Biden plans to visit Texas as soon as next week

President Biden plans to visit Texas as early as next week after the state was devastated by winter weather and widespread power outages that compromised residents’ access to water and medical resources.

“I had planned on being in Texas the middle of next week, but what I don’t want to be is a burden. When the president lands in any city in America, it has a long tail, and they’re working like the devil to take care of their folks,” Biden said when asked at the White House about plans to visit the state after giving remarks to the virtual Munich Security Conference.

“If in fact it’s concluded that I can go without creating a burden for the folks on the ground while they’re dealing with this crisis, I plan on going,” he said, adding that he hoped to make a decision on timing early next week.

Dozens of people have died in Texas in recent days after a blast of extended winter storms compromised the state’s power grid. Many of the state’s gas-fired power plants were also compromised by the snow and ice.

Millions of residents were left in the dark and without access to heat as a result, leading to food and water shortages.

Biden spoke on Thursday with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), and he “expressed that his administration was at the ready should the State of Texas or any other impacted region need additional federal disaster support or assistance,” according to a White House readout.

The federal government has already signed disaster declarations for Texas and other affected states. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has supplied 60 generators to support critical sites in Texas including hospitals and water facilities, as well as 729,000 liters of water, more than 10,000 wool blankets, 50,000 cotton blankets and 225,000 meals.