President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Texas, freeing up the federal government to send additional assistance to the state to help millions hit by a deep freeze in the state.
Millions of Texans lost heat and power this week as the cold snap caused extended outages and many even lost access to drinking water. At least 69 deaths across the US have been blamed on the blast of unseasonable weather.
Warmer temperatures across the southern US on Saturday are expected to bring some relief to a winter-weary region that faces a challenging clean-up and expensive repairs from the days of extreme cold. In hard-hit Texas the warm-up is expected to last for several days.
The news comes as Republican leaders are engaged in a war of words with former President Donald Trump, who launched a fundraiser to remove Mitch McConnell after the Senate Minority Leader blamed Trump for the failed insurrection on Capitol Hill.
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It also comes as pro-Trump news network Newsmax, which rose to prominence on the back of its false claims about presidential election fraud, attracted scorn after it decided to attack Mr. Biden’s German Shepherd dog Champ.
After approving an emergency declaration several days ago, President Biden has now declared a “major disaster” exists in Texas and is sending more federal assistance, per WH. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing, home repairs & low-cost loans for uninsured property
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 20, 2021
