Bridge Collapse in Baltimore Puts an Election Year Spotlight on Infrastructure
President Biden, who has been briefed on the emergency, will have another high-profile opportunity to demonstrate how his administration responds to a major civic calamity. A cargo vessel crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early on Tuesday. Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency.Credit…ABC affiliate WJLA, via […]
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President Biden, who has been briefed on the emergency, will have another high-profile opportunity to demonstrate how his administration responds to a major civic calamity.
When a bridge carrying Interstate 95 in Philadelphia collapsed last summer, President Biden came to town six days later and stood alongside Pennsylvania’s governor for an announcement that it would be repaired and reopened within two weeks.
Now that an interstate highway bridge in Baltimore has fallen into the water after being struck by a cargo ship early Tuesday morning, the president, who counts a major infrastructure law as part of his first-term accomplishments, will have another challenge to demonstrate what a competent government response looks like.
Maryland isn’t a presidential battleground, but like Pennsylvania it does have a Democratic governor who is a key Biden ally with significant political ambitions of his own and a Senate race that will help determine which party controls the chamber next year.
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland declared a state of emergency and said he was in contact with federal and local authorities.
It will take time to determine the political fallout from the Baltimore bridge collapse. The dramatic video of the Francis Scott Key Bridge crumbling into the Patapsco River is ready made for doom-and-gloom political ads. The human toll of the collapse remains undetermined. And if Baltimore’s port is closed for a significant period it would enact a severe and extended economic toll on the region.
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So far Maryland officials have not sought to cast blame or seek a partisan advantage. Former Gov. Larry Hogan, a centrist Republican who is running for the Senate, wrote on social media that he was praying for those still missing. The two Democrats in a primary to face Mr. Hogan, Representative David Trone and Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, released similar statements of grief and shock.
When the Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia reopened 15 days after it collapsed, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania declared it a feat of government competence and has since incorporated it into his talking points for why Mr. Biden deserves a second term.
Now Mr. Biden, who is scheduled to travel to North Carolina on Tuesday and has been briefed on the bridge collapse, has another high-profile opportunity to demonstrate how his administration responds to a major civic calamity. The White House has not yet revealed any plans for Mr. Biden to visit Baltimore — though typically presidents do not appear at disaster sites until local authorities have been able to assess the extent of the damage.
Reid J. Epstein covers campaigns and elections from Washington. Before joining The Times in 2019, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsday and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. More about Reid J. Epstein
