Karine Jean-Pierre White House Press Briefing 3/05/24

Good afternoon, everybody.

Good afternoon.

I want to begin by sharing some news on how President Biden is fighting for working families and lowering costs by taking on corporate rip-offs. Ahead of his State of the Union Address, the President is convening his Competition Council this afternoon to announce new actions to crack down on hidden junk fees and promote competition. President Biden is establishing a new strike force, co-chaired by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, to crack down on illegal pricing. (00:40) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is slashing credit card late fees from an average of $32 down to $8. This will save consumers $10 billion a year, an average savings of $220 for the 45 million people who are charged late fees each year. (00:58) The Department of Agriculture is finalizing a rule to protect small farmers and ranchers. The Federal Communications Commission is circulating a proposed rule that would ban bulk billing, helping lower internet costs and increase choices. Our administration's actions to ban hidden junk fees will save Americans more than $20 billion a year. The President will make clear in his State of the Union that he will continue fighting to lower costs for families. (01:27) I have some news we'd like to share with you all. On March 15th, President Joe Biden will host Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland for a bilateral meeting, followed by a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House on March 17th, continuing a longstanding St. Patrick's Day tradition. (01:47) The leaders will reaffirm the close and enduring partnership between the United States and Ireland and the extraordinary bonds between our people. They will discuss our countries' shared commitment to continue supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia's brutal aggression, as well as our cooperation on a range of other global issues. They will reaffirm their steadfast support for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement as we welcome the recent restoration of Northern Ireland's Executive and Assembly. (02:19) Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will also host the Taoiseach and Mr. Matthew Barrett for a breakfast at the Naval Observatory on March 15th. And as you can see when I walked out, three of our amazing wranglers came out with me. And so, before we get started with the briefing, I have a couple things that I want to say. (02:42) So, they're moving up in the world. They're going to stay in the family but still moving up, and it's so well deserved of all three, into new roles, obviously. (02:51) Allyson Bayless has been by my side since day one and a rockstar wrangler, I'm going to get emotional, for the last two years, is moving over to the campaign. There is no one who worked harder or more hours on our team than Allyson, as you can all attest by the hours of the day that she responds to your emails. She accomplishes everything with diligence and composure. And she always has a bright, bright sunshine spirit, even I mean, when in my dark spaces, as we tend to joke around. And she has an incredible sense of humor and a wit that is unmatched. (03:34) Silas Woods has the biggest heart of everyone that I know. And sometimes I worry about him because he has such a big heart. And every single day, I see him go above and beyond to coordinate movements, get you all what you need and make accommodations for everyone as he can. And some of you don't know he's often the reason you're able to get that shot, right? Silas is really good at getting that shot, get in the room, or hear what the President has to say, obviously. (04:07) There isn't a single person here who doesn't have a kind word to say about Silas, and there's no better teammate, which is why the Second Gentleman is stealing him from us. He came from OVP, so now he's going back, essentially, to that world. The Press team won't be the same without Silas, but we're glad we'll still get to work with him every day. I'm going to miss you very much, Silas. Literally, the biggest heart of anyone that I know. (04:35) And finally, Davis. Davis Conger came to us from the State Department, having traveled the world with Secretary Blinken. He's brought skill and professionalism to our team, and and he is someone you always know you can rely on. Every day, he has brought competence, kindness, and coolness under pressure to his job. He's always so even-keeled and cool, which is why Annie Tomasini has hired him as an advisor in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff. (05:06) Three incredible new roles for three incredible young people. We are extraordinarily proud of all of you. The work you've done and the work you will now continue to do at a higher level, obviously, on behalf of this President. And so I'm super, super proud of you. You guys are like my kids who are flying off. So I'm glad you will still be part of the broader team, obviously, and I'm really, really sad to see all of you go, but I am so personally, personally proud of all of you. (05:37) And now they're going to get up and they're going to walk out because there's so much work to do, as you know, as wranglers. But thank you, guys. Love you all.

Thank you, Karine.

Thank you, Karine.

Thank you, Karine.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (05:53) All right. With that, Admiral John Kirby is here to give an update on the Middle East. And Admiral, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Karine. (06:00) Good afternoon, everyone.

Good afternoon.

This morning, I think you all are tracking, the Department of Defense conducted another airdrop of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Three US C-130s dropped 60 bundles with a total of more than 36,000 Meals, Ready-to-Eat. We were joined in this endeavor by several Jordanian aircraft as well. (06:24) As President Biden has said, this will be a part of a sustained effort with our international partners to scale up the amount of lifesaving aid that we're getting into Gaza. And as I said last week, we're exploring other channels to get aid into Gaza, including a maritime route. To that end, we are looking at both military and commercial options to move assistance by sea. There's still an awful lot of work that's being done on this to flesh it out. (06:47) Of course, we're also going to continue to urge Israel to facilitate more trucks and more routes, opening up more crossings so that more aid can get in to people in need and increase that flow. (06:56) And with that, I'll take some questions.

