President Biden praised relief workers for doing “God’s work” while visiting Houston on Friday after the deadly Valentine’s Weekend winter storm that still has tens of thousands of unsafe locals.
Biden’s trip to Texas marked his first trip to a major disaster area since he took office last month.
At the Harris County Emergency Operations Center, the president was briefed by FEMA Acting Administrator Bob Fenton, and by local and local emergency management officials.
“Hell of an operation here. It’s probably the best in the country, “Biden told employees.
“You are saving people’s lives. As my mother would say, you are doing God’s work. ”
Biden was joined at the operations center by Governor Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn, both Republicans, four members of the Houston Democratic Area Congress and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Harris County Judge , Lina Hidalgo.
The other Lone Star State senator, Republican Ted Cruz, who sparked outrage by launching himself in 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 Biden helped pack boxes of instant oats and canned peaches.
“We’re here to help you, so get us to work!” she said after arriving.
Texas is solidly Republican and a man with a Trump flag was among the spectators near the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base when the Bidens got off Air Force One around 12:20 local time.
At the height of the storm, which killed at least 40 people, more than 1.4 million residents were without electricity and 3.5 million received boiling water warnings in Harris County. third largest country in the country.
Mark Sloan, the county’s emergency management coordinator, said “57,000 residents have yet to boil water” for safety.
With publishing cables