U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Baltimore on Friday to visit the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.
According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, President Biden will meet with state and local officials on the ground to look at federal response efforts.
“The President is continuing to lead a whole-government approach to the collapse. President Biden and his team are working with Governor Moore, the congressional delegation, Mayor Scott, and numerous state and local officials to reopen the port, rebuild the bridge, and support the people of Baltimore through the unified command,” said Jean-Pierre during Monday’s press briefing.
The news comes nearly a week after a cargo ship rammed into the Baltimore bridge, causing it to collapse and presumably killing six construction workers.
According to Jean-Pierre, the U.S. Coast Guard is working on a complex and highly coordinated effort to remove the wreckage with resources from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state of Maryland, and others.
Alternate ship channel being prepped at Baltimore bridge collapse site
Crews have begun the complicated work of removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge's deadly collapse into the Patapsco River.
While the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $60 million in Emergency Relief funding to help build the bridge, this money may not be enough, as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said they may need Congress to authorize extra federal funding for the rebuilding process.
"So we're using an authority called Emergency Relief. This is through our Federal Highway Administration. That's how we got those first $60 million out and there will be more where that came from. Now, it is possible we may need to turn to Congress to supplement that fund," said Buttigieg on CBS News’s "Face The Nation" on Sunday. "I hope and expect this too will be a bipartisan priority. It's not just the right thing to do for the people of Baltimore. But really important, again, for our whole supply system to make sure that that port and that bridge are operating just the way they were supposed to."
Buttigieg added that the bridge collapse in Minnesota in 2007 ultimately cost about $260 million to put back together with funds approved through Congress "on a bipartisan basis."
