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    Biden renews call for Congress to fund Baltimore bridge rebuild as port nears reopening

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    The port of Baltimore could be partially open again by the end of the month as the US military and partners push to clear the collapsed bridge that blocked the main shipping channel after being rammed by a cargo vessel, and Joe Biden toured the disaster site on Friday.After getting a firsthand look at efforts to clear away the hulking remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the US president reiterated his calls for Congress to authorize the federal government to cover the cost of rebuilding the bridge “through union labor and American steel”.Yet he also said his administration was “absolutely committed to ensuring that parties responsible for this tragedy pay to repair the damage and be held accountable to the full extent the law will allow”. And he made it a point to pay tribute to the six construction workers who were killed when the bridge collapsed as they fixed potholes on it.“Most were immigrants but … were Marylanders, hardworking, strong and selfless,” Biden said of the workers, who were from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. “To all the families and loved ones who are grieving, we have come here to grieve with you.”Cranes, ships and diving crews worked to reopen one of the nation’s crucial shipping lanes as Biden prepared to deliver his remarks.Biden received updates from the US Coast Guard and army corps of engineers and got an aerial view of the wreckage.Eight workers were filling potholes on the bridge when it collapsed in the middle of the night on 26 March. Two were rescued, but the bodies of only two of the six who died have been recovered.Biden planned to meet privately with the families of the victims Friday afternoon.Officials have established a temporary, alternate channel for vessels involved in clearing debris.The army corps of engineers reported that it 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 31 May, the White House said.As much as $200m in cargo normally moves through Baltimore’s port per day, and it is the leading hub for importing and exporting vehicles.Of more immediate concern might be covering the costs of cleanup and building a new bridge.The Federal Highway Administration has provided $60m in “quick release” emergency relief funds to get started. Exactly how much the collapse will cost is unclear, though some experts estimate recovery will take at least $400m and 18 months.The White House announced on Friday it is asking Congress to authorize the federal government to cover 100% of the collapsed bridge cleanup and reconstruction costs, rather than seeking funding through a separate, supplemental funding request.The Associated Press contributed reporting More

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      Biden says ‘union labor and American steel’ will be used to rebuild Baltimore bridge – as it happened

