Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has helped raise $2 million in direct relief for Texans struggling with power outages and freezing temperatures, and she announced Friday that she’s heading the state to help distribute supplies to people in need.
In other words, the Democratic congresswoman from New York City is doing more to help Texans rebound from the state’s dual crises ― a devastating ice storm in the midst of a pandemic ― than their own Republican senator, Ted Cruz, who raced back to his home on Thursday after being widely criticized for slipping away to Cancun, Mexico, on a family trip.
Ocasio-Cortez said she’ll be meeting with Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) in Houston to help get supplies out to people and amplify the region’s needs and solutions.
“Charity isn’t a replacement for good governance, but we won’t turn away from helping people in need when things hit the fan,” the congresswoman said in a follow-up tweet. “People understand that now is the time for collective action and doing what we can w/ whatever we’ve got.”
She included a link to a website where people can donate money to a mix of Texas nonprofits scrambling to help people get food and care amid the power outages caused by the harsh weather, including the South Texas Food Bank, Family Eldercare and Corazon Ministries.
Ocasio-Cortez has leaned on her massive following on Twitter to spread the word on the need to help struggling Texans. She raised $1 million in less than a day by appealing to her 12.4 million followers for support.
“Totally blown away,” she tweeted Thursday.