Crooked Media - What A Day: Getting back on Key

President Biden traveled to Baltimore on Friday to assess the damage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key bridge, ten days after a massive container ship plowed into it. 

• President Biden joined Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) and other officials leading the cleanup of the disaster site on the president’s helicopter, Marine One, to view the damage from above, before meeting with first responders and the families of six construction workers who died on March 26. The White House pledged federal support “every step of the way.” Biden will press Congress via a formal request to fund the cost of rebuilding the 1.6 mile bridge over the Patapsco River, which could cost more than $1 billion. 

• During his speech, Biden promised to “move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as possible,” and to do so with “union labor and American steel.” The Department of Transportation also announced on Friday that a previously-awarded $8 million grant can be used to expand cargo capacity at the nearby Tradepoint Atlantic port, and the Biden administration dispensed $60 million in emergency relief funds last week. The bodies of four construction workers, who are missing and presumed buried among the rubble below the surface of the river, have still not been recovered, but efforts are ongoing. 

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Thursday a tentative timeline for reopening the shipping channel blocked by the collapse. Officials reported that tests have shown no pollution in the waters surrounding the stranded container ship that struck the bridge, and are working to remove cargo containers in the vessel to help refloat it. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) held a press briefing on Thursday and promised to “hold all responsible parties fully accountable.”