United Airlines has launched an investigation into who leaked Senator Ted Cruz’s travel information for his return from Cancun back to Houston earlier this week. There’s an employee of the airlines with loose lips and the airline wants to get to the bottom of this story.

Senator Cruz winged it to Cancun on Wednesday with his wife Heidi and their two daughters from Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport. When a photo went viral of Cruz at the airport, everyone went nuts. It was a bipartisan meltdown from what I gather. I missed a lot of it because I live in Houston, too, and our power and internet were out at the time. My only connection to the outside world was a spotty connection to Twitter.

On Wednesday, CNN’s Jim Acosta tweeted that Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo confirmed that Cruz’s staff requested assistance from HPD at the airport for his departure to Cancun.

Houston Police Chief @ArtAcevedo said his department had been contacted by Senator Ted Cruz’s staff for assistance at the airport Wednesday for his trip to Cancun, CNN has confirmed.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 18, 2021

By the way, I’m not outraged about Cruz and his family leaving for warm weather and the creature comforts of a resort in Cancun. I’m surprised at his cluelessness about how this story would play out, though. He’s a seasoned politician with presidential ambitions. He knows optics is everything in politics. However, he is not an engineer who would bring power back to anyone’s home, he’s not a plumber who can fix broken pipes, and he’s not a construction worker who repairs home damage from the storm. He’s a politician who can work from anywhere. Would it be best for him to stay in town and have the photo ops of distributing food and water to those in need? Yes. That’s the optics part. He and his staff can do many things to help out.

So, hearing the criticism, Cruz booked a flight home the next day instead of staying with his family and friends in Cancun until Saturday. A travel editor tweeted out Cruz’s flight information. Edward Russell, the lead airlines reporter at the travel industry publication Skift, responded to that tweet. He reported a source at the airline told him, “Senator Ted Cruz rebooked his flight back to Houston from Cancun for this afternoon at around 6 a.m. today (Thursday).”

Spoke to a source at United Airlines, Senator Ted Cruz rebooked his flight back to Houston from Cancun for this afternoon at around 6 a.m. today (Thursday). He was originally scheduled to return on Saturday.https://t.co/QV9xgibIQ9

— Edward Russell (@ByERussell) February 18, 2021

United Airlines is right to be concerned about this type of leak. This is a personal safety issue for a customer. Cruz is a public servant, but he is entitled to safely move around like anyone else. And his family is involved. People are crazy and we know politicians, mostly conservatives, are hunted down in public places by angry protesters. It isn’t unusual for politicians to have security. The tweet shows his flight number, gate, and time of arrival in Houston. United Airlines released a brief comment.

United Airlines told Newsweek on Friday that “It’s against United’s policies to share personal information about our customers and we are investigating this incident.”

Cruz realized his error and quickly corrected it. His family was settled in at the resort and he returned home.

Cruz garnered even more criticism on Thursday after the senator attempted to explain his trip.

“With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them,” Cruz said. “My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas,” he added.

When confronted on Thursday by a reporter in the Cancun airport, Cruz said he was returning home to help restore power to Texans cut off by the storms. He later called the trip “a mistake” and said he decided to come back after witnessing the controversy his trip had caused online.

Pinning the trip on his daughters was dumb. Also dumb was leaving the family dog at home. A security guard confirmed that he was taking care of the family’s white poodle, Snowflake.

Critics have been active on social media. It’s given Beto O’Rourke an opportunity to get favorable publicity for organizing phone banks to assist people in need and trash Cruz in the press. Also, AOC has stepped in and raised over $3M for several local organizations that feed and assist the needy. She traveled to Houston on Friday to work with Rep. Sylvia Garcia ( an impeachment manager for Trump’s first impeachment trial in the Senate) and generate good press for Democrats. Democrats hope that all of this crisis can be pinned on Texas Republicans, from Governor Abbott on down the line, and continue their dream of a blue Texas in the next election.

I can’t believe we’ve surged past $3 million for Texas!

Houston Food Bank is using resources like these to try to get 30,000 meal boxes out in the next TWO days.

They’re just 1 of 12 Texas orgs were now partnering with.

Let’s keep going!
Give here: https://t.co/4PQkp3Z4KV https://t.co/AgBGq54p29

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 20, 2021

The press is stalking Heidi Cruz and the Cruz daughters in Mexico.

Cruz’s wife, Heidi, was seen on the sand wearing a red bikini under blue beach umbrellas, video and photos obtained by The Post show.

The senator’s family should not be pursued by the press. Cruz isn’t there with them. He’s back in Houston with the protesters outside demanding that he resign. No, I’m not going to say where in town he lives. I’m sure he and Snowflake have electricity and heat by now. When his family returns, they will not return back to a freezing house.