July 31, 2024
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, July 30, 2024
1:54 P.M. EDT
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everybody.
Q Good afternoon.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So many jokes. But —
Q No, it’s just you and Jacqui are matching.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh! Okay, Jacqui.
Q -ish.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Got the memo.
Q Yeah.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I want to say — start by saying that today is the Biden-Harris administration’s 500th briefing. Yay. I know you guys are excited. (Laughter.)
And then, from now until the end of our term, we will do 500 more. I’m just kidding. Can you imagine? (Laughter.) Anyway.
Guys, all kidding aside, so, we’ve shared a lot of moments together and important exchanges. We are proud to be a White House that understands the important [importance] of the role all of you play.
As President Biden has said, a free press is a pillar of our democracy. And so, really happy to do this exercise with you almost every day from — from here, from this podium — behind this lectern.
And, really, the freedom of the press is so incredibly important. And I think what we do almost every day shines a light to the world of how democracy works. And so, thank you — thank you all for — for participating in that. And we appreciate the journalistic work that you all do.
Today, the Senate took a major bipartisan step forward in making our kids safer online as our nation grapples with an unprecedented youth mental health crisis. There is undeniable evidence that social media and other online platforms have contributed to it.
As the president said today in his statement: Our children are subjected to a Wild West online with virtually no limits or regulation, and it’s past time to address that.
It’s exactly why he has made tackling the mental health crisis a key priority of this Unity Agenda for the nation. It’s an issue that cuts across politics and affects red states and blue states. And it’s why the administration has invested historic resources, launched new tools to ensure people can just — can get the help they need, and has consistently called on Congress to work together in a bipartisan way on solutions.
This bill does what the president called for in the — in his first State of the Union Address. It strengthens privacy protections, bans targeted advertising to children, and demands tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.
As the president said, our kids have been waiting too long for the safety and privacy protections they deserve and with — and which this bill provides.
And he is pleased with the overwhelming bipartisan vote in the Senate and encourages the House to send this bill to his desk for his signature without delay.
We continue to pray for the thousands of Americans under mandatory evacuation orders as wildlife continues — wildfires continue to devastate communities across the western United States.
The president has been briefed on the fires, including the Park Fire in California and the fires in Oregon.
As of July 30th, over 7,000 federal personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior are on the ground across California and the Pacific Northwest hel- — helping fight the bl- — the blaze and keep people safe, including more than 620 personnel assigned to both the Park and Borel fires in California.
Numerous firefighting air tankers are flying — are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow, and the Department of Defense has mobilized four of its C-130 Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems to support fire suppression efforts.
DOD has — has also begun training National Guard troops should they be requested by governors to assist with fire suppression, and they are supporting California state National Guard operators’ early and rapid detect- — detection of new fire starts.
Additional — additionally, FEMA has issued several Fire Management Assistance Grants to help reimburse states for firefighting costs.
As always, we stand ready to provide further support as needed.
Today, the 59th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, two programs that have given tens of millions of Americans the security and dignity of affordable health care coverage.
Nearly 140 million Americans benefit from these programs. Yet still, Republicans in Congress have proposed budgets and — and slashes to these critical programs and endorsed extreme policies of Project 2025 that would slash Medicaid funding and cut Medicare benefits like the president’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
The contrast is clear. The Biden-Harris administration is committed to protecting and strengthening these programs, like making sure children and pregnant women covered by Medicaid have coverage for a full year.
And we are committed to making health care more affordable and accessible for all, including the 1 million people newly covered under the ACA’s Medicaid expansion since the president and vice president took over.
Now think about the Inflation Reduction Act and what that does. It allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs; caps out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 per year, saving Medicare ben- — beneficiaries thousands of dollars annually; and provides Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries with free vaccines.
And under President Biden and Vice President Harris, more people have health insurance than ever before.
So, today, we recognize the anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, we affirm our commitment to build on this program, protect access to these programs from Republican elected officials’ extreme attacks.
With that, I appreciate your patience. Colleen, how did you — what time did you get home last night?
Q (Laughs.) A little late. At 1:45.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: 1:45. Okay. All right.
Q It’s been a — it’s been a rough morning.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Let’s do this.
Q Let’s do it.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Matt, too. I see Matt back there.
Q Ken, too.
So, can you give us an update on where Vene- — on where the U.S. stands on the Venezuela elections? In particular, I know the president is speaking with President Lula of Brazil later, but I’m just wondering if there’s any progress on how the U.S. is trying to decide, you know, what to do.
MS.JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. I believe right before I walked out, a statement from the National Security Council spox went out, so I’ll certainly refer you to that.
But just to give you a little bit of what that — what was in that statement. Obviously, the U.S. has been closely monitoring Venezuela’s presidential election that took place on Sunday and the subsequent announcements by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council.
First, let me say that the U.S. applauds the Venezuelan people for their courage and commitment to democracy by participating in this election in the face of repression and adversity.
So, we continue to call on Venezuela’s electoral authorities to release full, transparent, and detailed voting results, including by polling stations as well.
This especially critical — this is especially critical given that there are clear signs that the election results announced by the Venezuela’s National Electoral Council do not reflect the will of the Ve- — the Venezuelan people as it was expressed at the ballot box on July 28th.
We are also reviewing other electoral data shared by civil society organizations and the reports of international election monitors.
The United States stands on the side of the democratic aspirations of the Venezuela people, including supporting their right to express their views freely and without reprisal.