Go ahead, Zeke.

Thanks, John. That number on the 36,000 meals. Was that just the US contribution to that? Or was that also the Jordanian contribution to that airdrop?

That was just the US. The Jordanians flew, I believe it was four aircraft. And I can get you the exact number of how much they dropped, but it was food that they dropped too.

And then in terms of the scale of that, I mean, that's a drop in the bucket of what the need is in-

Oh, certainly.

... Gaza right now. And you talked about the maritime corridor planning as well. I mean, this war has been going on for five months now.

Yeah.

Why isn't the US and its allies further along in the planning stages for a maritime corridor or other operations like an air drop with more equipment, more resources, more personnel on standby? From the moment the President gave the go-ahead, shouldn't there have been more contingency planning to get more aid in much faster?

We've been working on the humanitarian assistance since the beginning, as you said, many months ago. And quite frankly, the best and most efficient way to get aid in to people in a confined space like that in a very urban environment is on the ground. (08:05) I mean, yes, you can move more volume in ships, whether they're military or commercial ships, but eventually that stuff has to get ashore, then it has to get loaded onto vehicles and then trucked in. So the trucks are the best way to do that. And that's why we've been working so hard to try to increase the flow. And during the week-long pause that we had before, we were able to get it up to 200 trucks a day. (08:26) It was through President Biden's urging that we got the Rafah Crossing open to aid. It was at his urging that we got Kerem Shalom open, but the flow just hasn't been enough to meet the need. And as the war has progressed, the need has gotten obviously much more dire. (08:42) So even though we're just now talking about airdrops, it's not like the idea of airdrops just happened, just dropped out of the sky. It's been something we've been talking about for quite some time. And the maritime route as well. (08:52) The maritime route, yes, it can move more volume at sea, but it also is going to require a heavier logistics lift and some infrastructure ashore and very much going to need the support of allies and partners. And so those discussions are ongoing.

And then does the President have any plans to meet with Benny Gantz before he leaves Washington this evening?

No.

Go ahead, Ed.

Thank you for answering that one.

So we can go and move on from Ed now.

Nope. A few others here. The President this morning signaled that he's concerned about violence in Jerusalem and in the region in the coming days. Is there something specific he's been told to anticipate?

I won't speak to specific intelligence one way or the other, Ed. I mean, obviously, this is something we're always mindful of, particularly given what's going on between Israel and Hamas. But I don't think I'm going to elaborate on that.

Just to backtrack on something from last week. I don't think you've been asked about this, at least on camera. But when he was in New York and suggested he had reason to believe there would be a ceasefire by Monday, and that hasn't happened, why did he think that at the time?

He was referring to updates and briefings that he'd been getting from the national security team about the progress of negotiations. Obviously, we all wish that that had happened. We wish that it would happen today, but we're still negotiating. We're still trying to get there.

And on Haiti. Is the US continuing to monitor that situation? And does it have any sense of the whereabouts of the Prime Minister?

Yes. As far as I understand, no. I will let the Prime Minister speak to his travel, but I'm not aware that we have any keen sense of what his whereabouts are.

Go ahead, Mike.

Thanks. Just following up on Haiti. You've called on Americans to evacuate. How should they do that when the airport is under attack?

Again, I'd refer you to the State Department. They're the ones that issued that advisory. Not a safe time for Americans to be in Haiti right now. There are other ways to leave. Again, I'll let the State Department do that. They're in touch with or are making themselves available to Americans who are there and want to get that information.

You said yesterday that you're working to expedite this multinational force led by Kenya to deploy to Haiti as soon as possible. They've said that they're ready to deploy within 72 hours. The holdup is in part, US funding, that was pledged by the administration that's being held up, as we understand it, by Republicans in Congress. (11:32) How urgent are those conversations? And how are you going to expedite it if you've got this key holdup?

Yeah, I'm not sure that that simplistic explanation is exactly accurate, that that is the only thing holding this up. But let's put that aside. (11:49) You're right, we're going to need some support and we are working actively with members of Congress. I mean, I think we can all recognize that this is in our interest as well as the region's interest and certainly the interests of the Haitian people to get a more stable, calm, secure environment there.

So just one last follow-up. If that's a simplistic explanation, then what is the holdup?

Again, Kenya has already agreed to do this. That's a big first step. And we're working with Kenya, we're working with other partners to see if we can get this multinational security mission up and running as soon as possible. I just don't have any more updates for you other than that.

Go ahead, Selina.

Thanks, Admiral. Thanks, Karine. You had said yesterday that part of the reason why it's so hard to get aid into Gaza is, in some cases, because of the Israeli War Cabinet. Is that acceptable?

There's nothing acceptable about the dire situation on the ground in Gaza in terms of the lack of food; lack of water; lack of medicine; in some cases, a lack of fuel. That shouldn't be acceptable to anybody. So short answer to your question is: No, it's not acceptable. And that's why we continue to work with our Israeli counterparts. (12:59) As I said

Said in my opening statement, and you've heard the President say as well and the Vice President, that it's time for Israel to open up more crossings and allow more aid in.

