Fellow senators mock Ted Cruz’s infamous Cancun trip with a biting prank

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has been bombarded with criticism for heading to Cancún, Mexico during Texas' recent energy nightmare, which found millions of Texans without electricity, heat or running water during freezing temperatures and snowy, icy weather. And this week, when the far-right Republican went to a Washington, D.C. gym that is used by fellow U.S. senators, his colleagues had some laughs at his expense.

Printouts at the gym read, "Bienvenido de nuevo, Ted!," which in Spanish, means, "Welcome back, Ted!"

NBC News reporters Carol E. Lee and Leigh Ann Caldwell explain, "When senators arrived at the Senate gym on Wednesday morning, they found that one of them had taped memes on the lockers welcoming Cruz home and showing him in the short-sleeve polo shirt, jeans and Texas-flag mask that he had at the airport, according to two people familiar with the prank….. The rendering featured a manipulated photo of Cruz from his well-documented trip to Mexico, dragging his luggage across an arctic landscape while holding a tropical cocktail garnished with a slice of fruit in his other hand."

The reporters add, "He is shown walking toward an image of a masked Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. with his arms crossed and wearing striped, knitted gloves — a pose famously captured during January's inauguration."

According to Lee and Caldwell, sources told NBC News that the memes were removed from the gym on February 24.