President Biden has authorized U.S. support for Haiti in the aftermath of a massive earthquake Saturday that caused extensive damage and killed dozens of people, with the number of fatalities expected to grow.
A White House official said that Biden and Vice President Harris “were briefed by the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of State on the earthquake this morning in Haiti.”
“The President authorized an immediate US response, and named USAID [United States Agency for International Development] Administrator Samantha Power as the senior US official to coordinate this effort,” the official added.
No additional information was provided beyond the appointment of Power, who under the Obama administration served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
When reached for comment by The Hill, the White House said it had no further details to provide. The Hill has reached out to USAID for comment.
Both The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that Haiti’s civil protection agency said at least 29 people have been confirmed dead following Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which shook the capital of Port-au-Prince and other areas of the Caribbean nation.
