Biden flies to Florida after hurricanes in bipartisan visit

President Biden flew to Florida on Sunday morning to survey the area impacted by the recent hurricanes and to announce $612 million allotted for energy projects in the area.

Biden participated in an aerial tour of impacted areas near St. Petersburg and Tampa. He flew over Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, which had its roof destroyed last week by Hurricane Milton.

He was joined by Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall.

In the motorcade, Biden passed by extensive damage in St. Pete Beach. Mattresses, filing cabinets and couches were sitting outside homes, and some people had written messages with spray paint for the president asking for help.

Biden was met by Florida Republicans Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Sen. Rick Scott. Scott recently called for Congress to reconvene and pass an emergency aid package after Hurricane Helene.

In a lengthy post on the social platform X, Scott shared photos of their visit and again called on the Senate to reconvene to pass disaster funding.

The president later delivered remarks outside a destroyed home.

“Thankfully, the storm impact was not as cataclysmic as we’d predicted,” Biden said.

Still, Biden noted, the storm was destructive for many Floridians.

Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert joined ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, where she said it’s going to be a “long recovery” for the area, but it’s “all hands on deck” and been heartening to see everyone helping.

“We’re still working on getting power restored. The power is back at probably about 80 percent of Sarasota County right now,” she said.

The Biden administration and FEMA have been put under a microscope in recent weeks as the two hurricanes tore through the Southeast. In his remarks, the president noted that in natural disasters, bipartisanship shines through.

“It’s in moments like this, we come together to take care of each other, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans,” he said. “We are one United States.”

Biden also announced plans for several energy projects. Two Florida-based companies will receive $94 million to assist with rebuilding power grids in the area.

“This funding will not only restore power but will make the region’s power system stronger and more capable,” Biden said.

He closed his remarks by thanking first responders.

As of Sunday, more than 200,000 Floridians were still without power, according to the FPL outage tracker.

The death toll from Hurricane Milton stands at 23, according to the latest information from Florida law enforcement.

Updated at 4:09 p.m.