President Biden could travel to Texas “as early as this week” to assess the damage from the devastating power outages and freezing temperatures there, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Sunday.
Psaki said the president is constantly getting updates from his head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is “eager” to show his support for the Lone Star State.
WARMER TEMPERATURES BRING WELCOME LIGHTING TO TEXAS AND SOUTHERN STATES BEGINS RECOVERY
“But he is also very aware that it is not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area. He does not want to take away resources or attention,” Psaki said. said on ABC News’ “This Week.”
‘And we are going to do that at a suitable time in consultation with the people on site. It could happen this week, ”she said.
Biden signed a major disaster statement on Saturday that released federal funds for residents of weather-ravaged Texas.
But ABC’s Jon Karl noted that Texas Governor Greg Abbott characterized the aid as a “partial” solution because it included only 77 of the state’s 254 counties and that Abbott wanted the aid to cover all of Texas.
Karl asked Psaki about the matter.
“What is happening here is that the governor has filed for a federal disaster statement. The president has asked his team to speed that up,” the spokeswoman said. “And FEMA determined where the counties should be – where it should deploy the immediate resources, where the districts that are hit hardest, so they can get to the people who need it most.”
Psaki said the federal aid was not only intended to provide for the emergency, but also to continue the recovery.
“People who have no water, no heating, need a place to stay awhile, that’s what helps that big disaster statement, or that’s our hope,” she said.
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A recent winter storm that brought freezing temperatures and snow and ice to Texas was exacerbated by widespread power outages after the state’s power grid went out, leaving thousands without heat and water and causing billions of dollars in damage.
At least 70 people died in the south as a result of the storms, with the majority of deaths occurring in Texas.
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