A new White House policy tries to put a dollar value on the future harm of greenhouse gas emissions.
White
TJ Ducklo, Disgraced Biden Aide, Celebrates Girlfriend’s New Gig as Editor of Teen Vogue
Less than a month after former White House press aide T.J. Ducklo was ousted for threatening to “destroy” a female reporter, Ducklo’s girlfriend has landed a plum new gig as editor of Teen Vogue.
“Still pinching myself!” wrote Alexi McCammond, the Axios reporter whose controversial relationship with Ducklo came to light in February. She will take the helm of the Condé Nast publication beginning March 24. “I’m looking forward to working with the team to build a unique community of ambitious, curious, and fashion-forward young leaders,” the journalist said in a statement.
“So proud. And so well deserved 
,” Ducklo tweeted, adoringly.
The couple’s relationship was ultimately the cause of Ducklo’s downfall at the White House. After Politico reporter Tara Palmeri reached out to McCammond in January for comment on the relationship, which wasn’t public at the time, Ducklo unleashed hell on the journalist for doing her job. “I will destroy you,” he reportedly told Palmeri, while accusing her of being “jealous” about the relationship.
Ducklo’s outrageous display of misogyny was not reported until several weeks later, at which point the White House reflexively decided to suspend him for a week. Critics pointed out that the suspension appeared to run afoul of President Biden’s promise to fire “on the spot” any staff member who behaved disrespectfully toward others. Ducklo announced his resignation the following day.
If Ducklo is looking for work, embattled governor Andrew Cuomo (D., N.Y.) might be in the market for his very particular set of skills. The communications professional has worked for some of the country’s most notorious sex pests, including Matt Lauer, Mark Halperin, and Chris Dodd.
The post TJ Ducklo, Disgraced Biden Aide, Celebrates Girlfriend’s New Gig as Editor of Teen Vogue appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
Joe Biden’s Deputies Set 2021 Goal of Welcoming 117,000 Migrant Youths
The White House has dramatically raised the number of migrant youths and children it expects to welcome into the United States’ economy this year.
Stalling Psaki: WH Press Secretary Dodges Hardballs on Cuomo, Dr. Seuss, Immigration
Tuesday’s White House press briefing was more of the same with Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s continued refusal to offer substance on the cancelling of Dr. Seuss, immigration, and scandal-ridden Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY).
Fox News’s Kristin Fisher played a leading role, battling Psaki on Cuomo on the astute observation that, in addition to the fact that President Biden and Vice President Harris haven’t commented publicly on the sexual harassment claims, “Harris was one of the most vocal critics of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, of Senator Al Franken when they faced similar allegations.”
Fisher noted that, in both cases, Harris emphatically stated that she believed accusers of both men, but hasn’t done so with those speaking out about a key administration ally.
“So at what point is the first female vice president going to say something about this,” she added.
Psaki offered nothing new from days past, defending their silence because Psaki does so for them with her emphasis that “every women coming forward should be heard, should be treated with dignity, and treated with respect.”
Fisher said that “it’s appreciated” Psaki briefs reporters everyday, “but it’s another thing to hear it from the Vice President or the President himself. Can we expect to hear from either of them on this topic anytime soon?”
Spoiler alert: Psaki didn’t budge.
In a surprising development, the usually-annoying Yahoo! News correspondent Hunter Walker gave it a go when it was his turn. Along with seeking comment on the calls for Cuomo to resign, he reasked one that AP’s Zeke Miller tried on Monday, which was whether Biden has spoken to the governor.
Once again, Psaki demurred, adding that, in terms of the third accuser being a former campaign worker, “I did not work on the campaign, as you know” and “I’m not aware of a personal relationship that they had or that he knew her personally.”
To Walker’s credit, he inquired about the other (and much larger) Cuomo scandal with nursing homes (click “expand”):
WALKER: As you know, Governor Cuomo is also taking questions over the nursing home situation on COVID. Currently, he’s chair of the NGA. He came up to the white house to discuss COVID with the president. His top aide Melissa DeRosa, who’s been pretty embroiled in this nursing home situation, was also advising the administration on COVID response during the transition. Does the president believe he should step aside from the NGA or is he still seeking advice from his administration on COVID?
PSAKI: Well, that’s a decision for the NGA not a decision for the President or the White House. But I would say that New York, as you know, continues to be one of the hardest hit states by the COVID pandemic. It is one of the hardest hit states by the resulting economic downturn and, of course, we’re going to continue to work with officials in that state to help the people of New York, help get the pandemic under control, and help get people back to work.
Fisher came back later in the briefing, but this time she brought up the woke mob’s canceling of Dr. Seuss on Read Across America Day (and, of all days, Seuss’s birthday) and wondered why the Biden administration didn’t issue a presidential proclamation that mentioned the legendary children’s author.
Initially, Psaki followed her usual script of not answering the question by punting to the Department of Education, but then all but admitted that they agreed with the premise that Dr. Seuss’s books were racist because “the day is also a chance to celebrate diverse authors whose work and lived experience reflect the diversity of our country and….it’s especially important that we ensure all children can see themselves represented and celebrated.”
