PALM BEACH, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott discussed hurricane recovery efforts Sunday with President Donald Trump over lunch at the president's Mar-A-Lago resort in South Florida, the White House said.
According to the White House, Trump and Scott discussed Florida's efforts to rebound from Hurricane Irma, which struck the state in September. Scott focused on repairs to the Lake Okeechobee's Herbert Hoover Dike and how to help the state's ailing citrus industry.
Originally constructed in the 1920s, the aging dike held when Hurricane Irma made landfall. The dike was already undergoing repairs when the storm hit. To prevent flooding, officials discharged excess water from the lake into the St. Lucie River, but the discharges have negatively affected the river's water quality.
Scott has already proposed $50 million in the coming state budget to speed up repairs to the dike.
Irma also caused major damage to Florida's citrus industry, flooding orange groves and destroying trees. The state estimated the storm destroyed 70 percent of Florida's orange crop and caused $760 million in damage to farms.
Also on the agenda was a plan for Congress to fund improvements to the country's aging infrastructure.
Trump has spent the past two weeks at the Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, celebrating the Christmas and New Year's holidays. The club, a frequent site of presidential business, is affectionately known as the "Winter White House."