Inside the White House Push to Reopen Baltimore’s Harbor (2)

Around 4 a.m. on March 26, the White House Situation Room notified Chief of Staff Jeff Zients that the unthinkable had happened: a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, crashing a central highway artery into the bay and cutting off the Port of Baltimore, one of the largest shipping operations in the US.

That call touched off a frenzied effort to respond even before many Americans had woken to the news, with President Joe Biden mobilizing officials within hours. Early that afternoon, Biden would deliver remarks from the White House, urging authorities to “move heaven and Earth” to ...