HOUSTON — The damage left behind by Hurricane Beryl in Texas and pleas for federal aid have caused a rift between the White House and the state’s Republican leaders after a storm battered the coast this week, leaving millions of Houston residents without power.
President Joe Biden said he was trying to track down Republican Gov. Greg Abbott — who has been on a trade mission to Asia since last week — to get the state to formally apply for a major disaster declaration that would free up federal aid. In a interview with the Houston ChronicleBiden also said he had tried to reach out to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had been serving as acting governor since Beryl made landfall on Monday, before they eventually made contact the next day.
Both Texas leaders have fiercely opposed Biden’s version of events during the hurricane recovery, leaving some coastal residents struggling. the possibility of days or weeks without electricity.
“I have tried 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 newspaper on Tuesday.
Abbott said in an interview from Japan with Austin television station KTBC on Wednesday that Biden had called him on the same number several times after previous disasters in Texas, but that the president had never called that number this time during Beryl.
“I know for a fact that Joe Biden is the only one who drops the ball by making up a bizarre lie,” Abbott told the station. “And why he would do that? I have no idea.”
Patrick said he spoke to Biden on the phone Tuesday and that the president had approved Texas’ request for a disaster declaration. Patrick has said the state needed to determine its needs before he could make a formal request. Texas has previously requested federal aid before hurricanes made landfall, including before Hurricane Harvey struck in 2017.
Rafael Lemaitre, former national director of public affairs at FEMA, told the newspaper that major disaster declarations do not have to wait for a thorough on-site review. Governors are the primary applicants but can modify their requests as more information becomes available, Lemaitre said.
FEMA typically deploys relief workers and supplies before a hurricane makes landfall, said Beverly Cigler, a Penn State professor of public policy who specializes in intergovernmental relations and emergency management.
Once disaster strikes, an initial damage assessment is typically conducted. If the threshold for an emergency is reached, the governor sends that assessment to the White House for review, she said.
“Everything is done well in advance,” Cigler said. “But a president has to wait for a request from the state to really provide large-scale relief.”
More than 1.4 million customers and businesses in the Houston area were without power as of Wednesday evening, according to Poweroutage.us.