So, that is where we stand. And again, we’re just going to not get ahead of that. But we’ve been very clear — very clear about the election results.
Q And can you help us understand a little bit about what the president was talking about last night? He was asked when he’d go campaign for Vice President Harris, and he said, “Well, I did today.” I was wondering if there was — was yesterday — was there a campaign element to yesterday? Was he sort of talking broadly? I just wonder if you could help us understand that.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as — as you know, the president gave a little — is this when he — when we came back at 1:15 a.m. and —
Q Yeah. Yeah.
JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, 1:15 a.m. on the South Lawn, the president took a couple of your colleagues’ questions. I think he was — I did not ask him about that particular answer. My guess is he was speaking more broadly.
Look, at the end of the day, I’m not going to speak for the campaign. I’m not going to speak to the president’s campaigning schedule. That is something for the campaign to speak to. But they are partners in this administration.
The president, the vice president — as you know, we announced SCOTUS reform in — at LBJ — LBJ Library just yesterday in Austin, and that was an important moment. That was an important moment to talk about where we are today. And the president met the moment talking about how no one is above the law here and how important the rule of law —
I just started this top — the top of the briefing talking about how it’s so important to have the freedom of the press — right? — and how we’ve had our — this is the 500th briefing. It is also important for our democracy.
And so, obviously, the president was — and the vice president were partners in making that announcement in the sense of how they were going to move forward of the three things that he laid out on what reform looks like for this administration.
As it relates to the campaign, don’t have anything specific to share. But this is certainly the Biden-Harris administration. And everything that we have done the past three and a half years, we want to continue to do moving forward and continue to work on behalf of the American people.
Yeah.
Q Thanks, Karine. Last night, the president said he’s been talking to the vice president about her potential running mate. Could you just explain how often they’ve been talking to each other and when is the last time they spoke?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m going to be super careful. Not going to speak to the running mate or anything like that. I’m not going to go beyond what the president shared.
What I can say is the — and I have said this before — the president and the vice president talk regularly. They actually spoke about a day or two ago. They stay in touch.
And — and that’s going to continue as they — as they — not just because, obviously, the — the vice president is running. But that’s going to continue because, as I said, she’s a critical partner in what they do. But they do speak regularly.
Q Is there —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And that I can assure you.
Q Is there any color you could add about the kind of conversations, if there’s, you know, counseling — the president — advice he’s been sharing with his vice president?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’ll say this. The president has been in the public service, as you know, for more than 54 years — as a senator, as vice president. He had the role, as you will know, for eight years as vice president. And now he is president for three and a half years and six more — six more — six more months of his term.
And I think as — you know, as a leader of the Democratic Party as well, I think he always offers up advice, any type of — a little bit of wisdom that he has with experience on these multiple fronts that he’s been able to lead this country.
And so, you know, I think he’s — that is certainly a role that he plays as well with the vice president. I’m not going to speak to the campaign.
But certainly, when the vice president became vice president herself, he offered his advice, his opinion, and also, I — I would say he was a mentor to her. But certainly not going to go beyond — beyond that.
Q And where is the president when it comes to picking a new Secret Service director? Is this a very short list? Is he really broadening this search?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, I think it was asked this question yesterday or very recently. Look, the president understands how important it is to fulfill this role, to — to have someone who is experienced. And so, he’s taking this very seriously, like he does any other appointment that he makes within — within the administration.
Don’t have anything for you on timing, on timeline. I don’t have a personal announcement for you today. But certainly, the president is taking this very seriously. And when we have locked in someone, ready to make that announcement, we will — certainly you all will know about it.
Go ahead.
Q Karine —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You — you, like, ruined the first row, (inaudible). (Laughter.)
Q What did I — oh, I’m sorry. I apologize to you —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s — and it’s always Reuters.
Q — and to everyone for that.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s always —
Q Yes.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s always Reuters. Last time, it was Steve.
Q (Laughs.) I take — take full blame for that. (Laughter.)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But we love you anyway.
Q The Israeli strikes in Lebanon today, do you view them as escalatory? Do you think they’re an appropriate response to what we saw previously?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, obviously, we are aware of the reports out there that the IDF just conducted a strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and I leave it to Israel to speak for their own military operations.
I do not have an immediate comment, as this just happened — literally just happened a few minutes before I walked out. So, I’m going to leave Israel to — to certainly — IDF, as they have been doing, to respond to this. And just don’t have an immediate comment at this time.
Q And then just a follow up on — on Colleen’s question earlier — the Lula call today. Is there —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. Oh, I didn’t — I’m sorry, Colleen, I didn’t touch on that.
Q Is there any expectation that that there’s going to be some prep as far as sanctions are concerned or is — I mean, is there — what is the Venezuela content of that call?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. So, let me just say — and I think we shared this all — with all of you that the president was going to be speaking with the president of Brazil.
And so, they’re going to discuss a number of issues. And like we normally do, we will certainly have a readout for all of you.
So, look, we are — as it relates to Venezuela, we are obviously in the process of evaluating the [what] Maduro and his representatives do next, and we will respond accordingly.
And so, while I have nothing to announce today as it relates to sanctions or moving forward, we will continue to assess our — our calibrated sanctions policy towards Venezuela in light of overall U.S. interests, the actions and nonactions that are taken by Maduro and his representatives, and the overall direction of our broader U- — U.S. bilateral engagement with Venezuela.
And so, again, don’t want to get ahead of where we are at this — at this time.
Go ahead, Danny.
Q Thanks, Karine. Just going back to Israel, if I may. Kirby said yesterday that fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah were exaggerated. Is that still the White House’s assessment after today’s strike?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we do not believe that an all-out war is inevitable. That is not something that we believe. And we believe that it can still be avoided.
You know, this is a president you — you’ve watched him the last three and a half years; he believes in diplomacy, diplomatic solutions — especially, as we’re talking in this moment, along the Blue Line. That — that is true as well.
And so — and that will end these attacks, if we have some diplomatic kind of solution from Hezbollah, once and for all and allow Israel and Lebanese citizens on both sides of the border to return to their homes and live — and live — and live in — in safety. And that’s what we want to see.
So, we — that’s what we believe. There’s a diplomatic solution here. And that’s what we’re trying to get to.
Q And will the White House be reaching out again to Israel in the wake of this strike too?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I don’t have any, again, immediate reactions to this or immediate comments from us on this. We regularly talk to — our counterparts here regularly talk to our Israeli counterparts or government — our counterparts there — our counterparts there. And so, that will continue. That is a regular, daily conversation.
I just want to be really mindful. I just don’t have any immediate comment to today.
Go ahead, Weijia.
Q Thanks, Karine. So, what reason do you and the president have to believe that there is a diplomatic solution here?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Because we have to, you know, continue to be optimistic here. I think it’s important to have a diplomatic solution. We do not want to see an escalation. We do not want to see an all-out war.
Those conversations happening — happened — the diplomatic conversations. Obviously, I’m not going to get into private discussions from here. But it is important — it is important for the people of Israel, it is important for the Lebanese people to live in safety, to get back to their homes. And that’s what we want to see.
Q And then, I’m following up on something else the president said yesterday when he was asked about Supreme Court reform.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yes.
Q What did he mean when he said that Speaker Johnson is “dead on arrival”?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, he actually addressed this right — in his speech, in his remarks. Yesterday, he — he went right to it and talked about how — his idea basically was dead on arrival — the speaker’s idea. He actually talked about it, and he said, what the speaker — he reiterated what the speaker said about the SCOTUS reforms announcement, and then he said that his idea was dead on arrival.
So, I would just refer you to the president himself and how he addressed this directly during his remarks when he was at LBJ Library.
Q So, he misspoke?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t think he misspoke. I think he — he clear — he cleared what he meant specifically so people understood. I would not say he misspoke. I think he —
Q I meant initially when he said, “I think that’s what he is.”
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I — I — look, let’s be very clear. He spoke while he landed, while he was — well, after we landed getting off the Air Force One. And he gets shouted questions, and he responded. He just wanted to be really clear what he meant by “dead on arrival.”
Those — you — you’ve been there. You know how it happens. He goes back and forth. People can’t really hear him. Sometimes he can’t hear you all. And that is something he wanted to make sure he was clear on his statement. But that was always his in- — intent when he answered that question.
Q Thank you, Karine.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Go ahead, Jacqui.
Q Thank you, Karine. Is this Supreme Court proposal just an election year gambit?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I will say this. I think if you read the Washington Post op-ed that the president put out yesterday, if you listen to his speech, he was reacting to what SCOTUS has been doing over the past — not just past couple of weeks but certainly in the last two years, starting from Dobbs and so many other important decisions that come — have come out of — come out of the Supreme Court.
The Dobbs decision certainly was something that we talked about just two years ago. And he had a commission to take a look at the Supreme Court. He certainly appreciated the commission and what they did and the work that they’ve done.
But when you have, you know, a Supreme Court — and the president actually gave — gave examples — right? — of what — the decision of immunity that they made recently, what that means for the president of the United States, you know.
And what we’re seeing right now is not normal. And a majority of Americans agree with us. Right? What we’re seeing at the Supreme Court is not normal.
And the president spoke to that at length. He’s — he went to the LBJ Library because of the historic nature of that — of that library, the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. And there’s — there’s so much here that’s at stake.
And so, that’s why he wanted to do this. This is about the right thing to do. This is about meeting the moment that we’re in. This is not about reacting to what the — the SCOTUS did. He said in his op-ed: American democracy is founded on the rule of law. No one — not the president, not the Supreme Court — are above the law.
And in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, for example, it grants presidents immunity for crimes committed in office and gut fundamental freedoms recognized for more than 50 years. And so, he wanted to take action on that. And, you know —
Q But why would he not, then, read in top Democrats, including the Senate judiciary chair —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, here —
Q — about this effort?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here’s the thing. Majority of Americans want to see this. They want to see some form of reform. And the president is certainly — want to make sure that he is where the majority of Americans —
I will say, and I talked about this a little bit yesterday when we were in a gaggle, a range of conservative legal experts and Republican elected officials have voiced support. For example, term limits, which is part of what the president laid out yesterday.
For — for example, last year, a bipartisan group of legal experts, including retired judges and Charles Fried, Ronald Reagan’s solicitor general, endorsed term limits for the Supreme Court.
Steven Calabresi, the chairman of the Federalist Society, who served in the administrations of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush — he also endorsed term limits.
You had Marco Rubio, a senator, right now — right? — a current senator — endorse this as well, along with other congressional — congressional Republicans.
So, there is bipartisan support for this.
