President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the federal government had to delay distribution of emergency relief supplies, including power generators, after Hurricane Beryl hit Texas because the White House could not reach state leaders to get the major disaster declaration request needed to release them.

Biden’s comments come as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is serving as acting governor while Greg Abbott is on an economic development trip in Asia. The president said in an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle that he had been trying to “track down” the governor to get the necessary requests to release the federal aid, which includes manpower and supplies.

A White House spokesperson said officials tried to reach Abbott and Patrick multiple times. Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I've been trying to track down the governor to see — I don't have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden said. The president said he called “immediately” to get a disaster declaration request from the state, but did not connect with Patrick until Tuesday afternoon, when he ultimately issued the declaration. He did not provide more details on his attempts to connect with Abbott or Patrick. .....

The governor has been out of the country since Saturday. He was in South Korea on Tuesday, where he met with Samsung executives and toured a semiconductor facility. It is part of a week-long economic development trip, planned well before the storm, that also includes stops in Taiwan and Japan.