Trump meets Harvey flood victims as he returns to Texas
3 Sep 2017 4:32 PM GMT
Houston: US President Donald Trump has flown to Houston on to meet with victims of Hurricane Harvey and see the effects of the record-setting storm while he presses for a multi-billion-dollar aid package.
Trump, facing the first natural disaster of his administration, was joined by his wife, Melania, as he passed out food and hugged, kissed and played with children at Houston's NRG Center, a 700,000-square-foot (65,000 square metre) facility that is now the city's largest emergency shelter.
Trump, who is making his second trip to the stricken state this week, asked Congress late on Friday for an initial $7.85 billion for hurricane recovery efforts. The request comes as Washington faces tough budget negotiations.
Trump told reporters at the centre that his administration was moving fast to provide the financing for aid to the devastated region. "We are signing a lot of documents to get money," he said.
Trump appeared relaxed as he posed for photographs with volunteers and chatted with those relocated to the shelter alongside Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Melania, the sleeves of her blue denim shirt rolled up, hugged a woman and chatted with a child. "It has been a wonderful thing," Mr Trump said of his meetings with the children as he helped serve food to evacuees amid shouts of "Thank you, sir." Trump's visit came after a week of historic flooding in the area.
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