House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday boarded a military plane to examine the extent of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma on the state of Florida.
“Flying above Miami & the Keys to assess #HurricaneIrma recovery progress. The @USCG has been doing incredible work as FL begins to rebuild,” Ryan tweeted, using the U.S. Coast Guard’s official Twitter handle.
Ryan posted an on-the-ground photo of Jacksonville’s San Marco area to his Instagram account story, in addition to a photo of him receiving a briefing from the Coast Guard.
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The Speaker’s visit to the Sunshine State comes after Irma battered Florida earlier this month.
The Florida-Times Union reported that Ryan did not take any questions from journalists nor did he make any remarks before he left Jacksonville. His visit comes after President Trump traveled to Southwest Florida last week to review damage caused by the storm.
Several Democratic lawmakers from Florida joined Ryan on the trip, including Reps. Stephanie Murphy, Val Demings and Darren Soto. Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee chairman, and Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J), the House Appropriations Committee chairman, also took part in the visit.
Ryan will travel to Houston, Texas, on Thursday to assess the damage from Hurricane Harvey, which first made landfall on Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane.