Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
President Trump visits Houston today.
President proposed funding cuts to disaster agency
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pledged his “full support” to the tens of thousands of Americans displaced by the epic hurricane and flooding that has devastated parts of coastal Texas and Louisiana, warning that recovery from Harvey will be a “long and difficult road.”
In the short term, he told reporters in the East Room, “protecting the lives of our people is my highest priority. Every asset of my command is at the disposal of local officials.”
“We will get through this,” Trump added during a joint appearance with Finland’s visiting president, Sauli Niinisto. “We will come out stronger.”
He promised that Congress would move swiftly to approve long-term recovery funding. “We think you’re going to have what you need and it’s going to go fast,” he said.
Trump, whose impulses often are guided by what he sees on cable television, will visit the waterlogged city of Corpus Christi and other parts of Texas today to witness the destruction from Harvey. He said he may return to Texas and visit Louisiana later this week.
Trump almost certainly has visions of Katrina, which 12 Augusts ago overwhelmed New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. President George W. Bush was seen as slow to react, and his administration never recovered from the criticism.
Trump hopes to show himself as a leader of action and efficiency. But his visit poses its own potential problems. Law enforcement, medical and other emergency officials are often wary of diverting critical resources to presidential security and logistics while major relief operations are still underway.
Presidential visits require ordering hospitals on standby, closing air space and supplementing federal security detail with state and local officers.
Bush justified his Air Force One flyover inspection of the Katrina floods in 2005 by insisting that he did not want to distract from response efforts. He was pummeled for it.
Trump’s visit also may come under fire since his budget proposal to Congress has sought to slash funding for FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency that takes the lead role in responding to natural disasters.
Trump estimated the rebuilding task from Harvey would cost billions of dollars, insisting that FEMA had little role in the longterm effort.
The timing of a presidential visit to a disaster zone is always subject to debate, said Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator under President Barack Obama. “You don’t want to get there too early and you don’t want to get there too late,” Fugate said.
Bush’s political plunge after Katrina demonstrates the degree to which Americans who might tune out other aspects of governing pay very close attention to a president’s behavior during a disaster.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told CBS that by going to Corpus Christi and steering clear of Houston, the worsthit city, Trump “will not be getting into harm’s way or interrupting the evacuations or emergency response.”
He praised the federal government’s “swift response,” grading it an “Aplus” at a press briefing Monday. He said he had spoken with Trump several times, as well as with members of the Cabinet and administration, including the current FEMA head, William “Brock” Long.
Trump’s administration is still riddled with vacancies, including key positions related to responding to natural disasters.
No one has been nominated to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. The National Hurricane Center is searching for a director. And two nominees for deputy director at FEMA are awaiting confirmation.
“You know what? I don’t even have time to worry about it right now,” Long said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union when asked about the empty offices. FEMA has “great lines of communications” with Trump, Long said, adding that the president is “extremely concerned, incredibly engaged.”
But when Texans begin rebuilding and evaluating Harvey’s impact, Trump could face scrutiny for his decision two weeks ago to revoke an Obama order that would have forced roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects to meet new flood-protection standards to meet the challenge of climate change.
Trump’s order was part of a broader push to reduce the time it takes to build such projects. Proponents of such regulations will point to the flooding in Texas in making the case that environmental regulations have real-world consequences.