Q But I’m trying to understand how we got to this in the last week, because you brought up the president’s commission.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q His commission also found, on term limits, that a statutory change for term limits, for instance, would be inherently unstable, underscore constitutional doubts; said that the composition would crea- — generate greater uncertainty and distrust.
The president himself, again, on the campaign trail in 2020, said about term limits, “Presidents come and go. Supreme Court justices stay for generations. I’m not trying to change that at all.” That was two different days he spoke to this.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean —
Q So, how — how do we get there —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here — here’s — first of all, you — he appreciates the commission, appreciates the work that they’ve done. Their — their job was to give the president some thoughts and ideas. And, obviously, the president makes the final decision on how he wants to move forward.
We have to look at what the Supreme Courts have done.
Q Two years later, though?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wait, wait — wait, wait.
Q I mean, that was 2021.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You’ve got — you’ve got to let me answer the question. I’m not done. Let me finish the question.
In the past several weeks, the actions that the Supreme Court has taken in undermining democracy and the rule of law, that’s important. The pr- — the president felt he needed to address this.
Remember, we were supposed to go to LBJ Library two weeks ago, and we went — two weeks ago this past Monday, yesterday. And so, the president still wanted to move forward, still wanted to make sure he addressed this important issue.
I mean, just look at what the Supreme Court has done these past few weeks, this past —
Q Is he still endorsing eliminating the filibuster, then?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, we are — he laid out the three ways that he wants to move forward. We’re going to have, hopefully, a healthy debate with Congress on what this going to look — what this is going to look like. This is going to be legislation that we want to move forward with.
And, loo- — and I will say this. You know, one of the reasons the president ran in 2020 was because of what he saw in Charlottesville, was because of the fear of, you know, wanting to make sure that we protect the soul of our nation. That was part of it. And just look at what’s happened, you know, the last — you know, the last several years and the actions that the Supreme Court has taken.
I mean, this is a president that was on the Judiciary Committee for almost the 36 years that he was president, right? If you think —
Q So, “yes” on the filibuster?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I actually answered this. I said we’re going to have a healthy debate with Congress on what this is going to look like. The president laid out the three ways that he sees moving forward. There’s — I’m not going to go beyond those three measures that he’s laid out. But we’re going to have a healthy debate. And that’s what’s important here.
Q So, the filibuster is an open question?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I just said we are going to —
Q He welcomes the question on filibuster?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We — we welcome — we welcome a healthy debate on how to move forward. He put forth three — three ways to move forward on this on really dealing with SCOTUS reform, and I just laid out some conservative legal experts who agree with us — who agree with us, at least on the term limits. They’ve been very clear as well.
Go ahead.
Q Former President Trump did an interview where he said that maybe being called a “threat to democracy” was a cause of his being shot. How would the president respond to that?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I will say is the president has always been very clear when it comes to violent political rhetoric. There’s no place — no place here in this country, in our nation for it. He’s always spoken about that. He’s spoken about that for the past — you know, the past several years throughout his career.
And, you know, right after the attempt — assassination attempt, the president said — he even made an address in the — in the Oval Office and talked about lowering the temperature. He talked about getting to the bottom — the bottom of this, having a — an — a independent investigation and how important it was to do just that.
And, you know, I talked about Charlottesville. We saw how the president spoke against January 6th. The day that — and I remember this — the day that January 6th happened in 2021, the president was then president-elect. He was supposed to talk about the economy. He took that opportunity to denounce what happened.
Two thousand — two thousand people went to the Capitol. A mob went to the Capitol. Officers — law enforcement officers were harmed; some of them lost their lives afterwards. And he condemned that. He condemned the political violence. And they were doing that because they were trying to overturn free and fair elections.
When Paul Pelosi was attacked by a hammer, the president also spoke out about, you know, violent political rhetoric and where we — where we will — you know, where — what happened, how horrific that was, and violence has no place — no place in this country.
So, if anything, this is a president — has been constantly and proactively called out on all Americans to come together and oppose political violence, regardless of our views — regardless of our views.
Q He’s had a little more than a week now to contemplate his change in status: not being a candidate but being the sitting president. Has he described to you ways he wants to use the time perhaps differently, since he doesn’t have the campaign obligation?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, I think, look, we have six — six more months left, and the president is certainly very much thinking through what that’s going to look like as far as delivering for the American people. His job doesn’t stop; it continues.
We’ve had an unprecedented record for three and a half years on things that we were able to accomplish, whether it’s the economy being the strongest — having the strongest economy in the world, leading the world; whether it is foreign policy, making sure that we are, again, rebuilding those relationships with our partners and allies — that’s something that he’s been able to do; you know, health care — I just talked about Medicaid and Medicare at the top. There are many ways that the president wants to continue.
The Supreme Court reform announcement that he made was also really important. A majority of the Americans care about that.
You will hear more from this president. He will articulate what the next 180 days or so — or less — looks like. He is going to take this very seriously.
Q Do you see less travel? Often, it’s an official event and campaign coinciding, so would he be based here more do you anticipate?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I think, Matt — Matt was asking me this question in a gaggle yesterday: recalibrating. And, yes, there’s a little bit of recalibrating here, right? And that is — that is the honest truth.
So, we’re trying to figure out what that’s going to look like. The president is thinking about this in a — in a — in a way that he does — right? — on behalf of the American people, putting them first.
