Fox reporter Caroline Shively failed to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on his hypocritical calls for government assistance for victims of Hurricane Harvey after it made landfall in Texas on Friday night given that he voted against disaster relief funding for victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2013.
Cruz was one of the 36 Republican senators who voted against the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, which appropriated federal assistance for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
During his appearances on other networks, anchors questioned Cruz about his decision to vote against the disaster relief bill for Hurricane Sandy victims. CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta, serving as guest host of Wolf, noted during a phone interview with Cruz: “There were some Republicans in Texas who were opposed to that funding [for Hurricane Sandy victims], and now many of those members of Congress would like to see help come in [for those affected by Hurricane Harvey] as quickly as possible. I know at that time you were one of those Republicans who were opposed to that emergency funding. What is your sense of it now? Is your perspective different now, now that you're seeing this happening in your home state?” Cruz responded that the Sandy package was problematic because it “became a $50 billion bill that was filled with pork and unrelated spending.”
MSNBC anchor Katy Tur also questioned Cruz, saying, “A lot of people are pointing out that you voted against aid for [Hurricane] Sandy after that catastrophic storm up in the Northeast, that package back in 2012. And they are pointing at you and saying you're asking for money now when you weren’t willing to help the people in the Northeast. What do you have to say to them?” Cruz responded, “There is time for political sniping later.”
But during a broadcast of Fox News’ Outnumbered, Shively failed to ask Cruz about his vote against the bill that would have helped Sandy victims: