President Biden praised aid workers for doing “God’s work” while visiting Houston on Friday after the deadly winter storm on Valentine’s Day weekend, which still leaves tens of thousands of residents without drinking water.
Biden’s trip to Texas marked 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 FEMA’s interim administrator, Bob Fenton, and by state and local emergency management officials.
“Hell of an operation here. It is probably the best in the country, ”Biden told employees.
“You are saving people’s lives. As my mother would say, you are doing the work of God ”.
Biden was accompanied at the center of operations by Governor Greg Abbott and Senator John Cornyn, both Republicans, four Democratic members of the Houston area Congress, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
The other Lone Star State senator – Republican Ted Cruz, who sparked outrage by flying to Cancun, Mexico during the storm – missed the event to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Biden also visited the giant Houston Food Bank, where First Lady Jill Biden helped pack the boxes with instant oats and canned peaches.
“We are here to help, so put us to work!” she said after arriving.
Texas is solidly Republican, and a man holding a Trump flag was among the spectators near Camp Ellington’s Joint Reserve Base when Bidens left Air Force One around 12:20 pm 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 under boiling water warnings in Harris County, the third largest in the country.
Mark Sloan, the county’s emergency management coordinator, said “57,000 residents still need to boil water” for safety.
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