I am not seeing the foul. He planned a vacation. He doesn’t run Texas. There wasn’t a vote he missed that I know of, or a committee meeting.
Where is the foul?
You are a sitting US Senator. The governor of the state you represent has declared an emergency in 100% of the counties in the state, and you go on vacation to a tropical paradise. You don't see a foul? If Mary Landrieu, Democrat Senator from Louisiana had been photographed on a Venetian Gondola in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina there is not a single FReeper that would have defended her.
I'm not a fan of the 17th Amendment, but one requirement of a popularly elected senator is that they make some effort to engender and cultivate at least a little bit of popularity.
There is no foul... like you said - he’s not running the state...he’s not in the state legislature...