On the Vice President, there were reports that the National Security Council had asked her to "Tone down her speech on Sunday." What can you say about that?

I would point you to what the Vice President's spokesperson already said about that story and calling it inaccurate.

Does the administration still believe it's more effective to withhold public criticism of Netanyahu in order to have more sway in private and is that private sway waning?

I don't think I'm going to accept the premise of that question. We have been nothing but candid and forthright in private with our Israeli counterparts and certainly in public in the comments that we have made. You've heard again from the President and the Vice President in just recent days expressing very clearly what our concerns are with the humanitarian situation in there and how it is unacceptable and how we need the Israelis to step up and do more.

Just lastly, Hamas said today they won't accept a deal that does not include a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Is that realistic? If not, where do negotiations go from here?

I ain't going to negotiate in public. We've been working this real hard, as you heard from President Biden just today, that we're still hopeful we can get there, but nothing is done until everything is done. Not everything is done in terms of this negotiation. What we are looking for and what we want, temporary ceasefire for about six weeks, that'll allow us to get more aid in and more importantly, get all those hostages back with their families where they belong and reduce the violence. That's the deal on the table, and as the President also said today, it's a rational deal and the Israelis have been cooperating. They have been negotiating in good faith on this. It's time for Hamas to step up to the plate, take a swing, and let's get this thing done.

The Hamas is saying that they have now extended a deal that Israel has not responded to. Israel is saying that Hamas has to accept the deal that you've been referencing with regard to hostages. Can you sort out what's true in both of those things? Can you also comment on has it been more difficult to have these talks in Cairo without an Israeli representative at the table?

I already did it, Jeff, but maybe I'll take it a different way. There has been, throughout the process of these many weeks, back and forth between the sides proposals, counter proposals and haggling over the details and all the modalities of how this is going to work, in terms of the phasing of the hostages, and how many, and the release of Palestinian prisoners, and how many and how that's all going to take place. There is now a framework. There is a deal, as the President said today, that has been the result of all this back and forth. The back and forth has happened. There's a deal now, and the onus is on Hamas to accept it. You had a second question?

Israel hasn't been at the table.

In Cairo. Again, I won't speak to Israel and the President, of their negotiators, only they get to speak to that, but as I said earlier, the Israelis have negotiated in good faith. They have agreed to this framework that they have taken it right up to the end and now it's up to Hamas.

Given that Hamas has now responded to the deal and that they have not agreed to it as written, is it still practically possible to come up with an agreement by the start of Ramadan?

Look, the negotiators are working hard on this, Kevin. That's what we hope will happen, but we'll have to see.

There is still a belief that that is a possibility?

I didn't say a belief. I said we hope that we can get this done as soon as possible. We would've liked to have this done two, three weeks ago, if not before then we are where we are and we're working on this really, really hard.

Given what the President said about the potential dangerous situation should an agreement not be reached, what conversations is the White House having with Israel about, for example, this situation around the Al-Aqsa Mosque? What are the conversations in advance to try and curb some of the violence that the President-

I don't think the Israelis need to be reminded by the United States that they live in a tough neighborhood. I don't think they need to be reminded about the prospect of violence, particularly in a sensitive time like Ramadan. They don't need us to remind them of that. They're well aware of it. Again, we're going to continue to work with them as we have to help make sure that they can defend themselves against Hamas, make sure that the Israeli citizens are safe and secure as much as possible, and that we can try to get this hostage deal in place.

Yeah, thank you.

Go ahead, Joe.

Hey, thanks Corrine. John, why isn't President Biden meeting with Benny Gantz while he's in Washington?

Mr. Gantz asked to come to Washington and asked for a series of meetings with administration officials and he's getting those. He met with Jake Sullivan yesterday. He met with the Vice President yesterday. Today he's met with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State. All of these conversations have been constructive and productive and we hope that Mr. Gantz goes home informed by the conversations that we had and the concerns that we expressed.

Tell me, was it a scheduling issue with the President being in Camp David, or was it...

Mr. Gantz had a chance to meet with senior levels all the way up to the Vice President of the United States, and again, we think these conversations were constructive and productive and hope that he goes home informed by them.

Go ahead, Andrew.

Thanks, John. The President and the Vice President, and you for that matter, have both said that the situation with getting aid into Gaza is too difficult. The Vice President said that Israel needs to allow more aid in, no excuses. What is preventing the President from communicating to the Israeli government that if they don't allow aid, we will not continue supplying weapons. Why is that not a fair trade, no aid, no bombs?

Because the President still believes that it's important for Israel to have what it needs to defend itself against a still viable Hamas threat. Maybe some people have forgotten what happened on the 7th of October, but President Biden has not.

John, how does keeping aid out of Gaza contribute to Israel's right to defend itself?