And so, we’ll have certainly more to share. Obviously, the president enjoys being out there, talking directly to the American people. I think that’s one of the ways that we are more effective — right? — when the president gets out there.
Can’t speak to the campaign. That’s something that the campaign can speak to. But the president wants to get out there. He wants to speak directly to the American people. He wants to continue to deliver. And you will hear him articulate that more, I would — you know, I will predict in the short — in short order.
Go ahead.
Q We saw the president meet briefly with Congressman Doggett of Texas on the tarmac yesterday. I wondered if you just had a readout of that conversation, given Doggett’s —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — status as the first — first Democrat to call for him to withdraw. And just broadly speaking —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — I mean, just — does this — is the president’s relationships with some of these members affected by them if — if they — they were among, you know, the 30 or so to call for the president to withdraw before (inaudible)?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, you kind of answered that question yourself. President [Congressman] Doggett was there at — on the tarmac greeting the president.
I’m not going to go into private conversations. Not something that I do and will do from here — we’ve done for the past three and a half years. So, going to continue with that.
But, I mean, I think you saw — you saw them greet each other. Look, I mean, this is a president — and I’ve said this many times: He believes in, you know, reaching across the aisle, for example, and working with Republicans who say he can’t get things done, right? This is a president who understands that the Democratic Party is big and there are many, many thoughts. And that’s what makes our party, I think, so unique and important: because we have different ideas, because we have different thoughts.
And the president understands, you know, they had their opinion. There were Democrats who had their opinion. He obviously had his. And — and he appreciated we were able to have an unprecedented historic record because of the relationships that he’s had with these Democratic members.
I don’t think that will change. I don’t think that will change.
Yeah.
Q Going back to the Venezuelan —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Are you new to the —
Q Yes. I’m Stephanie from Bloomberg.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hi, Stephanie from Bloomberg.
Q Yes.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Nice to see you.
Q Thanks for —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Is this your first time in the briefing room?
Q Not my first time —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, okay.
Q — but my first time asking a question.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, okay.
Q So, thank you for that.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Here we go.
Q Going back to the Venezuelan elections.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.
Q Is the president using the call with Lula as an intermediary to deal with the election results? And what kind of assurances is he looking for from his Brazilian counterpart about Maduro’s promises to (inaudible) —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, they’re going to be, I believe, speaking shortly, if they — if it hasn’t started — with the president of Brazil. They’re going to talk about a wide range of issues.
Obviously, we’ll have a readout. Don’t want to get ahead of that conversation, ahead of that call.
I — think I have said before, and we have said here that the world is watching. We’re not going to get ahead of the process. I think you saw the statement from — from NSC spox. You heard what I said at the top.
And so, you know — and I — I’ll add, you know, other — other leaders across the country has also called on a full and detailed tabulation votes to be released. And so, we’ve expressed our concerns. And not going to get ahead of the readout that’s going to come out from the president after his conversation with the president of Brazil. But the world is watching certainly.
Q Does the administration have a reaction to the arrest of Venezuelan opposition figures?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’ll say this: Any political repression or violence against protesters or — or the opposition is obviously unacceptable. The United States supports the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people and their right to express their views freely and without reprisal. And so, that’s where I’ll leave it there.
Go ahead — go ahead — sorry — (laughs) — go ahead, April.
Q Oh, you forgot me.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know, I know, I know. The mask threw me off. Okay.
Q All right. Moving on.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yes.
Q Karine, why is President Biden not going to the NABJ convention after originally thought? And is the vice president going this week to the NABJ convention?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, the NABJ convention decision was done by the campaign. So, I would have to refer you to the campaign on — on both of your questions about the president and the vice president as, obviously, the president is no longer a candidate. So, I’m assuming that played a role into it.
As far as the vice president, you would have to ask the campaign about her.
Q But this is something typically during an election year that presidential candidates do take part of. Is this something that is overshadowed because of recent controversies? I mean, is the White House paying attention to the recent controversy about Donald Trump —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — going there tomorrow? And what you can tell us?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m certainly not going to comment on the former president’s campaign stops. That’s a campaign stop for him.
And the NABJ, they make the — their own decisions on guests. So, certainly that’s for them to speak to.
What I can say more broadly about us and how we as an administration — taking away the campaign, just as an administration — what we’ve done for the last three and a half years: We appreciate the importance of speaking to all Americans, including African Americans, Black Americans, as well.
That’s why we have — we have always been very — you know, very direct and very focused on speaking to both local and — and national Black-owned outlets. That is something that not just the president and the vice president has done. Many of his senior se- — their senior folks have done as well — senior White House officials.
And so, we understand the important [importance] of — of Black Americans to hear directly from this administration, and we have done that — and not just Black Americans but all Americans.
And so, that is certainly something that we will continue to do. And — and we take that very, very seriously.
As far as the NABJ, that is something for them to speak to and — and the campaigns to speak — speak to directly.
Go ahead, Michael.
Q Karine, thank you. I want to talk about Israel and Gaza. The regional director for the World Food Program said, “Right now the biggest challenge is we don’t have enough crossing points to bring the food in. We need road access. We need the Rafah [crossing] to reopen again. We need Kerem Shalom to work better. We need law and order.” Did the president bring that up with Netanyahu in his meeting last week?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I don’t have anything more to read out — to read out to you from what we put out from our readout of — of their conversation.
I will say this: This is why it is so important to get that hostage deal. This is one of the — obviously, one of the main point of conversations that the president had with the prime minister.
