Biden backs investigation into Florida condo collapse

President Biden supports an investigation into a partial building collapse in Florida last week that left at least 10 people dead and more than 150 missing.

“He does believe there should be an investigation,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a briefing Monday, noting that federal government resources could be used to support such a probe.

“The goal of course is to get to the bottom of what happened and of course have it be an instructive guide on how to prevent it from happening in the future,” Psaki said later when asked to expand on Biden’s support for an investigation. 

Psaki wouldn’t say which authority would spearhead the probe but indicated the federal government could assist efforts on the ground to pinpoint the cause of the collapse of a section of Champlain Towers South, a 12-story condo building in Surfside, Fla., last week.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sent personnel to assist search and rescue operations as well as building science experts. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the FBI have also deployed officials to Florida to help with recovery efforts, Psaki noted. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) indicated at a news conference on Monday that the NIST would conduct an investigation into the building collapse. 

“This is going to be something that is important, it is something that is going to be very thorough and it is something that is not going to happen in a day or two. This is going to take a long time,” DeSantis said. 

He said Surfside and the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office would each conduct an investigation as well.

Biden spoke with DeSantis on Friday after declaring a state of emergency on Florida to free up federal resources following the building collapse. Biden received a briefing from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Sunday after she met with DeSantis on the ground. The White House says that Biden has no immediate plans to visit the state and survey the damage.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) said Monday that the death toll has risen to 10 and 151 people remained unaccounted for after the building collapsed five days ago.

Meanwhile, a 2018 engineering report released over the weekend warned of “major structural damage” to the concrete slab on which the building was constructed.