Keeping aid out of Gaza is not the right thing for any purpose. It's not about... It's just not acceptable on the face of it, as I told Selena, and that's why we're working more than any other country, by the way, to increase the flow. It is US aircraft that are dropping this food out of the sky in the last couple of days.

Yes, but you keep saying, and you said yesterday the holdup, that the problem is the lack of capacity being delivered on the ground, and that's the Israelis and to some extent the Egyptians, but mostly the Israelis. How is that... You said it's not acceptable earlier.

You're looking at this as a zero-sum game.

No, I'm not.

Yes, you are, sir. It's "Well, if they're not doing what you want, then cut off the aid so they can't defend themselves." That's not the way we're going to do this. It's not the way we have done this. They have a right to defend themselves. They need the... Wait, let me finish. They need the capabilities to do that. There's aid that's desperately in need. You know what? We can do that too. We can do both. Both are important and both are going to be pursued by this administration. I know you don't approve of necessarily the policy choices that we've made, but-

I have no opinions on the policies. I'm just asking questions.

I'm answering them. We can do both. We can influence our Israeli counterparts to do more, to be more careful, to let more aid in, and we can continue to work to get that aid in ourselves.

One more follow up, then. Israel, according to Israeli media, the Israeli defense forces and industrial base are ramping up or preparing to ramp up domestic production of weapons that are currently US supplied, including dump bombs, firearms, that sort of thing, to be commenced next year, 2025. Is the President concerned that this would lower us leverage, and is there a window that's closing during which the US has the leverage and influence to get the Israeli government to do certain things with respect to human rights, for instance, allowing more and to Gaza,

The President's concerned, as I said about Israel being able to defend itself against a still viable threat. We'll let the Israeli speak to their defense industrial base plans and intentions. They're a sovereign country. They get to make those decisions and we respect that. They're also a key ally and a partner, and we respect that alliance and that partnership as well. The other thing that's keeping the President up at night is the humanitarian assistance and the humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza, and that's why he has ordered these airdrops. That's why we continue to urge, very, very stridently, the Israelis to open up more crossings on the ground, to supplement the aid that's already getting in, and to try to improve what's not getting in. That's why, as I said in my opening statement, the President also has the team looking at maritime options.

Thank you so much. I want to ask you about some remarks the French President Emmanuel Macron made today. He urged Ukraine's allies not to be cowards, and he also added that he-

Not to be what?

Cowards.

Cowards.

Cowards. Sorry, my accent. He added that he fully stood behind those controversial remarks he made last week about sending troops to Ukraine. What do you make of this rhetoric? Do you think the time has come for stronger language on Ukraine or is this not helpful?

I'm not going to parse President Macron's words. He certainly has every right and ability to speak for himself and his views. All I can do is speak for President Biden, the commander in chief and the President has been clear. We have been extraordinarily strong in leading international efforts to support Ukraine for the last few years. We need Congress to help right now and pass that supplemental so we can continue that strong leadership and support a coalition of more than 50 nations that the United States put together to support Ukraine. He's also been very clear since the very beginning of this war, there's not going to be US troops on the ground fighting inside Ukraine. You know what? President Zelenskyy isn't asking for that. He's just asking for the tools and capabilities. He's never asked for foreign troops to fight for his country. He and his troops want to do that, but they need the tools and that's what we need to help with.

We're bumping up against the [inaudible 00:23:46].

Sorry.

Thank you, Corinne. I have questions on the Indonesian election, but just to finish up on Gaza. Is the Gantz meeting with the VP and also with Jake a signal that the administration is looking forward to a future Israeli government without Netanyahu?

No.

Maybe this one is for Corrine. Will the President use any part of his State of the Union address to acknowledge the anger of American Arabs and Muslims and progressive Democrats and explain to them why he's not imposing conditionalities on Israel?

I'm going to go around and I'll get to that question. Let me just get to a couple more people.

Okay, great. Just on the Indonesian election, China, the United Kingdom, Australia and several other countries have congratulated Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto on his apparent victory. Is there a reason why the administration is waiting?

We congratulate the Indonesian people on a successful election. President looks forward to early engagement with the new administration and to strengthening our cooperation under what is already a strategic partnership. We're obviously closely following the ongoing vote count, and we understand that Minister Subianto has a significant lead. We've had excellent cooperation with him since the time he was defense minister, and if he is in fact finally elected, then we look forward to continuing that relationship.

To clarify, the President-elect does have a long track record of allegations of human rights violations. He was at one point the son-in-law of former President Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for 32 years. His Vice President elect is the son of the outgoing President, Joko Widodo. Is the administration concerned at all about democratic backsliding in Indonesia?

We never back away from our concerns about the need for human rights, civil rights, and all the values of democratic institutions. The President absolutely will not shy away about expressing our concerns.

All right, Gabe.

Admiral, to ask that question more directly or one of the other questions that was just asked. In Israel, the Vice President's meeting with Gantz was seen as a snub to the Netanyahu government. Was it?

