A view of damaged properties following the arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, on August 31, 2023.
Julio Cesar Chavez | Reuters
Standing in front of a house damaged by a fallen tree, President Joe Biden said “thanks to the grace of God” the damage did not get any worse.
“We haven’t seen such strong winds in this area in 100 years,” Biden said in a speech at Live Oak, Florida. “Pray to God it will be another 100 years before this happens again.”
Mr. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Florida on Saturday to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia and meet with local residents and recovery workers. The president said he had directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to “do everything it can” to help rebuild.
Idalia hit the Big Bend, Florida area as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, causing widespread power outages and flooding. The White House is asking Congress to provide $16 billion in temporary funding to bolster FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which the agency said will dry up in early September if not replenished. In a speech in Florida on Saturday, Mr. Biden renewed his call to Congress to take action.
“These crises are affecting more and more Americans, and they all routinely expect FEMA to show up when they need it,” Biden said. “I am asking Congress, Democrats and Republicans to make sure we have the money.”
Mr. Biden initially said he would meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with whom he has spoken so often in the wake of the Idalia case that the president joked on Thursday that “there should be a direct dial.” But DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement Friday night that the governor has no plans to meet with the president due to security difficulties.
“In the immediate aftermath of the impact, just the security arrangements to set up such a meeting would disrupt ongoing recovery efforts in these rural areas,” Redfern said.
FEMA Director Dean Criswell told reporters en route to Florida that the White House and the governor’s office had mutually agreed on a location for Biden’s visit earlier this week, and from that point and from DeSantis’ office. He said no security concerns were raised before the statement was issued.
Mr. DeSantis, the Republican presidential hopeful, has been a strong critic of Mr. Biden, but the two have come to terms in the past. Biden met with DeSantis after last year’s Hurricane Ian.
In his remarks, Mr. Biden said he was in “frequent contact” with Mr. DeSantis throughout the storm and its aftermath, adding that “the governor was on board.”
