Biden to fulfill with DeSantis in Florida as he surveys Hurricane Ian harm

President Joe Biden will meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday as he visits the state within the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Biden will meet with the Republican governor, who has typically been a political adversary, as he and first girl Jill Biden assess the storm’s harm in Fort Myers.

There, Jean-Pierre mentioned, Biden will meet with small enterprise house owners and native residents impacted by the historic storm. He may even thank officers who’re offering life-saving help, working to revive energy and are eradicating particles.

“Gov. DeSantis, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and different state and native officers may even present the president with an operational briefing on the present response and restoration efforts,” Jean-Pierre instructed reporters.

However Jean-Pierre deflected when requested if DeSantis would be a part of Biden for any public remarks, saying the governor has a “busy schedule” and she or he could not converse to “the place he’ll be at each step of the best way.”

Wednesday’s go to would be the first face-to-face assembly between Biden and DeSantis because the governor ordered migrants flown from Texas to Martha’s Winery, which Jean-Pierre continued to slam as a “political stunt.”

“Clearly the president laid out his issues and outrage by the stunt,” she mentioned, including: “There will probably be loads of time to debate variations between the president and the governor however now just isn’t the time.”

Biden and DeSantis have momentarily put politics apart to reply to Hurricane Ian, which is shaping as much as be one among Florida’s deadliest and costliest storms in many years. Making landfall as a Class 4 storm, Ian leveled the coast, knocking out energy to tens of millions. No less than 100 individuals have died as a result of storm.

Biden and DeSantis leaders spoke a number of instances earlier than and after the storm hit as Biden issued emergency declarations. On Saturday, Biden signed a significant catastrophe declaration for the state, which makes extra funding out there to assist with Florida’s restoration.

“As I’ve made clear: At instances like these, our nation comes collectively, put apart our political variations and get to work,” Biden mentioned Monday as he spoke about his upcoming journey. “We present up once we’re wanted. As a result of if we misplaced our house, if we misplaced a liked one, we would hope that individuals would present up for us as effectively.”

DeSantis has mentioned he appreciated “FEMA’s responsiveness to this catastrophe” and has thanked the Biden administration for its emergency declarations.

The White Home over the weekend launched a reality sheet touting the federal response to Hurricane Ian. Greater than 3,400 federal response personnel are on the bottom in Florida, the White Home mentioned, and the Military Corps of Engineers has now deployed over 550 personnel to conduct engineering evaluations concerning the security of bridges, roads, and different infrastructure wants.

The Florida journey comes simply days after Biden traveled to Puerto Rico, which was hit by Hurricane Fiona final month.

The Class 1 storm hit the island on Sept. 18, knocking out energy for many of the U.S. territory’s residents and killing not less than 13 individuals. As of Biden’s go to, greater than two weeks after the storm, greater than 100,000 individuals have been nonetheless with out energy.

Throughout his go to to Port of Ponce, on the south aspect of Puerto Rico, Biden introduced greater than $60 million in federal funding to assist the island higher put together for excessive climate occasions within the wake of Hurricane Fiona.

“Puerto Rico is a robust place, and Puerto Ricans are robust individuals,” Biden mentioned as he spoke on the Port of Ponce. “Besides, you may have needed to bear a lot and greater than want be, and you have not gotten the assist in a well timed means.”