The meeting with Minister Gantz, again was at his request. He's a member of the war cabinet. There's a war going on and we believed it was a good opportunity to have a discussion

... with the War Cabinet about the way in which we're supporting Israel and the things that we want to see Israel do.

The President was asked this morning how his relationship was with Netanyahu these days and responded, "Like it's always been," and then he smiled.

Yep. I don't know if I can improve upon that.

What would you add to that?

I wouldn't.

Yeah. All right. Let's-

One question-

I still like my job.

We've got to-

One question on Haiti. The administration has provided more than $126 million in humanitarian aid to Haiti in 2023. Where has that money gone? Has it been effective?

I can get you, Gabe, we can get you a rundown of exactly how those funds were allocated, but we're proud of the humanitarian assistance that we have and will continue to provide Haiti. But right now, man, right now the focus has got to be on getting that multinational security element in there to help create the conditions where the people of Haiti can live free and in security, so that humanitarian assistance can get there more freely and get to the people that need it.

Last question to the-

Thanks, Karine.

Go ahead.

Thanks, Admiral. Following up on Aurelia's question, there's been some pushback on Macron's comments from the Germans and also from the Swedes as well. Is the U.S. worried that Ukraine's allies are starting to splinter?

No. There has been tremendous international support and unity for Ukraine. As you know, we met with the prime minister of Italy just last week. They've been strong. There's incredible unity. Everybody shares the same concerns that we do about just letting Putin take Ukraine and what that means for their safety and security and for the security of the NATO Alliance. No, no, we're not concerned about that.

And are you worried about the stalling of this U.S. aid, that it's putting more pressure on European allies and causing fractures at all in that sense?

We're worried that the delay on the national security supplemental and the assistance coming from the United States is going to have a detriment, actually already is having a detrimental effect for Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield. That's the main concern. And the time is way past now to get them the tools that they need to defend themselves. Their defensive lines are starting to shift now, going in the wrong direction, because the Russians continue to push west out of the Donbas.

Thanks, Admiral.

Thanks. Thanks, Admiral. All right. As you know, the President's events is going to start shortly. Zeke, you have anything?

Yeah. Can you give us a broad rundown of how the President spent the last few days at Camp David preparing for the State of the Union? Who was with him? Does he have the final speech text at this point?

So as you know, the President has been working on, as you just stated in your question to me, the State of the Union address for the past several days. I'm not going to get into any specifics as to who's with him. It's going to be a moment that's incredibly important to him, obviously. He's going to be not just addressing Congress, but also millions of Americans who are going to be tuning in and he's looking forward to that, to talking about the accomplishments that he's made the last three years, and also the vision, the vision that he has for this country, obviously for the American people. I'm just not going to get into any specifics or details. We'll have certainly more to share with you all tomorrow as we get closer. (29:01) The State of the Union address is incredibly important. He's going to be working on it, I believe, until the very last minute, so he gets it just right, because it's going to be an important moment. But don't have anything beyond that. You heard me talk about the Competition Council, how that is part of the President talking about wanting to focusing on lowering costs for the American people. Obviously he's going to talk about our democracy, our freedoms, fighting, continue to fight for that, reproductive freedom, how that is an issue that the American people truly care about. You're going to hear him talk about that. And so there's a lot of issues in front, obviously in front of the American people that they care and they want to hear directly from the President about. And so that's what he's going to focus on. We'll certainly have more to share as we get closer to Thursday.

And then on a different topic, a bit of a kerfuffle this morning across Lafayette Park at the Department of Veteran Affairs, running an effort to ban the display of that iconic Times Square kiss photo on V-J Day at the end of World War Two. Was anyone at the White House consulted in the drafting of the initial memorandum? And then did anyone at the White House call up the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and say, "Rescind that memo"?

So, I want to be really, really clear. The VA is not going to be banning this photo from VA facilities. So I just want to be super, super clear about that. I know, as you just said, you described it as a kerfuffle. There was obviously some reporting on that. I can definitely say that the memo was not sanctioned and so it's not something that we were even aware of until you all started reporting on it. But we are not banning that photo and I'm just going to be super clear about that. Any specifics about the memo and the process over there, certainly I would refer you to the VA.

But once you were made aware of it and after the memo spread on social media, did the White House direct the Veterans Affairs Secretary to rescind it?

I believe the VA Secretary made a statement on this, so I refer you to the statement.

But did he say it on his own volition?

Yes, he did that on his own volition, but I would refer you to his statement and just I'm really reiterating what the VA said. The VA Secretary said that it will not be, that particular photo, will not be banned from any facility, VA facility. So I want to be very, very clear about that. Okay, go ahead.

Thank you, Karine. President Biden has said a possible endorsement by Taylor Swift is classified. How disappointed is he that she's telling people to vote, but not for him?

Going to be very careful. We're talking about 2024 and so I can't comment on what Taylor Swift is saying or not saying. I have no idea. I've not seen those statements and I'll just leave it there-

Okay.