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      Joe Biden vowed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge as quickly as possible, using “union labor and American steel”, in a nod to his administration’s attempts to promote domestic manufacturing.“We’re going to move heaven and earth, to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible. We’re gonna do so with union labor and American steel,” he said, speaking on the shore of Baltimore harbor with the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge at his back.He continued:
      We will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that’s here now.
      The chorus of Democratic senators asking Joe Biden to rethink his support for Israel has grown louder in the wake of the killing of seven aid workers earlier this week. Lawmakers aligned with the president are asking him to cancel planned weapons sales, or cut off military support altogether if Israel does not do a better job of protecting civilians. Congress is currently out, with the Senate and House resuming business in Washington DC next week, but in a sign of how fraught the issue has become, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer made no mention of approving more aid to Israel in a letter sent to lawmakers ahead of their return.Here’s what else happened today:
      In a visit to Baltimore, Biden pledged “to move heaven and earth” to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, using “union labor and American steel”.
      Democratic senator Chris Murphy warned that Israel’s conduct in Gaza could worsen the threat of terrorism worldwide.
      Student debt relief is reportedly getting a second go from Biden, who will next week announce a plan to reduce what borrowers owe that could survive a court challenge.
      In response to a bid by a Republican lawmaker to rename the biggest airport in the Washington DC-area for Donald Trump, a group of Democratic congressmen wants to bestow his name on a Florida federal prison.
      After today’s earthquake that was felt in New York City, New Jersey and elsewhere in the north-east, rightwing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said: “God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent.”
      As he closed his remarks, Joe Biden again called on Congress to allow the federal government to pay for the cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, arguing Washington had picked up the bill following previous disasters.“I fully intend … that the federal government cover the cost of building this entire bridge, all of it,” Biden said. “As we’ve done in other parts of the country in similar circumstances. I stand here, I call on Congress to authorize this effort as soon as possible.”The president also said he would support efforts to get those responsible for the collapse to pay for the cost of repairs:
      My administration is committed absolutely committed to ensuring that parties responsible for this tragedy pay to repair the damage, and be held accountable to the fullest extent the law will allow.
      It’s unclear whether Congress will take Biden up on his request. In the House, the conservative Republican Freedom Caucus said they will only support it if Biden backs down on a ban on new natural gas export projects:Joe Biden vowed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge as quickly as possible, using “union labor and American steel”, in a nod to his administration’s attempts to promote domestic manufacturing.“We’re going to move heaven and earth, to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible. We’re gonna do so with union labor and American steel,” he said, speaking on the shore of Baltimore harbor with the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge at his back.He continued:
      We will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that’s here now.
      He then turned to remembering the six construction workers fixing potholes on the Francis Scott Key Bridge who were killed when it collapsed.“Most were immigrants but … were Marylanders, hardworking, strong and selfless. After pulling a night shift fixing potholes, they were on a break when the ship struck. Just seconds before, one of the men named Carlos, who was only 24, left a message for his girlfriend. He had said, ‘we just poured cement. We’re waiting for it to dry,’” Biden said.“To all the families and loved ones who are grieving, we have come here to grieve with you,” Biden said.Joe Biden started his remarks off on a note of solidarity.“Military members and first responders, most importantly to the people of Maryland, I’m here to say your nation has your back and I mean it. Your nation has your back.”Joe Biden is now starting his much-delayed remarks on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.He was introduced by Maryland’s Democratic governor Wes Moore, who said: “With the support of President Biden and his team, I know that Marylanders of this generation and the next will look up and once again, they will see the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and they will see it standing tall.”We will let you know what the president says.In Baltimore, Joe Biden has received a briefing from the army corps of engineers and the Maryland department of transportation on their efforts to clear the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and reopen the port of Baltimore.Army corp of engineers brigadier general John Lloyd told Biden of the plan to remove the large section of bridge that landed on the cargo ship Dali. The section weighs 5,000 tons and stands 125 feet high. Lloyd said they want to cut the metal away from the ship so it can be moved, and have 51 divers and 12 cranes working on the scene.If Donald Trump is convicted of mishandling confidential documents at the conclusion of his upcoming criminal trial in Florida, he could be obligated to serve any sentence in a federal prison bearing his name.Three Democratic congressmen on Friday introduced a House bill seeking to rename Miami’s federal correctional institute for the former president, a mocking response to Pennsylvania Republican Guy Reschenthaler’s proposal to rebrand Dulles international airport in a similar vein.It’s an “effort to make Trump feel more comfortable in his future home,” according to the left-leaning website Meidas Touch, which reported the move by Florida congressman Jared Moskowitz, Gerry Connolly of Virginia and John Garamendi of California.Moskowitz in particular is no stranger to trolling Republicans, having introduced a motion to impeach Joe Biden during a House oversight committee meeting last month. A frequent critic of Trumpist committee chair Jim Comer of Kentucky, who led the evidence-free effort to impeach the president, Moskowitz prodded in vain to find a Republican to second his motion.The new bill seeks to recognize the Donald J Trump Federal Correctional Institution “in any law, regulation, map, document, paper, or any other record of the United States”.With a Republican majority in the House, it stands as much chance of becoming