President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump flew to Houston on Saturday morning for their second trip to Texas since Hurricane Harvey ravaged the state.
The pair left the White House at 9.20m to make their way to Joint Air Base Andrews where they boarded Air Force One shortly afterwards.
Melania, heeding none of the criticism she received earlier in the week for wearing towering stilettos for the journey, stuck with sky scraper heels again.
She paired her snakeskin pumps with a khaki dress and wore her signature pair of sunglasses. An aide toted two Louis Vuitton bags carrying a change of outfit for her.
President Trump was dressed in a more weather appropriate outfit of a rain coat, shirt and dark trousers. He carried an umbrella for the pair as they made their way across the South Lawn to board Marine One.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump depart the White House on Saturday, September 2, to fly to Texas to meet with Hurricane Harvey victims
It is their second visit to Texas where at least 45 are dead and 32,000 are in evacuation shelters as a result of Harvey which has been heralded as the worst natural disaster to have ever hit the US.
Floods have destroyed entire neighborhoods in Houston and Beaumont and Port Arthur in south east Texas.
There are areas of Louisiana which have also been affected. Local authorities are working round-the-clock to rescue anyone still stranded and recover the bodies of those who were unable to escape.
On Saturday, the Trumps will meet with some of those affected at one of the hundreds of relief centers across the state.
They will meet with members of the Texas delegation before making their way to Louisiana at around lunchtime.
There, they will take part in a meet and greet with members of the Cajun Navy, a civilian organization comprised of volunteers with boats who have saved thousands since Harvey hit last week.
The Trumps will fly back to Washington DC afterwards and will arrive back at the White House at 9pm.
On Tuesday, they faced criticism for their upbeat visit to the state where Trump addressed a crowd of supporters in Corpus Christi and met with Governor Greg Abbott but did not visit one of the evacuation shelters in place.
He steered clear of Houston, where the hurricane was ongoing at the time, and instead went to Corpus Christi.
The pair paused briefly outside the White House before making their way on to the South Lawn
The pair emerged from the White House shortly after 9.20am and made their way across the South Lawn, battling heavy rain along the way
Melania, heeding none of the criticism she received earlier in the week, wore a pair of towering snakeskin stilettos
An aide carried Louis Vuitton luggage for the first lady which no doubt contained a change of outfit
The president and first lady approach Marine One on the White House South Lawn on Saturday, September 2
The pair moved quickly from the helicopter on to Air Force One at Joint Air Base Andrews
The president waved at gathered photographers and reporters before boarding Air Force One at around 9.30am
The first lady boarded first, giving what was likely the last glimpse of her glamorous outfit before changing on board
The president was optimistic with his public message as the worst of the storm hit. He marveled at the size of it but assured Texans the ‘good news’ was there was ‘talent’ on the ground who would be equipped to cope with the catastrophe.
Since then, the reality of the hurricane’s devastation has set in. There has been sharp criticism of the federal response to it from experts who were involved in handling the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and some fear not enough will be done to repair the damage caused.
The president has donated $1million of his own money to relief funds and the government is asking for $7.9 billion in emergency aid for those impacted.
Trump asked for the increase on Friday to replenish the dwindling FEMA fund which had an existing $7 billion. The additional $7.9 billion is likely to be swiftly approved by Congress this week.
Republicans are planning to use it as an example of why the federal borrowing limit should be increased. Democrats do not want to see the $19.9 trillion debt limit go up and say that Harvey relief money should be dealt with separately.
More than 430,000 homes have already registered for FEMA aid since Harvey hit.
On Friday, Trump declared a national day of prayer to take place on Sunday in honor of the hurricane’s victims.
Huge swathes of Texas remain underwater after the floods which Harvey brought at the start of the week
A view of a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, on Friday shows the persisting flood waters a week after Harvey first hit