United Airlines Investigating Ted Cruz Flight Data Leak

United Airlines has opened an investigation into who leaked information about Senator Ted Cruz's recent controversial flight to Cancun during Winter Storm Uri.

Cruz has been dragged on social media since it was discovered Wednesday evening that he'd boarded a flight to the sunny resort city in Mexico while millions of Texans were facing extreme winter weather with no electric or water service.

Cruz, who said the trip was a mistake and that he was only escorting his daughters to a party, was spotted volunteering at a water distribution event Saturday - the day he was originally scheduled to fly back to Texas before booking a last-minute flight home Thursday morning.

FOX News and the Associated Press quickly confirmed Cruz's flight citing a source in the GOP. Now United wants to know who leaked the information in the first place.

In a statement issued to Politico, United said it is against the airline's policies to share customer information, and they're working to determine who is responsible. That person could possibly be fired, and an executive speaking to Politico said no options are off the table if it's discovered that one of their employees is behind the leak.

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#TedFled continued to trend on social media Monday, and the controversy was even addressed in the cold open of last week's episode of Saturday Night Live. Cruz was depicted as appearing on a talk show hosted by Brittny Spears as a public forum for people to apologize. Also depicted were New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who's facing a scandal over misreporting nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, and former Mandalorian star Gina Carano, who was recently dropped by Disney for comparing America's current political climate to Nazi Germany on social media.

People have piled on to Senator Cruz in real life as well. Over the weekend, a mariachi band was hired to perform outside of his home as part of a fundraising effort on behalf of the Texas Children's Hospital. (Note: The hospital itself was not involved.)

Some have come to Ted Cruz's defense, including Donald Trump Jr. In a message posted to Rumble.com, the son of former president Donald Trump said it's not the job of a senator to manage a crisis in their home state, but called Cruz's trip "bad optics".

Meanwhile, many have questioned where Cruz's colleague, Senator John Cornyn, was during the storm, and have highlighted efforts by other lawmakers to provide help during the winter storm crisis.

What do you think? Should Ted Cruz have stayed in Texas during the winter storm crisis? Has the criticism he's faced been unfair or justified? Share your thoughts in the comments.