President Joe Biden visited Houston on Friday to console the survivors of February’s vicious winter storms and blackouts in the state. He offered additional federal aid to Texans who suffered during the rolling blizzards and blackouts.
“The President doesn’t view the crisis and the millions of people who’ve been impacted by it as a Democratic or a Republican issue,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday. “He views it as an issue where he’s eager to get relief to tap into all the resources in the federal government to make sure the people of Texas know we’re thinking about them, we’re fighting for them and we’re going to continue working on this as they’re recovering.”
Biden was joined by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for a tour of the Harris County Emergency Operations Center and the Houston Food Bank. First Lady Jill Biden helped volunteers packaging food and water for those in need after the devastating storms and blackouts.
Biden has spoken with Abbott twice since the disaster first struck, once on a conference call with several governors advising winter storm policies and another time privately.
“It’s a lot about showing up, and that matters a lot to people,” said Kenny Thompson, a former Biden vice presidential adviser. “He takes his time with every single person he talks to. There’s really no reason to have a schedule for these kinds of days because he’s going to spend as much time with people as they allow him to because that’s who Joe Biden is.”
