White House questioned over why Biden spoke to three Florida mayors – but not the Governor

Joe Biden still hasn’t spoken to Governor Ron DeSantis because a Category 3 hurricane is headed for Florida, and his administration dodged questions about why the call didn’t come before the storm made landfall.

The president made separate calls to three Florida mayors, two Democrats and a Republican, but did not call the GOP governor as his state braces for Hurricane Ian to land this week.

Biden spoke to Republican governors Kay Ivey of Alabama, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Greg Abbott of Texas when they were all dealing with weather-related emergencies as well.

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said at a White House press conference that communications between President Biden and Governor DeSantis’ administration had “zero” impact on how her agency functions.

“In the past, President Biden has called governors in situations such as natural disasters,” noted a reporter when questioning Criswell on Tuesday. “Can you explain how these determinations were made and why it was not done in this case to have the president call the governor?”

Criswell dodged the question, noting that she spoke with DeSantis on Friday and placed senior members of her team with the governor to help meet the needs created by the approaching storm.

“The president is very focused on making sure the federal family has the right resources to support this,” Criswell said. “That’s why I contacted the governor right away and we have a team from my senior leadership embedded with the governor to make sure we support that.”

“Our focus today is to make sure we have taken the right measures,” she added.

Criswell noted that “President Biden signed Governor DeSantis’ pre-landing emergency declaration request on Saturday” as further proof of coordination between the federal government and Florida authorities.

When he insisted on why Biden called the mayors and not the governor, Criswell declined to answer the question directly.

“Again, we have a strong team supporting the governor right now,” she said.

DeSantis has emerged as a future face of the GOP and has been put forward as a potential Republican presidential candidate. He’s also become quite a controversial figure, which was only exacerbated by the fact that he flew 50 migrants on a private plane to Martha’s Vineyard Island earlier this month.

The governor’s office has confirmed that he has not heard from President Biden himself about the approaching storm.

A couple closes their restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Tuesday, September 27, as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Ian

“The FEMA clerk and I just got out of the Oval Office where the president also had separate conversations with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean- Pierre said Tuesday at the top of her briefing before handing over the podium to Criswell.

She added: “They discussed planning and preparation for Hurricane Ian.”

Hurricane Ian has been upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane this week as it is expected to make landfall near Tampa on Florida’s gulf coast Wednesday night through Thursday morning. By the time it hits land, it could strengthen to a Category 4 storm, according to AccuWeather.

While other reporters tried to clarify why Biden and DeSantis had not spoken, Criswell repeatedly stated that the duo’s lack of contact would not affect the response of FEMA and other entities to the storm.

“We’re going to support whatever Governor DeSantis asks of us,” Criswell told a reporter’s investigation into the lack of communication between the two.

“We signed his emergency declaration within hours of sending it,” she added. “We will continue to do so as we see the effects of this storm.”

When asked if the communications between Biden and the DeSantis administration had any “impact on how you all work,” Criswell said, “Nil.”