WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump’s visit to Texas (all times local):
10:30 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence is warning the people of southeast Texas that Harvey is still dangerous and that life-threatening flooding will continue.
Pence is urging residents to continue to listen their state and local officials. He commented during interviews Tuesday with radio stations serving Corpus Christi and San Antonio.
Houston has been paralyzed by a storm that struck on Friday and has been parked over the Gulf Coast ever since. More than 30 inches of rain has fallen in some areas and nearly 2 feet more is expected, leading authorities to fear the worst might be yet to come.
Pence says he and his wife, Karen, will visit the region later this week.
President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, were scheduled to visit Corpus Christi and Austin on Tuesday.
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9:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he is OK leaving open some senior federal government positions.
Trump tweeted that message just after conservative commentator Laura Ingraham criticized the lack of appointees to senior jobs. She included FEMA, where there is no deputy to Administrator Brock Long, who is directing Trump’s response to Hurricane Harvey.
Ingraham said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends” that from the photos of flood-ravaged Houston, “we can conclude that a federal government does need staff. We see it acutely in need of staff in a situation like this.”
Moments later, Trump used the Twitter handle for the show and Ingraham: “@foxandfriends We are not looking to fill all of those positions. Don’t need many of them – reduce size of government. @IngrahamAngle.”
Trump is visiting Texas Tuesday.
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8:57 a.m.
President Donald Trump is making an all-out push to show the federal government’s responsiveness to the massive storm that has lashed the Texas coast and caused catastrophic flooding.
Trump will travel to Texas on Tuesday for briefings on the federal government’s work to help the state recover from Harvey’s devastation.
The storm marks the first time Trump has been tested by a major natural disaster at the start of his administration.
The president was scheduled to get briefings on the relief efforts in Corpus Christi, Texas, and later meet with state officials at the emergency operations center in Austin. The president will be joined by first lady Melania Trump.