ANALYSIS — President Joe Biden again pressed Congress to back his call for the federal government to pay the full cost to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge as he stressed the economic impact of the container ship crash that closed the Port of Baltimore.
Biden also played the role of consoler in chief on Friday, reassuring state officials and workers, thanking first-responders and speaking with family members of the six road repair workers killed in the incident. Biden flew on Marine One over the wrecked bridge that continues to rest on the ship and block the port. The ship, the Dali, had malfunctioned after leaving the port, and its crew radioed a mayday call in time for police to halt traffic from entering the bridge early the morning of March 26, preventing a higher death toll.
“Your nation has your back,” Biden, wearing a dark ball cap and blue bubble jacket with the presidential logo, told an invited audience, as the Dali and twisted bridge sat in the distance behind him. “And I mean that.”
