Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan toured parts of Jacksonville marred by Hurricane Irma with other elected officials Wednesday.
Ryan did not meet with the media, however, despite an advisory saying he would do so outside of a hangar at Jacksonville International Airport.
Instead, the speaker, along with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, left in SUVs after socializing with others in the delegation.
The media also was blocked from speaking to lawmakers during the brief interaction as the group was surrounded by law enforcement officials.
Ryan was scheduled to make two other stops across the state during his tour.
U.S. Reps. John Rutherford, Al Lawson, Ted Yoho, Ron DeSantis, Darren Soto, Val Demings and Neal Dunn did address reporters, along with Jacksonville City Council member Lori Boyer after Ryan and Rubio left.
The group toured the Duval Emergency Operations Center Downtown and Memorial Park in the Riverside neighborhood.
Recovery funds from the federal government was discussed by lawmakers during their visit.
Jacksonville still is owed nearly $27 million from FEMA to cover damages from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Mayor Lenny Curry has said previously he believed destruction from Irma would be pricier.
Rutherford said Florida would finally begin to see those reimbursements “in two or three weeks.”
He said lawmakers came to see for themselves why federal dollars are needed after Irma.
“Those funds are there, right now, available,” he said. “We just need to determine what the needs are and make a request.”
Rutherford said it was important that Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, the House Committee on Appropriations chair and Rep. John Carter, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security chair, survey the area along with Ryan and Rubio.
“When those needs are being discussed in Congress, they’ll now have firsthand knowledge,” Rutherford said.
Lawson said the tour demonstrated how Republicans and Democrats can come together to “get things done.”
“The people have suffered a great deal,” Lawson said.
“This is not a partisan issue, when it comes to saving people in America and working together.”
