Former Congresswoman Embroiled in ‘GrubGate’ After Passing Off Others’ Food Photos as Her Own Cooking

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) is embroiled in what some are calling “GrubGate,” after she was accused of pinching food photos from social media and claiming them as her own.

Robert Downen of The Texas Tribune reported Wednesday that Flores stands accused of “routinely stealing stylish photos of Mexican campfire cooking and passing them off as her own idyllic life on a ranch.”

As an example, the Tribune pointed out the post that Flores captioned, “the Ranch life with family is the best.” Shortly after posting, an X user alerted that the image originally appeared on a Facebook page titled, “Visit Guyana,” in March 2022.

In another post, Flores wrote, “As a proud Latina who knows how to cook, homemade Mexican food tastes better from a gas stove,” while using a photo of eggs and tortillas. The Tribune reported that the photo “was initially posted on Facebook in 2021 by a Spanish-language magazine.”

Downen wrote that the Tribune independently reviewed Flores’ Instagram and found two questionable posts in the past year, “including one post from July in which she shared a photo of meat and tortillas on a grill with the caption, ‘Joe Biden is not invited to the carne asada’ in both English and Spanish. A reverse image search found that the exact photo was posted a year prior by a Facebook page for tourism in Tamaulipas — the state in Mexico where Flores was born.”

Flores reportedly sent a text to the Tribune saying it wasn’t her “intention to mislead.”

“The photo simply reminded me of my upbringing in Mexico and childhood,” the text said. “I deleted the tweet to clear up any confusion. I actually spend my Christmas at ranch with my In-Laws. Happy New Year!”

Flores is the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress. She has announced that she’s running to take back the South Texas seat she originally won in a June 2022 special election. She lost the seat just months later to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez.

Read The Texas Tribune story here.