Biden Vows To Make Congress Pay To Replace Collapsed Baltimore Bridge

President Joe Biden said Tuesday he expects Congress to fully cover the cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed overnight after it was rammed by a massive cargo ship.

“It is my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort,” Biden said in brief remarks at the White House before departing for a campaign event in North Carolina.

“We’re going to spend all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency… and we’re going to rebuild that port together,” Biden added.

The office of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how Congress plans to address the disaster, which authorities are calling a “mass casualty incident.”

There’s a precedent for the type of assistance Biden has requested. After the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, both chambers of Congress voted unanimously to send $250 million in emergency assistance to Minnesota to help with the cleanup and rebuild. The catastrophic failure of that bridge killed 13 people and seriously injured dozens more, highlighting the dangers of the country’s crumbling infrastructure.

But it’s unlikely that an increasingly divided Congress will be able to reach such a quick consensus on a similar disaster just less than two decades later.

The president also reiterated Tuesday that the crash seemed to be the result of a “terrible accident” and not an intentional act. Authorities say the cargo ship struck the bridge at roughly 1:30 a.m. after its operators lost control of the vessel due to a likely power failure.

The disaster sent cars