Aside from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is severely affecting the country, a winter storm has since hit southern states leading to casualties. In response, Joe Biden has approved of the federal declaration of emergency in Texas.
The White House released a statement announcing Biden’s approval of declaring a federal emergency in Texas as the state is caught in the midst of a winter storm. With the approval of the federal declaration of emergency, Biden has also ordered federal aid and assistance for Texas to help out the local response efforts in helping those who have been severely affected by the storm. Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz submitted Governor Greg Abbott’s request to declare an emergency. Abbott previously declared a state of emergency in all 254 counties of Texas, ordering local residents to stay indoors. Funding assistance will also cover mass care and sheltering with the federal agencies in charge of getting the authorization to use the necessary equipment.
Cornyn and Cruz previously wrote a letter to Biden requesting his approval. “It is our understanding that the State of Texas, through the Office of the Governor, has made a formal request for an emergency disaster declaration as a result of severe winter weather that began on February 11, 2021, and will continue throughout the entirety of the state for several days,” wrote the senators. The storm is expected to move north and east, towards the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and other surrounding states.
With Biden’s willingness to re-engage with allied states on a diplomatic level, UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed optimism towards US-UK relations in the Biden era. Speaking on CBS Face the Nation over the weekend, Johnson shared that one reason why US-UK relations are moving forward is that he now gets to work with Biden. Johnson explained that there have been developments in relations between the two countries especially on issues such as climate change, NATO, and Iran.
“I think some of the stuff we’re now hearing from the new American administration and from the new White House is incredibly encouraging, and we want to work with the president on that,” said Johnson, who added that the two leaders have already had “fantastic conversations” since Biden’s inauguration.