Where Is Texas Republican Governor Abbott while Hurricane Beryl causes millions to suffer?

Governor Abbott escaped Texas while hurricane Beryl caused major destruction- reported in the Houston Chronicle

Hurricane Beryl slams Texas on July 8-9, 2024

"...extreme ocean heat to tap into, Beryl proved the door is wide open for a prolific season." CNN

Looks like Governor Abbott flew the state in advance of Hurricane Beryl and decided to leave nobody in charge of declaring an executive order.  Perhaps Texas thought FEMA would just magically produce disaster supplies so that the incompetent Texas officials could ignore the source from where the releaf came from....IOW, take the supplies and run.  Shame on Governor Abbott.  He knew that hurricane was headed toward Houston but he did a #SenatorTedCruz side step and left rather than create a response plan.

Ted Cruz flees Texas.....is his escape causing a trend?  Where is Texas Governor Abbott?

Exclusive: President Biden says he had to push for Beryl aid request with Abbott overseas- reported in the Houston Chronicle by Rebecca Ward and Benjamin Wermund.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the federal government could not distribute emergency relief supplies, including power generators, after Hurricane Beryl hit Texas until the White House was able to “track down” state leaders and get their formal request for a major disaster declaration.

Biden’s comments came as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is serving as acting governor while Greg Abbott is on an economic development trip in Asia. The president said in an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle that he had been trying to contact the governor to get the necessary requests to release the federal aid, which includes manpower and supplies.

“I’ve been trying to track down the governor to see — I don’t have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden said.

❓WHERE WAS THE GOVERNOR❓ And why was Dan Patrick acting governor during Hurricane Beryl?

Presidetn Biden said he “kept tracking the lieutenant governor,” but did not connect with Patrick until Tuesday afternoon, when Biden said he would “immediately” approve the declaration. The president did not provide more details on his attempts to connect with #AbsentAbbott or Patrick.

The president can offer feceral- FEMA aid- only after state leaders request a major disaster declaration. Biden told the Chronicle that Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo pressed for federal assistance in calls with him on Monday and early Tuesday.

The storm hit the state’s Gulf Coast early Monday morning, knocking out power to millions in the Houston area. 

Nearly 1.7 million CenterPoint customers were still without power on Tuesday as temperatures soared into the 90s.

Patrick said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon there was “no delay from the White House, no delay from us.” He said there is “total teamwork” between federal, state and local officials, and stressed that Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have been involved in all meetings related to Beryl. Patrick said his focus is on getting power back to those who still do not have it.

“The truth is, before you can ask for a declaration you have to go meet with people in the impacted areas to see what’s needed and the level of need,” Patrick said.

Rafael Lemaitre, FEMA’s former national director of public affairs, said major disaster declarations do not need to wait for thorough on-the-ground assessment. Governors are the lead requesters for the designation and support, but can amend their asks as they get more information.

“The fact that 80% of Texas’ largest city was in the dark, along with widespread public reports of impacts to life and property is more than sufficient to begin the process,” Lemaitre said. “The one thing you never get back during a response is time.”

A spokesman for Abbott said the governor has spoken with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell while on his Asia trip.

(Texas incompetent officials should know better than to send out this #FakeNews❗) “This is a complete lie from President Biden, and frankly doesn’t make any sense,” said Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary. “The president and his administration know exactly how to get in contact with the governor and have on numerous occasions in the past.”

READ MORE: White House declares Hurricane Beryl a major disaster, unlocking federal assistanc

The president said federal officials have been in “close touch” with officials across Texas before and after the hurricane hit. He said the Coast Guard and FEMA “are on the ground and stand ready to support local response efforts.”

“We just want you to know, we’ve been working on this for two days and we finally got the request,” Biden said. “We positioned an awful lot of stuff in Texas ahead of time, but I had to get a specific request for this.”

“The federal government was there assessing, but we can’t declare a disaster declaration that would free up what we already staged — bottled water, meals, tarps, generators, etc,” the president said. “And so, we’re on the ground, we’re ready to go, we just needed authority to be able to do it.”