Biden to travel to Kentucky to survey storm damage on Wednesday

By Betsy Klein, CNN

President Joe Biden on Monday announced he will travel to Kentucky later on this week to survey damage from tornadoes and severe storms.

According to a pool report, Biden said during a briefing on the storm with homeland security officials he is working with the governor to make sure he is not in the way of recovery efforts. He’ll head to the state on Wednesday.

The White House confirmed the trip and said in a statement he will travel to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, for a storm briefing, and to Mayfield and Dawson Springs to survey storm damage.

Biden has spoken with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear multiple times since the storms and told reporters Saturday he intended to make the trip.

“I said, ‘I’ll be happy to come, but I don’t want to be in the way.’ When a President shows up, he shows up with an awful lot of personnel, an awful lot of vehicles, an awful lot of — we can get in the way unintentionally. And so, what I’m working with the governor of Kentucky and others who may want me to be there is I made — make sure that we are value added at the time, and we’re not going to get in the way of the rescue and recovery. But I do plan on going,” he said.

He approved a major disaster declaration in Kentucky overnight.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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