U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he will approve a disaster declaration for Texas, clearing the way for more aid in a crippling winter storm as he weighed a trip to survey the federal response, Reuters reported.
Millions of residents in the United States’ biggest oil and gas producer have dealt with power outages, and nearly half of Texans struggled on Friday with disrupted water service. Nearly two dozen deaths have been attributed to the storm and a cold snap.
The first crisis to develop in Biden’s one-month-old term is testing the president’s pledge to govern on behalf of Americans who opposed his candidacy, a campaign commitment the Democrat intended to contrast with Republican former President Donald Trump.
“As I said when I ran, I’m going to be a president for all Americans,” said Biden, who lost in Texas to Trump.
“If I can do it without creating a burden for folks, I plan on going,” he said. A presidential visit to the state is being planned for next week.
Biden has asked his team to expedite Texas’s request for a disaster declaration, clearing the way for more federal resources, press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
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