law as Rechenthaler’s measure does of clearing the Democrat-led Senate and White House.Trump is currently facing 88 federal charges in four criminal cases, including the one in Florida. He was arraigned last June at the federal courthouse in Miami as a near-circus took place outside.As we wait for Joe Biden to make remarks in Baltimore, rightwing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has once again found a way to draw attention to herself by implying that the earthquake that rattled the north-east today was, uh, God’s will:Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. As for what we know for sure about the tremor, here’s a link to our coverage:Joe Biden has arrived in Baltimore at the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, where he’s meeting with first responders.His helicopter flight took him over the wreckage of the span, as well as the Dali, the cargo ship that struck it and remains trapped in the debris:The president is schedule to give a speech “reaffirming his commitment to the people of Baltimore” at 2.30pm. We’ll cover it live on this blog.Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will not endorse Joe Biden again this year, a blow of sorts for the president in his looming rematch with Donald Trump.Speaking to Fox News, the wrestler turned Hollywood action star said: “Am I happy with the state of America right now? Well, that answer’s no. Do I believe we’re gonna get better? I believe in that, I’m an optimistic guy. And I believe we can do better.”Long the subject of rumours about political ambitions, Johnson reportedly fielded an approach from No Labels, the centrist third-party group that now says it won’t run a candidate this year.In late September 2020, he endorsed Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, saying: “You guys are both experienced to lead, you’ve done great things. Joe you’ve had such an incredible career, and you’ve led with such great compassion, heart, drive, and soul … Kamala, you have been a district attorney, a state attorney, a US senator. You are smart and tough. I have seen you in those hearings.”But in the Fox News interview broadcast on Friday, he said: “The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was what I thought was the best decision for me at that time. I thought back then, when we talked about, ‘Hey, you know, I’m in this position where I have some influence,’ and it was my job then … to exercise my influence and share … who I’m going to endorse.“Am I going to do that again this year? That answer’s no.“I realise now going into this election, I will not do that. My goal is to bring this country together. I will keep my politics to myself. It is between me and the ballot box. Like a lot of us out there, not trusting of all politicians, I do trust the American people and whoever they vote for that is my president and who I will support 100%.”Johnson has not disavowed entering presidential politics himself. In 2021, he said: “I don’t think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick-up truck driving, fanny pack-wearing guy joining their club – but if it ever happens it’d be my honour to serve you, the people.”The latest bramble for Donald Trump in his legal thorny thicket this week is that New York judge Juan Merchan on Friday blocked the former US president’s bid to subpoena Comcast-owned NBCUniversal for material related to the documentary the media company made about Stormy Daniels.The judge is overseeing Trump’s criminal trial, which begins on 15 April in a historic first for a former US president.Reuters adds that the trial stems from a hush-money payment to Daniels, a porn star and adult film producer, over an old affair she claimed she had with Trump and which she was ready to talk to the press about during the 2016 presidential campaign.Trump denies the sexual liaison and also denies the charges against him in the New York case, one of four criminal cases he faces and the first to go to trial, alleging election financing impropriety as part of a hush-money payment and cover up, also involving model Karen McDougal.The documentary, titled Stormy, came out recently and centers Daniels talking about her life, especially since the scandal ultimately erupted into public view. She is expected to testify for the prosecution in Manhattan court.Joe Biden has departed for Baltimore and there are only thin pickings from the “chopper talk” at the White House, unfortunately.The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief David Smith is on pool duty today and dutifully brings us this report that at the south entrance to the White House, the president said he had spoken to the governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, about the earthquake in the region. The words “all right” were audible.A reporter asked if POTUS had threatened military aid to Israel. POTUS replied only: “I asked them to do what they’re doing.”Then he boarded the Marine One helicopter and left.Joe Biden is on his way to Baltimore now, where the US military has said it hopes to reopen the port to shipping traffic, at least on a limited basis, by the end of the month.The US president will take an aerial tour of the major arterial road bridge that collapsed when a huge container ship hit one of its main stone piers 10 days ago.Biden will be briefed on response efforts from the team in charge of salvage and logistical operations, including the US Coast Guard and army corps of engineers.Maryland governor Wes Moore, Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen will be with the president, as will congressman Kweisi Mfume and Baltimore’s mayor, Brandon Scott, alongside other city, state and federal officials.After touring the site of the disaster, where six men who were working on the bridge at the time of the collision were killed, Biden will meet the bereaved families.The chorus of Democratic senators asking Joe Biden to rethink his support for Israel has grown louder in the wake of the killing of seven aid workers earlier this week. Lawmakers aligned with the president are asking him to cancel planned weapons sales, or cut off military support altogether if Israel does not do a better job of protecting civilians. Congress is currently out, with the Senate and House resuming business in Washington DC next week, but in a sign of how fraught the issue has become, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer made no mention of approving more aid to Israel in a letter sent to lawmakers ahead of their return.Here’s what else is going on today:
      Biden plans to later this afternoon visit the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, where he’ll discuss efforts to get the city’s economically vital port reopened, and meet with families of the six men killed in the disaster.
      Democratic senator Chris Murphy warned that Israel’s conduct in Gaza could worsen the threat of terrorism worldwide.
      Student debt relief is reportedly getting a second go from Biden, who will next week announce plans to reduce what borrowers owe that could survive a court challenge. More