The president understands how important it is to get a ceasefire. He understands how important it is to get that — continue to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. That is something that the United States has led in that effort.
And so, we want to see that. We want to — we want to see an influx of humanitarian aid. That’s why we’ve been trying to do this by air, by sea, by land. And so, conversations about the crossings, conversations on making sure trucks go through is certainly daily, regular conversations that our counterparts here have with the Israeli government and will continue to do that.
But it is incredibly important to get this ceasefire deal. And we’ve been working on this 24/7. And, you know, I will say this, and — and we’ve said this before: The gaps have certainly narrowed. And that’s important. But there’s still some work to do, and we’re going to get to that work and try to make sure we do everything that we can to get this done.
Q Is the U.S. worried that an increased Israeli focused on fighting in the north could lead to a worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, we believe that there is no need for this to escalate. Right? We have said that. I said that at the top to — answering to one of your colleagues, answering a question.
And, look, we understand that the humanitarian situation is dire in Gaza. That’s why the presi- — the president, this administration has led in getting humanitarian aid in. That’s why we’re continuing to work on this hostage deal, get a ceasefire. And we’re going to continue to do so.
And it was — obviously, it was an important conversation that the president had with the prime minister.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Karine. Two questions. The first is on those IDF strikes. I know that you said that the strikes just happened so you can’t comment specifically on those. But broader on the trajectory of this conflict. It’s been the goal of the U.S. not to have the war widen since October 7th. And President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu just sat down together last week. Was the president — was his team surprised by what’s happened in recent days?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, again, I’m not going to get into immediate comment on the IDF strike. So, that’s not something I’m going to do at this time.
And, again, as we speak to escalation — poten- — potential escalation or the questions I’ve been — I’ve gotten of an all-out war, we do not believe — we do not believe that an all-out war is inevitable, and we believe that it can be avoided. And that’s why it’s important to get to a diplomatic solution here. And so —
Q But did the president get any sense during that meeting last week that a diplomatic solution was within reach?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We want to work and focus on getting that diplomatic solution along the Blue Line. And that is important. We want to see these attacks from Hezbollah end. And — for all and — for all and allow Israelis and also Lebanese citizens on both sides of the border to be able to return home to their lives and to, you know, live in safety.
And so, that’s what we want to be — that’s where we want to be. And so, diplomatic solution is the way that we want to see the direction of this. And we do not believe that an all-out war is inevitable here.
But as it relates to the — obviously, the — the strikes that just occurred, I just don’t have any immediate comment on — on this at this time.
Q And then, on the personnel front, President Biden obviously himself served as the vice president for eight years. He handpicked Kamala Harris for that role nearly four years ago. What level of input, if any, has he provided as she undergoes that same decision?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, he was asked this question directly — the president at 1:15 a.m. on the South Lawn. He responded to it. So, I’m going to let the president’s words speak for itself. I don’t have anything beyond that.
Go ahead, Karen.
Q Well, I’m going to try this, knowing that you can’t answer, but I’m going to ask you if you can answer it from the president’s perspective how he feels about the vice president’s first week-plus out on the campaign trail. Like, what does he think about the fundraising she’s done, the events she’s done, and what he has seen so far?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’ll say — I’ll — I’ll say this. Obviously, the president — and also being mindful about talking about an election. Obviously, the president endorsed Kamala Harris, the vice president for a reason. He thought she would be ready on day one.
This is someone who was a senator, who was an attorney general for the largest state in — in the country. She has been, obviously, a vice president for almost four years. She is immensely qualified.
And, you know, the president, having been a senator and a vice president himself, understands what it takes — what it takes, and he sees that in her. So, I would say he’s not surprised. He’s not surprised. And I’m going to leave it at that to not get myself in —
Q Can I ask one —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — in too much trouble.
Q Can I just ask just (inaudible)?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q Is he watching any of the Olympics? (Laughter.) Like, is he taking in anything? Because, like, my phone is blowing up. (Laughter.) So, like, what is his —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s been great so far.
Q — consumption of sports?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The Olympics has been so great.
Q Yes.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, the president and the first lady are certainly proudly cheering on Team USA. As you saw, the first lady to traveled to — (a reporter sneezes) — bless you — traveled to Paris to lead the delegation — the U.S. delegation for the opening ceremonies and cheered on Team — Team — Team USA. And you saw her out there being very supportive.
And so, the pre- — the president certainly is proud of — of all the athletes competing on behalf of the U.S., on behalf of our nation. And he’s going to continue to — to cheer — cheer them on.
Q Karine, following up on that. Did the president see —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, wait, wait —
Q — the Last Supper controversy at the Olympics?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead — I — I —
Q Do you know, did he see that —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything —
Q — the Last Supper controversy?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I appreciate the question. I just don’t have anything to share.
Q Millions of Christians across the globe —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I understand.
Q — were offended by it.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I understand.
Q The president is Christian.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I just answered —
Q Was he offended by it?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just answered your question. I just answered —
Q But was the president offended by it?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just — I just answered your question.
Q Did — can I just ask it: Did he see it?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just — I don’t have anything else to add.
Q Did he see it? Did he — did — okay.
Q Thank you, Karine.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go — (laughs) — thank you. Thank you so much. Go ahead.
Q I have a couple of foreign policy questions. But just to follow up —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, sure.