... and be mindful.

Different topic. How is President Biden going to fix the border if he can go years without talking to the head of Border Patrol?

He was literally just with the chief of the Border Patrol just this past Thursday in Brownsville, Texas. You all reported it. You all saw it. He was with the Chief, Chief Owens, I believe.

The chief who was in charge for two years before that said, "I've never had one conversation with the President or the Vice President." How is that possible?

So, one thing I will say about Chief... You're talking about Chief Ortiz?

This is Chief Ortiz. Yeah.

So he was invited, I believe, to participate in the President's first trip, visit to El Paso, which was back in January of 2023. And he did not attend. He was invited. He was invited. He did not attend. What I can say is that you saw the President with the present chief, which I think is important, because we are dealing with challenges at the border, because the President has made that a priority, worked with the Senate in a bipartisan way to come up with a way to move forward on the border, on immigration. Republicans rejected it, because of what the former President, Donald Trump, told them to do, told them to reject that proposal. So the President is going to continue to be steadfast, focus on an issue that majority of the American people care about, which is the border. Let's not forget if that policy had went into law, it would've been the toughest and the fairest bipartisan border security agreement in decades, in decades.

And last one.

Yeah.

Will President Biden publicly address Laken Riley's murder allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant who was released by law enforcement multiple times on Thursday night? I know he's got a statement, but what about at the State of the Union?

Look, I do want... This is such a tragic story and obviously situation. This is someone's life that was lost, so I do want to always acknowledge and extend our deepest condolences to her family and to her friends and the people who loved her. And so, want to always be sure to say that, because it's so tragic. Look, I don't have anything to share about the President's speech as it relates to that particular question that you have, but we want to always be sure that we lift up the families who have lost their loved ones in that way. (34:07) And I would reiterate, you just asked me about the Border Patrol chief. The President was just there with the current Chief, Owens. The President went to the border, obviously Brownsville, Texas, to lift up the importance of doing something, of doing something at the border. And I would be remiss if I did not continue to say that Republicans rejected a bipartisan proposal that came out of the Senate. And so if they truly, truly cared about what was going on at the border, if they truly cared about this immigration policies and trying to fix that, trying to move forward in a way where we have a tough and fair law, they would work with us on it. They wouldn't listen to the former President who is clearly telling them to reject, telling Republicans to reject it for his own political game. And that's shameful. That's truly shameful. Go ahead, Selina.

Thanks, Karine. Will the President be watching the election results come in tonight?

So as you know, the President's going to be talking about the Competition Council today. He is continuing to work obviously on his State of the Union address, because it's important to him. He knows how important it is for the American people to hear directly from him. I don't have anything to share. I've not spoken to him about his plans tonight. Obviously he will be kept updated and he'll be aware of what's going on tonight as we see elections happening across the country. I just don't have anything specific on that.

And the Consumer Bankers Association has been very critical of the Biden administration's rule to cut the credit card late fees. They called it "anything but" a win for consumers and "knowingly putting consumers' financial health at risk." What's the administration's response to that criticism?

So, we totally disagree, obviously. The President has always been very, very clear. He's going to do everything that he can to make sure that we lower cost for the American people. And what we are seeing is that we're seeing corporations obviously not passing along their gains to Americans, to American consumers. And we've always been very clear about that. And so we want to make sure that we protect, we protect Americans. We want to make sure that we, obviously, protect American consumers. So we disagree with that sentiment. We disagree with that statement. And the President's always going to put the American people first. Go ahead, Jeff.

Karine, does the White House have a position or a comment on the latest bill in Congress to crack down on TikTok, just introduce today I believe?

So, I have not seen the text or had an opportunity to speak to our Office of Leg Affairs or anyone else in the White House Office, so I don't want to get ahead of myself and speak to that. Obviously we'll take a look, as we normally do on any legislation that believe will be beneficial to the American people. I just can't speak to that at this time. Go ahead, Kevin.

Robert Hur is supposed to testify a week from today. Has the White House made a decision on releasing the transcripts of the President's interview with him?

I would refer to my colleagues at the White House Counsel's Office.

Okay. And the Dartmouth basketball team has become the first college sports team to vote to form a union. Does the White House think that that's a good idea? Is that a smart move for college athletes?

So look, I'm going to obviously let teams make their decisions for themselves. We're not going to weigh in on that. As you know, the President's a union guy. We say that all the time, but I'm not going to comment on any particular team or actions that they're taking. That's for them to decide.

To the back-

Go ahead.

Karine, Senator Sinema just announced that she's not running for reelection, she's going to retire at the end of this term. I'm wondering if the White House has any comment on?

So, I have not seen that. Obviously that is news to me. Look, we have had opportunities to work closely with the senator on some really key important bills. She was one of the leading negotiators on the border security bill that came out of the Senate in a bipartisan way. We appreciated her efforts on that and there are some other, obviously, ways that we've worked closely with her. Outside of that, I don't want to get too far ahead. This is the first time I'm hearing the news, but she's been a partner with us on many critical issues that matter to the American people and I think that's important.