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      Engineers begin removing Baltimore Key Bridge’s mangled wreckage

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      Crews of engineers have begun the dangerous and intricate job of removing the mangled wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge from the Patapsco River outside Baltimore, as top federal government and Maryland state officials stressed Sunday that the health of the US national economy depended on it.Officials took to the political talkshows Sunday to praise the emergency teams that have now amassed in the Patapsco and have started the delicate process of cutting and lifting steel debris from the north side of the destroyed bridge. Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, said the operation was extremely complex.“We have a ship that has nearly the size of the Eiffel Tower that is now stuck within the channel that has the Key Bridge sitting on top of it,” he told CNN’s State of the Union. He added that the bridge collapse, which occurred six days ago when the 985ft cargo ship the Dali lost power and crashed into the structure, was not a local but a national economic catastrophe.“This port is one of the busiest most active ports inside of the country. This is going to impact the farmer in Kentucky, the auto dealer in Ohio, the restaurant owner in Tennessee,” he said.Some 15,000 people are estimated to rely on the Port of Baltimore directly for their livelihoods, with a further 140,000 jobs indirectly affected. The port handles the shipping of more cars and light trucks than any other in the US, and it is also a major hub for agricultural equipment.Last year, more than 1m cargo containers passed through it. That amounted to more than 50m tonnes of foreign cargo, worth about $80bn.Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, was unable to give CBS News’s Face the Nation a timeline for the removal of the stricken bridge or for its rebuilding. He noted that the original bridge took about five years to construct, though that was not an indication of how long it will take to replace.Buttigieg said that it was possible the Biden administration may have to turn to Congress for approval of federal funds, which are expected to meet up to 90% of the costs of recovery. So far only $60m has been provided from an emergency pot held by the Federal Highway Administration.Asked by CBS News why any skeptical lawmakers should vote for what promises to be a multimillion-dollar project, Buttigieg said: “The pitch is: your district could be next. And this has historically been bipartisan.”James Clyburn, the influential Democratic congress member from South Carolina, underlined that point on NBC’s Meet the Press. “The fact of the matter is, all of us, every state in the nation, all 50 of us, will take our turns needing this kind of assistance,” he said.Clyburn added: “It may be gust storms in some places, it may be a flood, or here in this part of the country, hurricanes. We all are subjected at one time or another to some kind of calamity.”Brandon Scott, the mayor of Baltimore, who is Black, addressed the ugly wave of conservative social media attacks against him since the bridge disaster erupted. He was trolled by a user on X as “Baltimore’s DEI mayor”.Asked about the abuse on CBS News’s Face the Nation, Scott said that the backlash was coming from those who were “too afraid to use the N-word”. He added: “I am a young Black man, a young Black mayor. I know how racism goes in this country.”Moore, the state’s Black governor, has also been caught up in the rightwing backlash that has sought to connect the bridge collapse to progressive politics and initiatives promoting the concept of DEI (short for diversity, equity and inclusion), especially after the 2020 police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionPhil Lyman, who is running for governor of Utah, posted on social media after the disaster occurred that “this is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the well-being and security of citizens.”Unlike Scott, Moore refused to respond to the trolling Sunday. Asked by CNN whether he thought the attacks were racist, he replied: “I have no time for foolishness. I’m making sure we can get closure and comfort to these families … I have no time for foolishness, and so I’m not going to delve into it.”The rescue operation has been taken up a notch by the arrival on location of a massive crane that can lift 1,000 tonnes, along with six other floating cranes also now at the site of the disaster. According to Associated Press, the clean-up teams also now include 10 tugboats, nine barges and eight salvage vessels.A top priority of emergency workers is to address the human tragedy of the bridge collapse. Eight construction workers were working on the bridge in the early hours of Tuesday when the disaster happened. Only two of them survived.The bodies of two workers, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, who were trapped underwater in their vehicle, have been recovered. Four other workers, who are presumed to have died, have yet to be found.Scott said that a fund set up to help the families of those who died has reached over $300,000. “We will support them throughout this, and that could mean ongoing trauma care in the future,” he said.Beyond the lives lost, the main structural priority at the site of the collapsed bridge is first to open a channel for smaller boats to be able to enter and exit the port. The main goal of allowing big ships in and out is expected to take much longer.Recovery operations are being hampered by the murkiness of the water in which the wreckage is partially submerged. Sunken metal beams also increase the perilousness of the work. More

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      Biden pledges to pay full cost to rebuild Baltimore bridge after collapse