Q — on Jacqui’s question. If Supreme Court reform does not pass — and it seems unlikely under this Congress that it will — what does the president hope his effort will accomplish? Is it to get the American people used to the idea of the need of reform? Is it a message to Justice Roberts? What does he think this could have — this would lead to?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I will say majority of the Ameri- — American people support and want to see reform. Right? They want to see this. This is where majority of Americans are.
And I will say this. The president and the vice president believe that the rule of law is the foundation of our democracy. It is the foundation of our democracy, which is why the president took action yesterday. And he’s calling on Congress to do the same.
Now, what we welcome is a debate. As we’ve seen, man- — as many times as the president introduced legislation or some ideas on how — the direction of a legislation that’s important to the American people, we see a healthy debate.
I listed out moments ago, when I was having a back-and-forth with Jacqui here, conservative legal experts who support, for example, term limits. And so, I think that was important to note. Senator Marco Rubio, who I also mentioned, who’s obviously a current senator in the U.S. Senate supports term limits. So, there are ways that we can work together.
I’m not going to get into what that legislation is going to look like.
We’re going to have a healthy debate. We think that’s important. But we’re talking about the rule of law here. We’re talking about the rule of law, which is the foundation of our democracy. The president is going to say something. The president is going to make sure that is protected, as he has done. That is one of the reasons he decided to run. That is one of the reasons of — of the — the work that we were able to do. 2022 — the rule of law, democracy was one of the top issues that Americans cared about.
Q Could it also be a message to Justice Roberts?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into messages to — to the chief justice. That’s — that’s not what we’re talking about here.
We’re talking about the right thing to do. We’re talking about the right thing to do here.
Q And on the foreign policy side, there’s reporting that North Korea could conduct another nuclear test to coincide with the U.S. election — the presidential election. How concerned is the administration about this? Is this a real threat? Do you have a message to Pyongyang?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals from here.
What’s your next question?
Q Okay. On today’s sanctions on Iran that Treasury announced —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — individuals and entities related to its ballistic missiles and drones program. Can you speak about the timing? Today, the Iranian new president is being sworn in by the parliament.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, what I can say: This is something that the Department of Treasury did; they announced new sanctions, as you just said, targeting five individuals and seven entities based in Iran, the PRC, Hong Kong, that have facilitated procurements beh- — on behalf of Ira- — Iran’s military forces. The designated entities have been involved in procuring key components of Iran’s ballistic missiles and U- –UAV program. These sanctions are part of — you’ve heard us talk about sanctions before, especially in the last three and a half years — they’re part of our ongoing efforts to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities, including its arming of proxies in the Middle East and its enabling of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
You’ve heard tal- — talk about this. Again, this is part of announcements that we — ongoing efforts that we’ve had here in this administration. And that’s how I would view it.
Q Nothing specific on the timing?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s ongoing. This has been ongoing sanctions that we’ve had throughout this administration.
AIDE: Karine, you have time for a couple more.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.
Q In the back?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, go ahead.
Q Has the president met with Leaders Schumer and Jeffries about legislative priorities for the remainder of this — this six months, as you discussed?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, don’t have any meetings or conversation at this time to — to read out or lay out on — on conversations specifically on the next six months.
But, again, this is something that the president has taken very seriously. He wants to continue to deliver on behalf of the American people. That’s what you’re going to see him do in the next six months.
He will articulate this — on what this is going to look like specifically, what he’s going to focus on. And I think what you saw yesterday was a clear indica- — indicator of that.
Q And you mentioned he’ll be giving remarks at some point sort of articulating —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — the vision for the next six months.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well —
Q Any timeline on when that might be?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any timeline. I said he will articulate that. We’ll see what that looks like.
But, look, he wants to certainly — and I think this is a little bit of — of Kelly O’s question to me — he certainly wants to get out there. He wants to continue to — to talk directly to the American people.
And, again, just bringing in my friend Matt Viser here: There is a recollaboration [recalibration] here. We’re trying to see what that looks like, what that’s going to look like, what he wants to focus on. And so, just, you know, give it a sec- — give us a second. We have a lot to focus on.
But I would also say, you know, there’s these historic pieces of legislation, whether it is — whether it’s the bipartisan infrastructure legislation — as we know, there are thousands of projects out there that we want to make sure that gets implemented; there’s the Inflation Reduction Act; there’s Medicare, who continues to negotiate with Big Pharma. We want to make sure that on — on medication — on drugs that are important, making sure that the prices go down. We’re going to continue to do that. There’s the — the CHIPS and Science Act for — that’s going to bring investments into this country. Want to see that — those big pieces of legislation that obviously are now laws, acts that we want to see implemented.
And so, that’s always been a priority of this president. And so, that’s certainly going to be — continue to be so.
Q Karine —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. I know I keep ca- —
Q Since my name was invoked.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know. I — I — this is, like, the second time. (Laughter.) I know, I — I conjured you up to ask a question. I’ve — I’ve called your name out many times today.
Q I mean, since we’re watching that recalibration in real time, do you —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughter.) That’s the word of the week.
Q Do you have a sense on what the president is doing today? Like, what —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — his schedule is like today —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — or for the remainder of the week? And if —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, and I appreciate that question. I have — I have something to share with all of you. And I said he’s going to continue — the president is going to continue to work for the American people day in and day out. That does not change. It is extremely important to him to continue building on his accomplishments and finish the job.
