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Obama to Visit Louisiana Flooding on Tuesday

AP
August 19, 2016

The White House announced Friday that President Obama will visit Louisiana on Tuesday to see the destruction left from historic flooding that has devastated the state.

The White House said in a statement that Obama has been receiving briefings from Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, who was in Louisiana on Thursday.

"While in Martha’s Vineyard, the President has received updates on the situation in Louisiana, including from the DHS Secretary and the FEMA Administrator, who took separate trips there," the statement said. "The President today directed his team to coordinate with Louisiana officials to determine an appropriate time for him to visit, and together they have determined that the President will visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday, August 23rd."

Obama has been on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard since Aug. 6 while large portions of Baton Rouge and nearby areas suffered from extensive flooding. The president has received strong criticism, including from a major Louisiana newspaper, for golfing in the up-scale New England vacation spot while many people lost their homes and belongings.

Donald Trump traveled to Baton Rouge on Friday with running mate Mike Pence to meet with officials, visit survivors, and hand out aid supplies from a truck that he donated to the area. Hillary Clinton has released a message regarding the flooding, but has not made plans to travel to Louisiana.

The flooding in Louisiana has left at least 13 people dead, 40,000 homes damaged, and 86,000 have applied for federal disaster aid.