Is there anything you can tell us about the President's travel after the State of the Union this weekend and into next week?

Excuse me.

I think the... Bless you. I believe the campaign has made some announcements on some travel that the President will be doing after the State of the Union, so I would refer you to them. It is common that after a State of the Union, the President goes around the country to speak directly to the American people. You're going to see the President do the same, but I would refer you to the campaign on specific stops that he has coming up. Go ahead.

Karine, I just wanted to ask about the Meta, breakdown this morning, hundreds of thousands of users. Do you have any more information on that and whether it's connected to a cyber attack?

So,

Obviously we all are aware of what happened the last couple of hours, the incident. And so don't have anything at this time. We are not aware of any specific malicious cyber activity, so I can say that, or any specific nexus as it relates to today's election. But we would have to refer you to the individual social platforms obviously for any more information on that.

A quick separate one on the minibus spending agreement in Congress right now, would divert about $45 million in fees from the Justice Department's antitrust division. So I'm just wondering, given the administration's take on antitrust, is this a concern that that money would be going away?

So look, as it relates more broadly... Well, I'll say this. The president obviously strongly supports funding for antitrust enforcement, which is critical to promoting competition and lowering costs for consumers. This is a bit more complicated, so I just want to break this down a little bit. The antitrust funding proposed in the funding bill is a 4% increase over the last year and a 26% increase since 2021. Because of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, every agency is subject to budget caps, so preventing us from fully funding programs the way we want to. (40:20) These full-year bills represent a compromise, obviously. This is what has come together with these six different bills. So no one got everything they wanted obviously, that's what a compromise is. But they fund the government, prevent a damaging shutdown, and protect our progress, and that's what happens when you come forward with a compromise, a bipartisan compromise. Okay.

Is the president aware or have any concern about the number of Super Tuesday states that have campaigns on uncommitted votes, ceasefire write-ins, essentially a vote against the president because of his stance on the the war in Gaza?

So look, I'm going to be super mindful. These are obviously people are voting right now and I cannot speak to any upcoming election as voting is happening. So I'm going to be super, super careful about that. But what I will say is what I said last time when I was asked about Michigan specifically. The President thinks it's important for people, for Americans, to voice their opinions, to have their voices heard. He thinks that's incredibly important. (41:25) We understand how painful this moment is for many Americans, for many communities, obviously the Arab community, the Muslim community more specifically. And so we get that. (41:40) But I just want to be super careful and not speak to upcoming election, upcoming voting, voting that's happening right now, to be more specific. (41:49) I know you had a similar question.

Is that also the message that the president will be saying during the State of the Union? And then I think you mentioned to my colleague that he will be taking this message around the country after the address. Is Michigan one of those destinations?

So I'm not going to get into the states. I know that the campaign announced a couple of states already that he's going to be going to right after Thursday. So you could expect the president to be visiting multiple states across the country the next obviously a couple of months. Not going to get into that. I would refer you to the campaign, specifically on the most upcoming states, the announcements that they've made. (42:25) And I just kind of laid out what the president has been very clear about, the understanding of how people should have the right to voice their opinion, to voice their concern, to voice their pain. And that's what the president is going to consistently do. He's a president for all Americans, obviously. (42:42) As it relates to the State of the Union, I'm just not going to get ahead of any specifics on what he's going to say as it relates to that question.

Thanks, Karine. So Cookie Monster posted on X that shrinkflation is making his cookies smaller. The White House official Twitter or X, responded that blaming shrinkflation basically on companies. So does the president again believe that shrinkflation and inflation are solely a company problem, or do his policies play any role in that?

So also for my tweet, I believe we said, "C is for consumers getting ripped off." And the president has called on companies to stop/ to stop taking advantage of Americans. He's been very clear about that. He's repeatedly called on large corporations more specifically to pass along their savings onto their customers. We've said that. We've been very consistent about that. And that includes ripoffs such as shrinkflation. We see that. Where the size of a product, for those who don't know, gets smaller, even as the price stays the same or increases. That's what we've been seeing. (43:53) And so it's giving families less bang for their buck. And the president has said, and I'll quote him, the president said, "Americans are tired of being played for suckers." And so the president's going to have the American people's back. That's what he's going to continue to do. He's going to talk about this, not just shrinkflation, but other ways that he sees corporations are ripping off Americans. You're going to hear from him shortly about what he's doing next to deal with junk fees. And I think that's really important. That's what Americans want to see. They want to see their president fighting on their behalf.

And out of that Competition Council, the president today is announcing that strike force. Why did it take the Cookie Monster to speak up or an election year for this strike force to go? Why not do it a couple of years ago when inflation was 9%?

I disagree with the premise of your question there. It did not take the Cookie Monster. If anything, it feels like the cookie monster is responding to us and what we've been saying about shrinkflation, I can't believe I'm having a conversation about the Cookie Monster at the podium.

