
In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall on the Texas coast early Monday, President Joe Biden’s comments regarding the state’s response have sparked a political firestorm. Biden claimed that his administration’s ability to provide prompt emergency aid was hampered by difficulties in reaching Texas state leaders for a formal disaster declaration request. However, Texas officials have vehemently denied these assertions.
During an interview with the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday, Biden stated, “I’ve been trying to track down the governor to see — I don’t have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor.”
The Chronicle initially published Biden’s comments without input from state officials, also including a line that a White House spokesperson claimed they had unsuccessfully tried to contact Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick multiple times. This line has since been removed.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick took to social media to refute Biden’s claims, stating, “I am disappointed that President Biden is turning Hurricane Beryl into a political issue. We had a cordial call today that ended up with him granting my request for a major disaster declaration. But that’s not good enough for him. He is falsely accusing me that I was not reachable.”
Patrick further clarified that FEMA officials had been in direct contact with him throughout the storm’s impact, highlighting, “All he had to do was call them and have them hand their phone to me. I even took a photo with them!”
Governor Abbott, who was in Asia on an economic mission, also criticized Biden’s statements, tweeting, “Biden’s memory fails again. Not once did he call me during Beryl. He has my number & called me on Memorial Day after tornadoes hit Texas. I’ve had daily calls with state & local officials during Beryl. I spoke with FEMA Admin while on our trade mission but Biden never called.”
Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, reinforced the governor’s stance, calling Biden’s claim “a complete lie” and criticizing the Houston Chronicle for running the story based on Biden’s comments without giving state officials a chance to respond.
As Texas deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which caused significant flooding and left approximately 1.7 million residents without power, the political clash between state officials and the Biden administration adds another layer of complexity to the disaster response.