President Biden jokingly called his Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm ‘boss’ on Friday and referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘president’ while giving an update on the hurricane recovery efforts.
The 81-year-old president made the eye-brow raising remarks while seated with members of his Cabinet and other senior administration officials in the Roosevelt Room of the White House as the vice president joined virtually from Arizona.
Toward the end of his remarks, Biden appeared to trail off and began looking through his binder as he spoke. That’s when Granholm, seated to his left, reminded him to go to the vice president who was waiting on screen.
‘I know, I’m going to go to the vice president in a second,’ Biden said.
He then put his hand on Granholm’s arm and said ‘she’s my boss here’ to which the group of officials laughed.
President Biden jokingly referred to his Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm as his ‘boss’ during an update on the hurricane response in the Roosevelt Room on Friday after she reminded him to go to Vice President Harris
When Harris tried to chime in seconds later on screen, Biden stated: ‘hang on one second madame vice president’ before finishing his thoughts about needing the help of Congress with the recovery.
‘And with that I’ll yield to the president. I mean vice president,’ Biden said as officials around him laughed at the apparent joke.
Federal, state and local officials are dealing with the widespread devastation in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton which made landfall this week in Florida just weeks after Hurricane Helene caused destruction across the southeast.
At least seventeen people have been confirmed dead in Florida in the aftermath of Milton as the cleanup efforts are just getting underway.
‘Our heart goes out to all those folks who’ve lost not only personal property but their homes and some lost lives and grieving at the aftermath of the tornadoes, brutal wind, record downpours and historic flooding,’ Biden said on Friday.
Biden noted that Milton was the third major storm to hit Florida in three months. He revealed experts believe early estimates are that Milton caused $50 billion in damages alone.
A destroyed home in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in St. Pete Beach, FL on October 11
A National Guard truck driving through the water on a road on October 11 after the Anclote River flooded homes, businesses and roadways with the passage of Hurricane Milton over Florida
‘We’re going to do everything we can to help you pick back up the pieces and get back to where you were,’ the president said.
Biden added that he has been in constant contact with state and local officials who he said are ‘doing everything they can to help these folks recover.’
More than three million people were left without power from Milton. Biden said 50,000 power line workers from 43 states and Canada are working to restore power in the state. They have already restored power to more than one million people across Florida.
Biden also shared that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida National Guard are all on the ground helping the state clear debris and reopen roads.
Utility workers repairing power lines after Hurricane Milton in Englewood, FL on October 11
The Biden administration, state and local officials have been working to combat misinformation about the recovery from both Milton and Helene.
Biden said people want to be given hope and be told it is going to be okay. He referred to the misinformation as ‘malarky’ on Friday before cutting himself off stating he didn’t want to lose his temper.
‘The truth is we’re providing all the resources that are needed,’ Biden said. He said there is more to do and vowed to do everything in his power to get it done.
The president said they’re going to go to Congress as they will need ‘a lot more money’ noting they still need to figure out specifically how much is needed.
