PERRY, Fla. — President Joe Biden was in Florida on Thursday to survey the damage and meet with victims in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
The president took an aerial tour of affected areas en route to Perry, Florida after Air Force One landed in Tallahassee.
Biden received a briefing in Keaton Beach from John Louk, the director of emergency management in Taylor County, on the damage. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., was also on hand.
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He vowed that impacted communities will have the federal government's support "until the job is done."
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that federal commitment to Florida is being maximized with more funding. A total of 22 counties are now eligible for FEMA's individual assistance.
"We're just coming together to get things done and get people the resources they need so that they can get back to normal as quickly as possible," Buttigieg said Thursday.
For a second disaster, Gov. Ron DeSantis declined to meet with the president.
During a Thursday news conference in Manatee County, the governor announced a new executive order allowing county election supervisors flexibility with rules covering early voting, poll workers and drop boxes.
DeSantis said the executive order will help ensure those impacted by Helene "still have the ability to vote."
Florida officials said they were turning to "low-risk" state prisoners to help clear the mountains of debris left behind.
"Department of Corrections, they do prison labor anyways. So they're bringing them to do debris removal," DeSantis told reporters on Wednesday.
During his trip to storm-affected areas, Biden also visited Valdosta, Georgia, on Thursday afternoon.
The president's visit to Florida and Georgia comes a day after he toured damage in hard-hit western North Carolina. Vice President Kamala Harris was in Augusta, Georgia, on Wednesday where she spoke with survivors, state and local officials and first responders.
It was confirmed Thursday that 200 people across six states have died from Helene after it came ashore on Florida's Big Bend late last week, carving a path of destruction through the South.
