Standing against the backdrop of the wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Friday, President Joe Biden told the Maryland community he came with a particular message: “I’m here to say your nation has your back," Biden said. "And I mean it." 

“In the weeks to come, I want you to know we’re going to continue to have your backs, every step of the way,” he later added. “I guarantee you.” 

Less than two weeks after a cargo ship rammed into one of the Key Bridge’s supports, sending the structure plunging into the Patapsco River, Biden got a firsthand look at the damage and ongoing efforts to reopen the channel to the Port of Baltimore. 

“The damage is devastating and our hearts are still breaking,” Biden said. 

The president first oversaw the wreckage and equipment trying to fully clear the channel via an aerial tour on Marine One. He was then briefed on the ground by state and local officials, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers on the status of removing the ship and bridge remains as well as the economic impact of the disruption to one of the nation’s key shipping lanes. 

One U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official told the president that he has 51 divers and 12 cranes on site working to remove sections of the bridge. Officials have established a temporary, alternate channel for vessels involved in clearing debris.

During his remarks after the briefing, Biden said the Army Corps of Engineers hopes to open a limited-access channel for barge container ships and some vessels moving cars and farm equipment by the end of this month and to restore normal capacity to Baltimore’s port by May 31. 

“The impact here has a significant impact everywhere up and down the coast and around the country,” Biden said on Friday. 

As much as $200 million in cargo normally moves through Baltimore’s port per day, and it is the leading hub for importing and exporting vehicles. Biden said 20,000 jobs depend on the port. 

The president announced that some of the largest employers affected by the collapse, including Amazon, Home Depot and Domino Sugar, have committed to keeping their employees on payroll until the port is reopened. 

“I’m calling on every company at and around the port to do the same thing,” he added. 

Following his remarks Biden was set to privately meet with loved ones of those killed in the collapse.

Eight workers — immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — were filling potholes on the bridge when it was hit by a huge cargo ship and collapsed in the middle of the night of March 26. Two men were rescued, but only the bodies of two of the six who died have been recovered. 

“We are going to keep working hard to recover each of them,” the president said during his public remarks.

“I’ve come here to grieve with you,” said Biden, who lost his first wife and daughter in a car accident and later one of his sons to cancer, adding he knows what it is like to get a call in the middle of the night.  

The White House also announced Friday it is asking Congress to authorize the federal government to cover 100% of the collapsed bridge cleanup and reconstruction costs, rather than seeking funding through a separate, emergency supplemental funding request.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young noted similar techniques were used for recovery and rebuilding efforts that received bipartisan congressional support in 2007, when a highway bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.

Just hours after the bridge’s catastrophic collapse, Biden, speaking at the White House, pledged the federal government would cover the cost. He reiterated that commitment on Friday but also said his administration is “committed — absolutely committed — to ensuring that the parties responsible for this tragedy pay to repair the damage and be held accountable to the fullest extent the law will allow.”

The president also declared that the bridge would be rebuilt with “union labor and American steel.”

The Federal Highway Administration has provided $60 million in “quick release” emergency relief funds to get started. Exactly how much the collapse will cost is unclear, though some experts estimate recovery will take at least $400 million and 18 months.

Some hard-line congressional Republicans are already lining up to demand politically controversial offsets for the funding. The conservative House Freedom Caucus issued a Friday statement saying, “If it proves necessary to appropriate taxpayer money to get one of America’s busiest ports back online, Congress should ensure it is fully offset and that burdensome regulations” are waved. The caucus was referring to potential federal spending cuts elsewhere, as well as to regulations like the Endangered Species Act.

The Associated Press contributed to this report