Joe Biden to visit bridge disaster in Baltimore on Friday

President Biden will travel to Baltimore on Friday to visit the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and discuss efforts to remove the wreckage and rebuild the span.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the visit will allow Mr. Biden to meet with state and local officials and get an “on-the-ground look at the federal response efforts.”

The bridge fell at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday after the container ship Dali lost power and struck one of the vertical piers supporting the bridge.

Officials were able to stop traffic on the bridge when the ship lost power but a road crew couldn’t make it off in time. Two people were rescued but the bodies of two workers were recovered and the remaining four workers are presumed dead.

Mr. Biden announced hours after the collapse that he planned to pay for the rebuild with federal taxpayer dollars.

The White House had signaled the president would visit the site but did not confirm a date until Monday’s daily press briefing.

Also Monday, the White House criticized Republicans who accused Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Democrats who are Black, of pursuing “DEI” — diversity, equity and inclusion — policies instead of focusing on security prior to the bridge collapse.

“We don’t have time for this foolishness,” Ms. Jean-Pierre, echoing a comment from Mr. Moore in a Sunday interview. “Our focus is reopening the port, making sure that bridge gets rebuilt, making sure that we are there for the people of Baltimore. These claims are baseless and they’re just wrong.”

Ms. Jean-Pierre said she would provide more details about Mr. Biden’s visit later in the week. 

Reporters wanted to know if Mr. Biden plans to visit family members of the workers who died. The six victims were immigrants from Central American countries.

“Certainly, we’ve been in touch with the family members,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “They are mourning at this time. I just don’t want to go beyond that.”