You saw him on the road yesterday for over 12 hours in Texas, and he spoke with reporters — I’ve been mentioning many times — many times during this — this briefing — at 1 o’clock — 1:15 in the morning, taking some questions.
Look, he has a call with the president of Brazil today, which we’ll have a readout, as I mentioned — a completed readout once we are done.
Once he’s done having that conversation, the president will receive his regular presidential daily briefing. He’s going to do that this afternoon and then meet with his national security team.
And tomorrow, the president will be briefed on the implementation of important provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. And we will actually have more to come on that, so stay tuned. We’ll have more on that later today.
He will also receive a briefing from senior officials on the administration’s new actions on ongoing work to crack down on drug trafficking — traffickers smuggling deadly drugs, including fentanyl into the United States, and efforts to beat the global opioid epidemic.
And I should have mentioned this before, as — when I was — asking about the vice president. He will indeed see the vice president tomorrow. He will have lunch with her tomorrow, as they regularly do. As I said, they stay in regular contact, as — as she is a critical partner for him in how he moves forward in this administration.
All right. Okay. Go ahead.
Q Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Karine. So, the national debt crossed $35 trillion for the first time ever. The amount being added to the debt seems to be increasing at a — at a growing rate. Today, we talked with Fitch, and they told us that — they are a credit rating agency — and they told us that large fiscal deficits and increasing debt burden were key factors to the downgrade that the U.S. had last year. Is the president worried about another downgrade because our spending is — is more than the money we’re taking in?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. So, let me just tick off a couple of things, if I may. And — and want to be super clear about this. The president signed a $1 trillion of deficit reduction into law, and his budget would lower the deficit by another $3 trillion by making billionaires and the biggest corporations pay their fair share and cutting spending on special interests. That was an action that the president did.
The prior administration increased the debt — let’s not forget what the prior administration did — by a record $8 trillion and didn’t sign a single law to reduce the de- — deficit. And that’s what we’re dealing with right now.
And on top of that, you have congressional Republicans that — to continue to want to blow up the debt, again, with $5 trillion more in Trump tax cuts, while making hardworking families, you know, pay the price by cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act.
And we want to do the opposite. Right? The president’s economic agenda: We want to make sure that we put middle-class family first, hardworking families first. And congressional Americans [Republicans] want to give more tax cut to the rich, to the billionaires, to the corporations.
So, the president has taken action to try and lower the deficit. And Republicans want to balloon that. And $8 trillion — $8 trillion from the last administration, and they did nothing — nothing to try to make sure that we lower the deficit.
Q But — so, you’re saying that — that we crossed $35 trillion because former President Trump’s administration? I mean, that was four years ago. You know, the debt keeps increasing. You know, at what point —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The fact is —
Q — is —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The fact is $8 trillion dollars was what the — increase in debt was what the last administration did — the Trump administration. They didn’t put forth — they didn’t put forth any type of legislation to counter that. They didn’t. They just let the debt balloon by $8 trillion. That’s what they —
Q That’s still going on.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But that’s what they did. The president — but what I —
Q Under — for the last three years —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wh- — and what I’m saying —
Q — it’s still going on.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — to you is, like, we can’t — we can’t discount what happened in the last administration. And we can’t discount what the — this president is trying to do to make sure that we address this. One trillion dollars in deficit reduction into law, that’s what the president signed.
And — and that would lower the deficit by three — another $3 trillion by making billionaires and the biggest — the biggest corporations pay their fair share. Republicans are offering the opposite of that.
So, I think policy matters. What we’ve been able to get done matters. I’m not discounting what you’re saying. I’m just saying the president is actually working to make — to lower the deficit, and Republicans want to do the opposite.
That is where we are when we think about the policy. That is where we are. And I think that matters as well.
I know I have to get going.
Go ahead, sir.
Q Thanks, Karine. You — in the beginning, you mentioned the importance of press freedom —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — like the — like the case of Evan Gershkovich, Austin Tice, Yuyu Dong. We — we see that the press freedom itself is extremely important issue worldwide. In the case of Mongolia, considering the fact that the foreign minister of Mongolia visited just seven days ago, it seems like the — the — there is an increased fear of the degradation of press freedom within the country.
In the case of Unurtsetseg Naran, (inaudible) —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You’re talking about Mon- — okay, Mongolia.
Q It is — it is a big concern. Is the — in — with the increase of U.S.-Mongolia relations in the upcoming future, is press freedom — is the issue of press freedom going to be mentioned a lot more into the conversation?
And then also at the same time, given the fact that it seems the Kremlin or Beijing influence has reached into the country, would this be a point of concern for the Biden administration?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I think we — the last point, certainly, we’ve spoken to that at length about — certainly our concerns.
Look, when it comes to the freedom of the press, this is something that the president is never afraid to talk about with any — with any world leaders or leaders more broadly. That is something that he has done. He has had those conversations.
He certainly has said it publicly. And what he says publicly, he certainly says privately.
Not going to get into specifics of conversations of that particular relationship, but he understands — he understands the importance — the importance of the freedom of the press. It is important to have that. It is part of our democracy.
We’ve been talk- — kind of — kind of a theme of this briefing has been democracy — right? — and being able to be able to lead on that as a country. And that’s what we’ve been doing here, and we’re going to continue to do that.
And, again, he’s going to have those conversations. He’s going to say what we’re saying publicly, certainly privately as well.
All right, guys. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you, everyone.
2:47 P.M. EDT
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