Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is disputing President Biden’s claim that federal officials were unable to get in touch with state leaders for days, which resulted in a delayed disaster relief response after Hurricane Beryl.
“I've been trying to track down the governor to see — I don't have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden told The Houston Chronicle of distributing emergency relief supplies.
Gov. Greg Abbott has been in Asia for an economic development trip, with Patrick serving as acting governor in his absence.
The president said he “kept tracking the lieutenant governor,” but did not connect with Patrick until Tuesday afternoon, when Biden said he would “immediately” approve the declaration. The president did not provide more details on his attempts to connect with Abbott or Patrick.
The storm hit the state’s Gulf Coast early Monday morning, knocking out power to millions in the Houston area. Nearly 1.7 million CenterPoint customers were still without power on Tuesday as temperatures soared into the 90s.
The president can offer FEMA aid only after state leaders request a major disaster declaration. Biden told the Chronicle that Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo pressed for federal assistance in calls with him on Monday and early Tuesday.
Biden said he had to reach out to the governor’s office to trigger the formal ask, which Patrick made and Biden approved on Tuesday afternoon. (The Houston Chronicle)
During a press conference on Tuesday, Patrick said there was no delay from the White House or Texas and that federal and state authorities had been working as a team.
"The truth is, before you can ask for a declaration you have to go meet with people in the impacted areas to see what’s needed and the level of need,” Patrick said.
Abbott's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said the governor spoke with the FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell while he was in Asia.
"This is a complete lie from President Biden, and frankly doesn't make any sense,” Mahaleris said, according to the Chronicle. “The president and his administration know exactly how to get in contact with the governor and have on numerous occasions in the past.”
Both Abbott and Patrick also took to X to call out the president for politicizing the issue.
"I am disappointed that President Biden is turning Hurricane Beryl into a political issue," Patrick said. "We had a cordial call today that ended up with him granting my request for a major disaster declaration. But that’s not good enough for him. He is falsely accusing me that I was not reachable. He obviously did not know his own employees from FEMA were side-by-side with me for 3 days! All he had to do was call them and have them hand their phone to me. I even took a photo with them! Before we made an official ask, we needed to determine what our outstanding needs were. We were working on that with local officials as we traveled the impacted areas. As I was being briefed today, the president called.To quote President Biden, this is a load of malarkey, and he’s shoveling it!"
I am disappointed that President Biden is turning Hurricane Beryl into a political issue. We had a cordial call today that ended up with him granting my request for a major disaster declaration. But that’s not good enough for him. He is falsely accusing me that I was not…
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) July 9, 2024
Biden's memory fails again.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 9, 2024
Not once did he call me during Beryl.
He has my number & called me on Memorial Day after tornadoes hit Texas.
I've had daily calls with state & local officials during Beryl.
I spoke with FEMA Admin while on our trade mission but Biden never called.
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