President Biden commended aid workers for doing “God’s work” during a visit to Houston on Friday in the wake of the deadly winter storm on Valentine’s Day weekend, where tens of thousands of locals are still without safe water.
Biden’s trip to Texas was his first visit to a major disaster area since taking office last month.
At the Harris County Emergency Operations Center, the president was briefed by acting FEMA administrator Bob Fenton and state and local emergency management officials.
‘A great operation here. It’s probably the best in the country, ”Biden told staffers.
‘You save human lives. As my mother would say, you are doing God’s work. “
Biden was joined at the operations center by Governor Greg Abbott and Senator John Cornyn, both Republicans, four Democratic members of Congress in Houston, and Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston and Judge Lina Hidalgo of Harris County.
The other Lone Star State senator – Republican Ted Cruz, who sparked outrage by flying to Cancun, Mexico during the storm – skipped the event to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Biden also toured the giant Houston Food Bank, where First Lady Jill helped Biden pack boxes of instant oats and canned peaches.
“We’re here to help, so get to work!” she said after arriving.
Texas is firmly Republican, and a man with a Trump flag was among the spectators near the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base when the Bidens stepped off Air Force One at around 12:20 p.m. local time.
At the height of the storm – which killed at least 40 people – more than 1.4 million residents were without power and 3.5 million were under cooking notifications in Harris County, the country’s third largest.
Mark Sloan, the province’s emergency management coordinator, said “57,000 residents still need to boil their water” for safety.
With pole wires