Biden confirms plans visit to Baltimore next week following bridge collision

President Joe Biden on Friday confirmed that he plans to visit Baltimore, Md., next week as the city contends with the fallout from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this week.

The president confirmed his plans to reporters, according to The Hill. The city's port has been effectively closed as a result of the collision. Around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the container ship Dali crashed into one of the main columns supporting the bridge resulting in its instant collapse.

The ship reported losing power prior to the collision, though the official cause of the accident remains under investigation. Biden previously vowed that the federal government would cover the cost of rebuilding the bridge, saying "[w]e're going to get it up and running again as soon as possible."

"I've directed my team to move heaven and earth to re-open the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible," he added.

His plans to quickly visit the city stand in sharp contrast to his delay in visiting the town of East Palestine, Ohio, which suffered from a train derailment and leak of toxic materials in February of last year. Biden did not visit the town for a full year after promising to eventually do so in March 2023. He finally did so last month.

Video footage on social media showed the moment the ship collided with the bridge:

Mass Casualty event in Baltimore.

Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after giant ship slams into pillar.

10+ vehicles on bridge fall hundreds of feet into water below.pic.twitter.com/zqW3929TTB

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 26, 2024

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.