hurricane relief for Sandy. Hurricane relief and disaster relief has been a vital federal role for a long, long time and it should continue,” he said. “The problem with that particular bill is it became a $50 billion bill that was filled with unrelated pork.” Cruz and Texas Sen. John Cornyn both voted against the $51 billion Sandy aid package, as did more than 20 House Republicans in Texas, the Associated Press reported. New York and New Jersey legislators have [called out their colleagues](https://twitter.com/RepLoBiondo/status/902165160252583937 "undefined") for those votes this week, even as [some promised](https://twitter.com/RepPeteKing/status/901824286754791424 "undefined") to support disaster relief for Harvey. “What I said then and still believe now is that it’s not right for politicians to exploit a disaster when people are hurting to pay for their own political wish list,” Cruz told MSNBC on Monday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4919599/ted-cruz-superstorm-sandy-hurricane-harvey-spending/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4919599/ted-cruz-superstorm-sandy-hurricane-harvey-spending/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Defends Vote Against Superstorm Sandy Aid Amid Harvey Destruction","datePublished":"2017-08-28T23:43:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:12:14.261Z","description":"\"There's time for political sniping later\"","url":"https://time.com/4919599/ted-cruz-superstorm-sandy-hurricane-harvey-spending/","keywords":["Texas","weather","ted cruz","onetime","hurricane harvey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4aa026d626874172/6988db9a196cf45975041aef/ted-cruz-hurricane-harvey-spending.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4aa026d626874172/6988db9a196cf45975041aef/ted-cruz-hurricane-harvey-spending.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Foreign Relations Holds Confirmation Hearing For Kay Bailey Hutchison For NATO Ambassador","caption":"Senate Foreign Relations Holds Confirmation Hearing For Kay Bailey Hutchison For NATO Ambassador","creditText":"Mark Wilson/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/texas/","name":"Texas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4919599/ted-cruz-superstorm-sandy-hurricane-harvey-spending/","name":"Ted Cruz Defends Vote Against Superstorm Sandy Aid Amid Harvey Destruction"}}]}] ```