[inaudible 00:44:57].

That's a good one. I'm glad you're awake. I'm glad you woke up for me. I know you were nodding off in the back earlier.

But why did it take so long to announce a strike force when inflation was 9%?

Well, here's the thing. The president's Competition Council has been going on for some time now. He has taken this very seriously in finding ways to lower costs for the American people as we are obviously dealing with inflation. Obviously dealing with that because of what we are coming out of with the pandemic. So the president has taken actions, he's going to continue to do that. (45:31) I would say the Strike force is just another way along of many other announcements that this president has made in dealing with large corporations ripping off Americans and dealing with how do we get rid of junk fees. And so that's what you're going to hear from the president. (45:47) So to say that now all of a sudden he cares about this is not true. It is a false premise. It's a false question. Because the president has been dealing with this for some time now. And now he's making a new announcement on a strike force, and I think it's important. And so you'll hear more from him momentarily.

If I may, the president I noticed had note cards at the border when he was doing his briefing there. He also had note cards last Friday with the Italian Prime Minister. Why does the president rely so heavily on note cards?

You're upset because the president has note cards? You're asking me a question about the president having note cards?

I'm asking why he relies on them.

The president who has had probably one of the most successful first three years of an administration than any modern day president. He's done more in the first three years than most presidents who had two terms. You're asking me about note cards? I don't think that's-

Answer his question.

Wait. I'm not speaking to you right now, James. I'm talking to your friend over here, Ed. So thank you so much. But thank you so much for interjecting. Go ahead, Ed.

I was just asking why he relies so heavily on note cards.

I think what's important here and what the American people care about is how this president is delivering for them, and that's what he's doing. And that's what's the most important thing here. All right, I'm going to take... Did I call on you already?

You did.

Okay. Wait, no, no, no. I can't do that. Go ahead, Karen. No, no, no. Go ahead, Karen.

Alexei Navalny's widow Julia was invited to the State of the Union by the White House, but she's unable to make it. Did the president extend that invite personally when he met with her last month?

Yes. I can confirm that she was indeed invited to the State of the Union. She's no longer able to attend. I would have to refer you to her and her people as to specifically why. But I can confirm that yes, she was invited

Did the president extend that invitation when they met?

Yes, the president did. Go ahead, John. Go ahead, John. John, go ahead. Go ahead, John.

The president recently said that he'd be open to meeting with the House speaker in regards to that Ukraine funding bill. Is there anything to report? Is the president reaching out to the House speaker in terms of a one-on-one conversation?

Well, the big four just met last week. They talked about the importance of obviously the national security supplemental, which includes the Ukraine funding. They talked about obviously avoiding a shutdown, which we are glad to see that Congress is doing that. And as you know, they had a pull-aside, they a brief meeting afterwards. I'm not going to get into what was discussed. It was a private meeting. But the president has spent some time with the speaker over... I mean, just last week, literally. They were together just last week. I don't have anything else to share. (48:27) All right guys, we're going to wrap it up. Go ahead.

Thanks, Karine. Is the White House concerned about another... Oh, I'm so sorry.

I'm more so teasing. I'm giving it a hard time. Go ahead.

Is the White House concerned about another bank failure after New York Community Bank showed signs of trouble?

So look, obviously I want to be super careful. This is something that is monitored by regulators and this is something that they take very seriously and are always monitoring. I don't want to get ahead of that. And we're always going to keep an eye on that, or they will, more specifically regulators. I just don't have anything else to share beyond that. All right.

In the vein of that question about the speaker, one of mine was he did last week extend a bipartisan olive branch to the former president to work with him on border security. Beyond saying that rhetorically, has there been any other attempt to reach him to talk about possibly working together? Have you heard from the Trump camp about that?

Well, as it relates to the Trump camp or campaign, that's something that I would refer you to the campaign on. (49:30) Look, the president has been very clear, and I think you've seen it in his action, the fact that we worked with Republicans to try and get to a border security proposal. We did that because we believe it needed to be dealt with in a bipartisan way. (49:45) And I would add that when we are able to work in a bipartisan way on behalf of the American people, we get things done. We see that with the CHIPS and Science Act. We saw that with the gun violence legislation, anti-gun violence legislation. You saw that with the infrastructure legislation. Remember last time around, during the last four years of the last administration, it was a punch line. Infrastructure week was a punchline.

Are you saying last week there's been no active attempt to get the former president-

I am saying to you I don't have anything to read out, but I do want to say, when we work in a bipartisan way, we are able to get things done for the American people. We just are. And we see that. We see that with historic pieces of legislation that will change the lives of Americans for generations, which are incredibly important. Issues that majority of Americans care about. I think that's important. (50:38) I don't have anything to read out on any outreach. I would certainly refer you to the campaign on anything specific as it relates to the Donald Trump campaign. (50:45) All right, guys. I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks everybody.