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      Joe Biden pledged that the US federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed before dawn on Tuesday after being struck by a massive cargo ship.“It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge and I expect the Congress to support my effort,” the US president said.Asked why the government should pay and not Grace Ocean, the owners of the Singapore-registered ship, Biden said: “That could be, but we’re not going to wait for that to happen. We’re going to pay for it to get the bridge rebuilt and opened.”Authorities said six people were unaccounted for after the accident, which sent vehicles and eight construction workers into the Patapsco river.Jeffrey Pritzker, a senior executive at Brawner Builders, the employer of the construction workers, said on Tuesday afternoon that they were presumed dead, given the water’s depth and the length of time since the crash.Pritzker said the crew had been working in the middle of the bridge when it came apart. No bodies have been recovered.“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers. But we never foresaw that the bridge would collapse.”All 22 crewmembers onboard the Dali, the ship that struck the bridge, were reported safe.A reporter from the Baltimore Banner said that the half-dozen missing people were construction workers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico who are in their 30s and 40s, with spouses and children.All of them came to the city for a better life, – not necessarily for themselves, but for the loved ones they left behind in their home countries, the Banner’s reporter wrote.“They are all hard-working, humble men.”The White House said Biden had spoken to federal, state and local officials as part of the continuing response to the collapse of the bridge.Those officials included Pete Buttigieg, the US secretary of transportation; Wes Moore, the Democratic governor of Maryland; the two Democratic US senators from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin; and the mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott.Moore told reporters the bridge, which was built in 1977, was “fully up to code” before being struck by the ship.Speaking from the Roosevelt Room in the White House, Biden said: “Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time, we have no other indication. No other reason to believe there’s any intentional act here.“I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime,” Biden added, in remarks aimed at people awaiting word on the missing.The search and rescue operation was “our top priority”, Biden said, adding: “We’re with you. We’re going to stay with you as long as it takes. You’re Maryland tough, you’re Baltimore strong.”Saying, “We’re not leaving until this job is done,” Biden said he would travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can”.The president then left Washington for a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina. Buttigieg was due to travel to Baltimore. More

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      'A bigger tent message': Larry Hogan on Trump and his own White House ambitions

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      Whether or not Donald Trump wins re-election in November, Maryland’s governor, Larry Hogan, predicts the Republican party will finally do some soul searching.That’s the core of the thinking behind Hogan, a popular two-term Republican governor in a reliably Democratic state, strongly floating the idea of running for president himself.“A big part of what I’ve been focusing on for six years is a kind of a bigger tent message and avoiding the divisive rhetoric and avoiding the extremes of either party,” Hogan told the Guardian.“That’s why I’ve been so successful as a Republican in one of the bluest states in the country and have had the ability to reach a lot of swing voters and constituencies that Republicans have had a [hard] time reaching.”Hogan considered a White House run this year, but he would have had to beat a Republican president with an iron grip on the party. In 2024, however, Trump will not be a factor.I’ll be one and maybe I’ll be the only one that’ll be arguing for a Republican party that’s going to be more inclusiveHogan is not the only name being floated. The former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Tom Cotton, Governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis and Vice-President Mike Pence are all in the mix too.But Hogan is the one most eager to highlight his disagreements with the president, openly admitting that Trump’s circle is “not very happy with me at the moment”.As chairman of the bipartisan National Governors Association (NGA), he has issued worried statements about Trump’s handling of coronavirus relief funds. In general, he has criticized Trump’s response to the pandemic.At the same time, he has checked the boxes any statewide politician does ahead of a White House run. He has visited early primary states. He has chaired the NGA. He has reached high approval levels in his state. And he has written a book, laying out his background and knocking the current president. Still Standing comes out on Tuesday. It details how Hogan thought about challenging Trump this year.He does not hesitate to admit that he is open to running in 2024, which is usually as far as any potential candidate goes this far out from an election. But he does keep some distance from other anti-Trump Republicans, such as the increasingly prominent Lincoln Project.Asked about the former Ohio governor John Kasich, a prominent member of the anti-Trump wing of the Republican party who is expected to participate in the Democratic national convention, Hogan demurred.“I’ve got to continue to govern my state in the middle of a pandemic in the middle of the worst economic collapse in our lifetime and I’ve got a job as governor of Maryland until January of 2023,” he said.“So I’m in a different place than John Kasich. I mean, I haven’t spoken to him about it so I don’t know what his position is. But he’s certainly a Republican who’s frustrated with the direction of the party.” More