President Joe Biden got a firsthand look Friday at efforts to clear away the “mangled mess” of remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, as cranes, ships and diving crews work to reopen one of the nation’s main shipping lanes.
On Marine One, flying over the twisted metal remains and the mass of construction and salvage equipment attempting to clear the wreckage of last week's collapse, Biden got his first close-up view of the damage. On the ground, he received a briefing from local officials, the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers on the situation in the water and its impacts on the region.
Biden also met with police officers who helped block traffic to the bridge before it was hit by the ship, preventing an even larger loss of life.
“I’m here to say your nation has your back and I mean it,” Biden said from the shoreline overlooking the collapsed bridge. “Your nation has your back.”
Eight workers — immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — were filling potholes on the bridge when it was hit by a huge cargo ship and collapsed in the middle of the night of March 26. Two men were rescued, but the bodies of only two of the six who died have been recovered. The president met Friday with the families of the victims near the bridge, the White House said.
“The damage is devastating and our hearts are still breaking,” Biden said.
Officials have established a temporary, alternate channel for vessels involved in clearing debris. The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to open a limited-access channel for barge container ships and some vessels moving cars and farm equipment by the end of this month and to restore normal capacity to Baltimore’s port by May 31, the White House says.
That is important because longer delays in reopening shipping lanes could have a major impact on the economy. Approximately $200 million in cargo usually goes through Baltimore’s port per day, and it is the top hub for importing and exporting vehicles.
Over 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on site to help cut out sections of the bridge and remove them from the key waterway. Officials told Biden they had all the resources they need to meet the targets for opening the channel into the Baltimore port.
Biden also announced that some of the largest employers affected by the collapse, including Amazon, Home Depot and Domino Sugar, have committed to keeping their employees on payroll until the port is reopened. That news followed days of outreach by state and federal officials to try to mitigate the economic impact of the incident.
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“From the air I saw the bridge that has been ripped apart,” Biden said, “but here on the ground I see a community that’s pulled together.”
But it is still unclear how the costs of cleanup and building a new bridge will be covered.
The Federal Highway Administration has given $60 million in quick emergency relief funds to start. It's not clear how much the collapse will cost, but some experts think the recovery will cost at least $400 million and take 18 months.
Biden said shortly after the collapse that the federal government will cover the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge, and he expects Congress to support his effort.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell compared the bridge collapse to help that comes after natural disasters, saying the federal government will take the lead in funding. However, approval in Congress is not guaranteed.
The White House announced Friday that it's requesting Congress to authorize the federal government to pay 100% of the collapsed bridge cleanup and reconstruction costs, rather than seeking funding through a separate emergency request.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young pointed out that similar strategies were used for recovery and rebuilding efforts that received bipartisan congressional support in 2007, when a highway bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed, killing 13 people during rush hour.
The White House is asking Congress to join them in showing commitment to aiding in recovery efforts. However, the exact amount needed to cover the costs is still unclear.
But some staunch congressional Republicans are already demanding politically controversial offsets for the funding. The conservative House Freedom Caucus issued a statement saying that if taxpayer money is needed to get the port back online, Congress should ensure it is fully offset and that burdensome regulations are waived. They were referring to potential federal spending cuts and regulations like the Endangered Species Act.
The caucus's letter also suggested that approval for bridge recovery funds be tied to the Biden administration agreeing to lift a pause it has imposed on exportation of liquefied natural gas.
The funding questions only serve to increase the collapse's political implications as Biden faces off with former President Donald Trump in November's election.
It's the second major disaster along the country's busy northeastern hub in as many years. Last summer, an overpass along Interstate 95 in Philadelphia caught fire and collapsed after a tanker truck slammed into it. Federal and state officials moved quickly on temporary repairs and ultimately reopened that section of the highway faster than expected.
But the cleanup and repairs in Baltimore will take far longer and be far more costly, making it unclear if it will be a net political positive for Biden, especially in time for Election Day.
That hasn't stopped the Biden administration from promoting again a $1 trillion-plus public works package that passed Congress in 2021.
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The bridge collapse also put Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, 45, in the national spotlight. He is a key figure in Biden’s reelection campaign's push to inspire young voters to support the 81-year-old president. Moore joined Biden on the helicopter tour, attended the briefings, and introduced the president before his speech.
The president himself has traveled around the country to highlight construction projects on roads, bridges, and tunnels. In 2022, he showed up for an event in Pittsburgh shortly after a nearby bridge fell down. Promoting the public works package has also allowed the president to embrace his passion for train travel and his years of commuting to and from Washington on Amtrak as a Delaware senator.
Biden himself mentioned that he had crossed the bridge “about a thousand times” when commuting from Washington to his home in Delaware. This prompted the state Department of Transportation chief to jokingly say, “thank you for the tolls, sir.”
