President Biden listens Thursday as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discusses the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
President Biden visited Florida on Thursday to meet privately with families whose loved ones were in the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo when it collapsed.
Biden also met with first responders to thank them for their rescue work. Search and rescue efforts paused on Thursday because of structural concerns. So far, 145 people are still unaccounted for, while 18 people have been confirmed dead.
During a briefing with local and state officials, Biden said the federal government would pick up 100% of the costs associated with the response to the building collapse. "I think I have the power and will know shortly to be able to pick up 100% of the costs of the county and the state. I'm quite sure I can do that," Biden said.
Biden sat beside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who thanked the president for his support, saying that "we've had no bureaucracy" from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"You recognize in each individual unit, there's an amazing story, and lives have been shattered irrevocably, as a result of this," DeSantis said. "We have families with kids missing. And we even have young newlyweds who hadn't even been married a year who were in the tower when it collapsed."
"What we just need now is we need a little bit of luck. We need a little bit of prayers. And you know, we would like to be able to, you know, to see some miracles happen," DeSantis said.
Biden's afternoon remarks were delayed because the president spent an extended period of time with families, going table to table to talk with people who have been affected by the crash.
"It's bad enough to lose somebody. But the hard part, the really hard part is to not know whether they're surviving or not," Biden said, recalling his own fears about losing his sons in a crash that killed his first wife and daughter.
He said the families he spoke with Thursday were "realistic" about the chances of loved ones' survival, given the extent of the damage to the building. "They know the chances, as each day goes by, diminish slightly," he said.
After his remarks, Biden and first lady Jill Biden spent several minutes at a memorial near the condo site and laid a bouquet of white flowers.
Investigations are underway as to what caused last week's collapse. The building was in the process of completing its 40-year certification. In 2018, engineers identified a series of concerns about the structure that had apparently worsened over the years.
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