Congressional candidate Monica De La Cruz disparaged COVID-19 aid despite taking thousands of dollars for her businesses

Monica De La Cruz, the Republican candidate for Texas’ 15th congressional seat, poses for a photo with a supporter in McAllen. (Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune)

Monica De La Cruz, a firebrand Republican running in a fiercely competitive South Texas race, received thousands of dollars for personal business interests from federal COVID relief programs despite disparaging federal assistance programs as harmful to the U.S. economy.

She’s the latest to join the growing list of Republican candidates and members of Congress who have recently come under fire for touting the benefits of Democratic or bipartisan legislation that they had disparaged and voted against. De La Cruz told The Texas Tribune she has always supported the kinds of assistance programs her businesses benefited from, but she vocally opposed major legislation that would have expanded them, saying they included wasteful spending items.