Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards hand-delivered a letter Monday to President Trump asking for more federal disaster help, but didn’t have the one-on-one meeting with the president as Edwards had hoped.
The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports that Edwards instead was one of a group of four governors who sat with Trump at the White House in conjunction with the National Governors Association meeting. The governor was only able to briefly speak about the state’s recovery efforts.
Edwards did have a more extensive meeting Monday afternoon with Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney about his request for more aid to help Louisiana recover from last year’s two floods. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, also attended that meeting.
In the letter, Edwards asks the president to support $2 billion more in federal aid. Of that total, $1.3 billion would go toward homeowner assistance; $600 million toward flood protection infrastructure; $80 million for rental assistance and $58 million would be used for agriculture assistance.
“On behalf of the Louisiana families still recovering, I would urgently request that, before the expiration of the current (continuing budget resolution) on April 28, your administration support inclusion of the $2.08 billion in unmet Louisiana recovery needs,” the governor wrote in his letter to Trump.
Edwards had originally planned to return to Louisiana Monday night, but stayed after securing a Tuesday meeting with House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-New Jersey.
The governor plans to return to Louisiana this afternoon, where he has planned a press conference upon his arrival at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
