President Joe Biden defended being at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, as Hurricane Helene left a path of destruction in its wake across the country's Southeast.
After addressing the nation regarding what he described as a "history-making" hurricane, which has killed 115 people across six states since making landfall last Thursday, Biden was asked why neither he nor Vice President Kamala Harris was at the White House last weekend "commanding" the federal response.
"I was commanding it," the president told reporters Monday. "I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I command it. It's called a telephone."
Biden, who also told reporters he was currently suffering from a cold, returned to the White House earlier than expected Sunday amid the storm. Harris is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., on Monday, cutting her West Coast campaign swing short.
In reaction to another reporter's question, Biden added that he anticipated the White House would make a supplemental funding request of Congress , though it was too soon to estimate how much, and that he could ask lawmakers to make their own returns to the capital as well. Congress is currently on a six-week preelection recess.
“That is something I may have to request," the president said. "No decisions have been made yet."
Although Biden sidestepped a question about former President Donald Trump 's decision to survey storm damage in Georgia on Monday , he indicated he could make his own trip as early as Wednesday or Thursday.
"I'm committed to traveling to the impacted areas as soon as possible, but I've been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now," Biden said. "We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response assets needed to deal with."
However, Biden promised that he and the federal government were prepared to support the affected communities for "as long as it takes" and they would not leave "until the job is done."
The death toll could rise as telephone reception returns in places such as North Carolina, which experienced historic flooding, with loss of life reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, too.
“I’ve directed my team to provide every available resource as fast as possible to your communities to rescue, recover, and begin rebuilding," the president said.
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Roads remain closed, particularly in the Carolinas, preventing search-and-rescue and recovery efforts. More than 2 million customers do not have power, according to poweroutage.us .
Another tropical depression in the Atlantic Ocean could develop into a second hurricane Wednesday.
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