Both senators from Texas sent a letter to President Trump on Friday pushing him to declare a natural disaster for the impending landfall of Hurricane Harvey in order to unlock federal resources.
“Given the potential catastrophic impact that the Hurricane may have on Texas communities, we strongly support this request and urge you to provide any and all emergency protective measures available by a major disaster declaration,” wrote Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Republicans.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has requested that Trump make the declaration, as the south Texas coast, along with Louisiana, braces for the arrival of what is expected to be at least a Category 3 storm by Saturday morning at the latest.
“We have been encouraged thus far by the work and strong coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy assistance to state and local officials on the ground in Texas,” Cruz and Cornyn wrote. “We stand ready and willing to assist in any way possible to ensure prompt evaluation of this request.”
Both senators have been placed in a bit of an awkward situation, as they both voted against the final version of the aid package for the East Coast after it was hit by Hurricane Sandy over concerns that some of the spending would be superflous or mismanaged.
Trump, who is facing his first major natural disaster crisis as president, spoke to Abbott and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Friday and offered his support.
Edwards has declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Louisiana, and Abbott did so for 30 counties in the path of the storm, which forecasters say will be a Category 3 storm when it hits Texas.
The storm would be the first Category 3 hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2005. A Category 3 storm, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, is considered a “major” hurricane and has sustained wind speeds between 111 miles per hour and 129 mph.
Earlier in the day, White House adviser on homeland security Tom Bossert declared that Americans should have faith that the federal government has improved its ability to respond to natural disasters in the years since Hurricane Katrina, a devastating storm in 2005 that killed and displaced thousands in states throughout the Gulf Coast region.
While Trump has yet to issue an emergency declaration for the hurricane, Bossert said, “That’s being contemplated.”
He also said if conditions for an emergency declaration are met, which would send federal assistance to affected areas, “the president will be very aggressive in leaning forward in declaring that disaster.”
