President Joe Biden will meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as he visits the state in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden touched down just after 12:30 p.m. in Florida, where they will visit Fort Myers, one of the most severely damaged areas of the state. There, Biden will meet with the Republican governor, often a political adversary, as he and first lady Jill Biden assess Ian's storm's damage. Fort Myers.
Biden will also meet with small business owners and local residents impacted by the historic storm, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and thank officials who are providing life-saving assistance, working to restore power and are removing debris.
"Gov. DeSantis, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and other state and local officials will also provide the president with an operational briefing on the current response and recovery efforts," Jean-Pierre told reporters.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks next to First Lady Jill Biden at Port of Ponce, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 3, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Gaggling on Air Force One on Wednesday, Jean-Pierre said throughout the day Biden will be joined by Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, GOP Rep. Byron Daniels and Lee County's chairman Cecil Pendergrass and Fort Myers' Mayor Ray Murphy.
Ahead of the visit, the White House said Biden will announce that he is doubling the length of time the federal government will cover all the costs associated with search and rescue, debris removal, sheltering and other emergency measures from 30 days to 60 days.
Gov. Desantis had requested the aid extension last week.
Jean-Pierre deflected when asked if DeSantis would join Biden for any public remarks, saying the governor has a "busy schedule" and she couldn't speak to "where he's going to be at every step of the way."
Wednesday's visit will be the first face-to-face meeting between Biden and DeSantis since the governor ordered migrants flown from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, which Jean-Pierre continued to slam as a "political stunt."
"Obviously the president laid out his concerns and outrage by the stunt," she said, adding: "There will be plenty of time to discuss differences between the president and the governor but now is not the time."
Biden and DeSantis have momentarily put politics aside to respond to Hurricane Ian, which is shaping up to be one of Florida's deadliest and costliest storms in decades. Making landfall as a Category 4 storm, Ian leveled the coast, knocking out power to millions. At least 100 people have died due to the storm.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are greeted upon arrival at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Fla., Oct. 5, 2022, to survey the storm ravaged areas and meet with small business owners and state officials.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
Biden and DeSantis leaders spoke several times before and after the storm hit as Biden issued emergency declarations. On Saturday, Biden signed a major disaster declaration for the state, which makes more funding available to help with Florida's recovery.
"As I've made clear: At times like these, our nation comes together, put aside our political differences and get to work," Biden said Monday as he spoke about his upcoming trip. "We show up when we're needed. Because if we lost our home, if we lost a loved one, we'd hope that people would show up for us as well."
DeSantis has said he appreciated "FEMA's responsiveness to this disaster" and has thanked the Biden administration for its emergency declarations.
The Florida trip comes just days after Biden traveled to Puerto Rico, which was hit by Hurricane Fiona last month.
The Category 1 storm hit the island on Sept. 18, knocking out power for most of the U.S. territory's residents and killing at least 13 people. As of Biden's visit, more than two weeks after the storm, more than 100,000 people were still without power.
During his visit to Port of Ponce, on the south side of Puerto Rico, Biden announced more than $60 million in federal funding to help the island better prepare for extreme weather events in the wake of Hurricane Fiona.
"Puerto Rico is a strong place, and Puerto Ricans are strong people," Biden said as he spoke at the Port of Ponce. "But even so, you have had to bear so much and more than need be, and you haven't gotten the help in a timely way."
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