Abbott Rips Biden Over Beryl Call: ‘He Just Flat Out Made It Up’

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(Bloomberg) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded to President Joe Biden’s claim that he had difficulty tracking down emergency funds for hurricane relief, saying the claim was “completely false and bizarre.”

“You would think that if a president were to launch an attack like this on a governor, he would have the receipts to prove it,” Abbott said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday during a trip to Asia to drum up investment. “When Joe Biden said this time that he called me, he just made it up.”

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The political battles continue as Houston continues to recover from Hurricane Beryl. The storm caused widespread power outages, at one point leaving more than 2.5 million customers without electricity and killing seven people, according to the Associated Press. At least 1 million homes and businesses are likely to remain without power at least through Wednesday night, according to the area’s main electric utility, CenterPoint Energy.

The Houston Chronicle quoted Biden as saying Tuesday evening that he was “trying to track down the governor” and other state leaders to get their request for a major disaster declaration to free up emergency federal aid.

Biden said he had to reach out to the governor’s office to raise the formal request, which was made by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and approved by the president Tuesday afternoon. Patrick is serving as acting governor during Abbott’s trip. Both men are Republicans and have been vocal critics of Biden, a Democrat, particularly on immigration.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

AccuWeather Inc. estimates that Beryl’s cost to the United States, including damages and economic losses, could be between $28 billion and $32 billion. The storm, which hit the Texas coast early on July 8 as a Category 1 hurricane, exposed vulnerabilities in the state’s infrastructure.

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Abbott said he would direct the Texas Public Utilities Commission to conduct a study into why power outages are “repeated” in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city.

“They shouldn’t have lost power,” he said. “I want to know, was there a structural failure with the power delivery system? Was that the cause? And if so, what needed to be done to support it? Or was this a staffing issue because there weren’t enough power staff in all the right locations to get the power back up and running again?”

Climate risks

Nick Samuels, senior vice president at Moody’s, said Hurricane Beryl brought into sharp focus the economic fallout that accompanies major storms.

The company estimates that more than a third of Texas’ GDP is at high risk from hurricane damage such as strong winds and severe flooding, with Harris County — which includes Houston — particularly vulnerable.

“These risks require investments in climate adaptation by state and local authorities,” Samuels said.

Federal funding is critical to developing such infrastructure, which can be extraordinarily expensive. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has recommended a nearly $30 billion plan to reduce the cost of coastal storm damage on the Texas Gulf Coast.

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“judging the matter”

Although Abbott has emerged as one of Biden’s biggest Republican critics on border security, he has said he is not interested in a cabinet position if former President Donald Trump retakes the White House in this year’s election.

“I rule that out,” Abbott said.

The governor spoke from Japan during a long-planned trip to win more business for his state. He also unveiled plans to open an economic development office in Taiwan.

In South Korea, he said he is particularly focused on attracting suppliers for Samsung Electronics, which is significantly expanding semiconductor manufacturing in Central Texas.

“If we can get these aircraft, it will be a game changer for the entire economy in the state of Texas,” Abbott said. “It will add thousands and thousands of jobs, and it will invest billions of dollars in Texas.”

—With the assistance of Amanda Albright.

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