During a visit to the bridge, Biden tells Baltimore, “your nation has your back.”

President Joe Biden told reporters Friday that his administration “will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way.”

President Joe Biden delivered a speech on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Friday and told residents that “your nation has your back.”

Speaking to the press, Biden said his administration “will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help rebuild and sustain all business and commerce that exists.”

During the news conference, Biden was joined by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, R-Maryland, Sen. USA Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and lots of others.

Mfume told TheGrio that he hopes Biden’s emergence will send a signal that that is an “American disaster” that deserves the attention it deserves.

“I hope it will send the same signal that was sent in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and in 2007 when the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis,” Mfume said.

Mfume said that in each cases, “people came together to make sure that the disasters were properly dealt with.”

Biden’s visit comes greater than a week after the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. At around 1:30 a.m., a huge cargo ship hit one in every of the bridge’s supporting beams, causing it to collapse. to the Patapsco River. Six construction staff died in the accident.

Before the news conference, the president flew through the wreckage and told reporters that “the devastation is devastating and our hearts continue to break.”

He added that the collapse had reverberated across the country and that the first priority was to reopen the port, which is one in every of the country’s largest shipping hubs for “car import and export.”

“I have instructed the Coast Guard, Navy and Army Corps of Engineers to work together to remove the steel as quickly as possible,” Biden told the press.

The president told reporters that the entire canal must be open to all ships by May and the port should have the opportunity to resume normal operations.

Meanwhile, Biden called on Congress to “authorize” funding for the bridge’s reconstruction “as quickly as possible.”

This got here after House Republicans rejected Biden’s proposal plan spend $60 million to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told the Grio that her Republican colleagues’ response to the bridge collapse was “ridiculous.”

Crockett said that while Republicans “may not care about Baltimore because it’s a black city, or they may not care about Maryland because it’s a quintessentially Democratic state,” it shouldn’t matter “because that’s what humanity looks like.”

The congresswoman added: “We help where there is a need.”

Despite opposition from the Republican Party, Crockett believes the U.S. House of Representatives may have the votes needed to support Biden’s initiative to rebuild the bridge.

Given the “slim majority” of Republicans in the House of Representatives. I feel we are able to do something for Baltimore,” Crockett noted.

While efforts to rebuild the port are ongoing, Biden spent time during the news conference praising Amazon, Home Depot, Domino’s and many companies for their commitment to continuing to pay their workers.

“I urge all businesses in and around the port to do the same… we will be back soon,” Biden said.

“We will move heaven and earth to construct this bridge as quickly and as possible,” he added.

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