Florida Gov. Rick Scott traveled to Washington, D.C. Friday to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the governor's trip to Puerto Rico and the Hurricane Irma recovery efforts in Florida.
Scott said he had lunch with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, a day after he toured parts of Puerto Rico that had been devastated by Hurricane Maria.
"In Florida, we have the opportunity as Floridians that we can deal with different issues than probably the federal government can, we have similar departments like the department of education, or dept of transportation that does things similar to the territory of Puerto Rico," Scott said at a news conference at the White House. "We're going to do everything we can to help Puerto Rico."
Scott said he told the president that Puerto Rico needs more trucks and truck drivers to distribute needed supplies like fuel.
"They have the fuel, they just need to get it out of their ports," Scott said.
Scott also responded to criticism from a state senator who accused him of doing nothing more than photo ops when it comes to helping Puerto Rico.
"This is not a time for politics, this is a time to help people," Scott said.
Scott and Trump also discussed the Irma cleanup efforts in Florida, including repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee.
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"I just want to make sure we accelerate everything we can to get the repairs to the dike done as soon as possible," Scott said.
Scott said that in addition to the destruction in the Florida Keys, housing problems and debris cleanup continue to be the main issues. Scott said the state is working with FEMA on the housing issues.
"Our state has come back strong, we have our power back, people are back in business," Scott said.
