Lt. Governor Dan Patrick defends Beryl response and casts blame on Biden for slow federal aid

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In a Beryl response and recovery briefing on Thursday afternoon, acting Governor Dan Patrick led another round of finger-pointing over delays in federal aid after Beryl.

The video above is from ABC13's 24/7 livestream.

Accompanied by Chief Nim Kidd of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), Patrick denounced what he called "lies" from Texans, media outlets, President Biden, and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who have accused him of not working fast enough.

READ RELATED: Biden blames Texas officials for delayed federal response to Beryl

Patrick and Kidd asserted that they have been acting timely and appropriately and shifted the blame back onto the president.

Patrick accused Biden of taking too long to reach out and said Biden retracted funds for the Emergency Disaster Declaration immediately after administering them in error.

According to Patrick, Biden's mistakes are responsible for the delays in aid.

Patrick also accused Biden of cutting his request for aid to 121 counties down to 67.

Patrick and Kidd condemned the federal government's response and accused President Biden of incompetence and dishonesty.

"The President is either totally incompetent and doesn't remember what he said, or he's just lied to me and Texas," Patrick said.

"This President has weaponized the federal government to enrage our citizens here to thinking that I am not doing my job and that our governor is not doing his job, and that's a lie," Kidd said.

As the briefing continued, Patrick supported Governor Greg Abbott's call to investigate CenterPoint Energy, labeling the widespread outages "unacceptable" and vowing to "get to the bottom of it."

Patrick said that the ongoing outages remain a primary issue because they continue to impact crucial infrastructure, like water treatment plants and hospitals.

One-hundred-sixty boil water notices are affecting access to safe drinking water in 12 counties. According to Patrick, efforts are underway to distribute clean water to affected areas.

Twelve hospitals are working under internal disaster protocols, and 43 dialysis clinics need assistance with dialysis and patient transport.

The TDEM deployed 75 generators, primarily in Houston and Galveston, to support hospitals, traffic intersections, and water and wastewater treatment plants.

Conditions on roads are still dangerous, and residents are urged to "Turn around, don't drown" as high water levels from northern areas, Kidd explained.