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The white house press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed questions from reporters Friday about President Biden’s lack of public appearances amid the ongoing fight to fund the government as a partial shutdown looms.
Jean-Pierre declined to answer why the president has not spoken to the American public about his position, instead blaming Republicans, President-elect Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and their “billionaire friends” like Elon Musk for chaos on Capitol Hill.
“Why hasn’t President Biden said anything publicly about this? Don’t the American people deserve to know why millions of federal workers can go into this holiday season without pay?” Jean-Pierre asked during his daily press briefing.
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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Friday. (Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images)
“All Americans need to know that the Republicans are in trouble here and that they are the ones who created this mess. That’s the reality. That’s the fact,” she replied. “This isn’t the first time we’ve been here. And the president has had this approach before. He understands how Congress works. He’s been around for a while. He understands what strategy works here to get this done.”
Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden was on the phone with Democratic leaders in Congress — Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. — but I wouldn’t say whether the President spoke with the Speaker of the House of Representatives regarding the ongoing discussions.
“He received regular updates from his team. His team was in contact with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle,” she said.
A simplified version of Trump-backed legislation to avert a partial government shutdown failed to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday night.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday dismissed reporters’ questions about President Biden’s lack of public appearances amid the ongoing spending bill crisis as a government shutdown threatens. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
The bill, which required two-thirds of the House of Representatives, was not adopted by 174 to 235 votes. The national debt has jumped to more than $36 trillion and the national deficit is over $1.8 trillion.
Jean-Pierre said the Republicans had broken their word and “blown up this deal”.
“Republicans need to stop playing politics with the government shutdown. And they’re doing the bidding. They’re doing the bidding of their billionaire friends. That’s what we’re seeing at the expense of hardworking Americans,” she said.
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“There is a bipartisan agreement that Republicans have denounced because of what Elon Musk and President-elect Trump have ordered them to do. That’s what happened. That’s the reality we’re in now.”
Musk, an outspoken critic of government waste, waded into the debate over the spending bill and led a conservative rebellion against the first 1,547-page bill over its bloated spending provisions, calling for lawmakers who supported the bill to lose their seats.
He supported a newer, slimmer version, which was ultimately rejected by members of the House of Representatives.
The way House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., handled the talks was criticized by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Journalists tried several different ways to get Jean-Pierre to comment on the president’s role in the case, but she continued to evade.
“The president is the president of the United States and he leads,” she told a reporter, to which he replied, “Just to be clear, the strategy is for him to lead while staying in the background?”
“The strategy is that Congress, especially the Republicans, have to do their job and get out of their own way and focus on the American people and not on their billionaire friends. That’s what has to happen. And that’s what the president wants to see. ” she replied.
Jean-Pierre also warned that the shutdown could be disruptive presidential transition process for the incoming administration.
“If there is a shutdown — and I don’t want to get too hypothetical — but that’s the reality, transitional activities will be limited with limited exceptions, obviously, such as preventing immediate threats to the safety of human life or protecting property,” she said.
President-elect Trump, right, and Elon Musk were in favor of Thursday’s failed legislation. (Brandon Bell)
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Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Friday that Republicans have “good plan” to avoid a partial government shutdown.
Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., added, “I think you come to an agreement, then come together, sit down and figure out, you know, can we cross the finish line. And that’s probably what it needs to do now.”
