HOUSTON (AP) – President Joe Biden heard firsthand about Texans who had been confused by this month’s brutal winter weather on Friday and promised to keep up with them “for the long haul” as he made his maiden trip to a major disaster area since he took office.
Biden was briefed by aid workers and thanked the workers for doing “God’s work.” He promised the federal government will be there for Texans trying to recover not only from the historic storm, but also from the public health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“When a crisis hits our states, like the one in Texas, it’s not a Republican or Democrat that hurts,” Biden said. “It’s our fellow Americans who are in pain, and our job is to help everyone in need.”
With tens of thousands of Houston residents without clean water, local officials told Biden many are still struggling. While briefed, First Lady Jill Biden joined an assembly line of volunteers who packed boxes of quick oats, juice, and other foods at the Houston Food Bank, where he later arrived.
The president’s first stop was the Harris County Emergency Operations Center for a briefing from acting FEMA administrator Bob Fenton and state and local emergency management officials.
Texas was hit particularly hard by the Valentine’s weekend storm that hit multiple states. Unusually frigid conditions led to widespread power outages and frozen pipes that burst and flooded homes. Millions of residents lost heat and running water.
At least 40 people in Texas died as a result of the storm and although it has returned to more normal temperatures, more than 1 million residents are still ordered to boil water before drinking it
“The president has made it very clear to us that in these crises, it is our duty to organize prompt and competent federal assistance to US citizens, and we must ensure that bureaucracy and politics do not get in the way,” said Homeland Security. Consultant Liz Sherwood-Randall, who accompanied Biden to Houston.
Biden was accompanied for much of his visit by Governor Greg Abbott and Senator John Cornyn, both Republicans, four Democratic members of Congress in Houston, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Judge Lina Hidalgo in Harris County.
The president also stopped at a massive coronavirus vaccination center at NRG Stadium run by the federal government. Biden on Thursday commemorated the 50 millionth COVID-19 vaccination since taking office, halfway through his goal of 100 million shots on his 100th day in office. That celebration followed a moment of silence to mark the passage of 500,000 American deaths from the disease earlier this week.
Democrat Biden suggested he and Republicans Abbott and Cornyn could find common cause to get Americans vaccinated ASAP
“We disagree on many things,” said Biden. “There is nothing wrong with that, but there are plenty of things we can work on together. And one of them is represented here today, the effort to speed up vaccinations. “
The other U.S. Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, an ally of former President Donald Trump and one of the few GOP lawmakers who had objected to Congress confirming Biden’s victory, was in Florida on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference to address.
Cruz, who was criticized for bringing his family to Cancun, Mexico while millions of Texans shivered in unheated homes, later said the trip was a mistake, but he made light of the controversy on Friday. “Orlando is great,” he said, laughing and screeching. “It’s not as beautiful as Cancun. But it is fun. “
At the peak of the storm, more than 1.4 million residents were without power and 3.5 million were under cooking notices in Harris County in Houston, the country’s third largest county.
The post-storm debate in Texas focused on the state’s maintenance of its own power grid and the lack of better storm preparedness, including weather resilience of major infrastructure. Some state officials initially blamed the power outage on renewable energy, although Texas relies heavily on oil and gas.
In Washington, Biden’s climate advisor said the deadly winter storm was a “wake-up call” for the United States to build energy systems that can withstand extreme weather events related to climate change.
“We need energy systems that are reliable and resilient,” said Gina McCarthy in an interview with The Associated Press.
The White House said Biden’s goal during his visit was to support, not insult.
Biden was determined to ask the Texans “what do you need, how else can I help you,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “And what more can we get for you from the federal government.”
Biden has declared a major disaster in Texas and has asked federal agencies to find additional resources to support the recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent emergency generators, bottled water, ready meals, and blankets.
Judge Mark Henry in Galveston County said in an interview that he did not know what else the federal government could do to help because the failures were at the state level. But Henry, a Republican who is the highest-ranking official in the Houston suburbs, said if Biden “thinks it’s important to visit him, come down.”
Biden wanted to make the trip last week, but said at the time that he was backing down because he didn’t want his presence and entourage to detract from the recovery effort.
Houston was also the destination for Trump’s first presidential visit to a disaster area in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey triggered catastrophic flooding in August.
Writers Juan Lozano of the Associated Press in Houston, Aamer Madhani in Chicago, and Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to the coverage.