Fisher tried again on the specific omission, but Psaki reiterated the answer that implicitly sided with the mob, stating in part that “it’s important that children of — of all backgrounds see themselves in the children’s books that they read.”
On the heels of the administration refusing to state the influx of illegal immigrants was a crisis, numerous reporters returned to that subject on Tuesday’s episode.
Along with Fisher, NBC’s Peter Alexander and Real Clear Politics’s Philip Wegmann offered important questions (click “expand”):
ALEXANDER: Yesterday, you brought into the briefing room the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorakas who said the following, he said: “We are not saying don’t come” to those migrants. He said, “we are saying don’t come now because we’ll be able to deliver a safe and orderly process to them as quickly as possible. So, the message was don’t come now. It sounds like the message is come later. So, when should these migrants come?
(….)
ALEXANDER: So, for clarity, it sounds like, even if unintentionally, you’re sending the message that these migrants can come, they just got to wait a little bit longer. Is that the message you’re sending?
(….)
ALEXANDER: Is the President going to be briefed on this from the domestic policy council today? DHS assessing 117,000 or so unaccompanied children — 117,000 unaccompanied children will arrive in the U.S. by their projection this year. Will he learn about it today? And that number seems like a crisis. The secretary said it isn’t. How would we define a crisis?
PSAKI: Well, I’ll leave that to the secretary of homeland security to define. He said it was a challenge. It is a challenge. We have more than 7000 unaccompanied kids who have come into the United States and that is certainly a lot of children that we’re trying to treat humanely and safely and process through the system as quickly as we can. That’s — that’s not easy. That is a challenge. Certainly the President receives briefings and regular updates from his team and, you know, we typically don’t confirm those publicly but he is — he is briefed regularly by his team, the Domestic Policy Council and other members of his policy team.
(….)
FISHER: And one question on immigration just to pick up from where Peter left off. I know you said you don’t want to label this a crisis. Secretary Mayorkas was in here yesterday saying it’s not a crisis. But now you have Axios reporting the administration needs 20,000 beds to shelter these children. Based on our own reporting, 97 percent of the beds through the Office of Refugee Resettlement are full, so I don’t want to sound like a broken record but at what point does it become a crisis?
PSAKI: Well, I would say I don’t think we need to meet your bar of what we need to call it. We had the secretary of homeland security yesterday conveying it’s a challenge. We have provided numbers publicly about how serious that challenge is. We, of course, because we are approaching this, this humanely and we are approaching this in a way where we will the children safe in a great break from the past administration and because we’re doing this at a time of COVID, that is even more challenging because most of these facilities are at 40 percent capacity, hence the number of beds that are being — being utilized. But again, we’re going to approach this without labeling. We will approach this with policy, with humanity and with a focus on what we can do to keep these kids safe and keep them — and get them in homes as quickly as possible.
(….)
WEGMANN: First off, something that sorta touches, I guess, on immigration and also on vaccines. We’re five weeks into the new administration and the president hasn’t named a permanent FDA commissioner and then yesterday we heard that from the DHS secretary, who said he’s trying to rebuild an agency dismantled by the previous administration but so far, the president hasn’t named a nominee for director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, a Commissioner of Border Protection, a director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. What’s taking so long?
To see the full transcript of the above exchanges as well as excellent questions from Wegmann about green jobs and EWTN’s Owen Jensen on school reopenings and doctors being forced to violate their religious conscience, click “expand.”
White House Press Briefing
March 2, 2021
12:52 p.m. Eastern
PETER ALEXANDER: Let me ask you about immigration, if I can. Yesterday, you brought into the briefing room the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorakas who said the following, he said: “We are not saying don’t come” to those migrants. He said, “we are saying don’t come now because we’ll be able to deliver a safe and orderly process to them as quickly as possible. So, the message was don’t come now. It sounds like the message is come later. So, when should these migrants come?
JEN PSAKI: The president has put forward an immigration reform package that will not only provide a pathway to citizenship but help put in place smart security measures at the border, will also address root causes in the region. There also is time and he talked but this quite a bit yesterday, as you know, that we need to dig out from the immoral and ineffective approach to immigration of the last administration. That’s going to take time, probably months for us to be able to process people at the border, to get people on the right path for consideration of — for asylum seekers and others. Now is not the moment for that.
ALEXANDER: So, for clarity, it sounds like, even if unintentionally, you’re sending the message that these migrants can come, they just got to wait a little bit longer. Is that the message you’re sending?
PSAKI: Well, we’ve been also clear as he was yesterday, the majority who come to the border are turned away. Even undocumented — even kids who come in at the border — un — unaccompanied minors who come in and we have emphasized time and time again, we want to keep them safe. We want to treat them with humanity. They are not guaranteed to stay in the United States. They still go through the processing. We just don’t want to send them back and consideration of whether they can stay here through what is — a — possible through our laws. It’s a difficult time. It’s a difficult journey. We are not encouraging people to come but we also believe different from the past administration would not going to turn away kids who were under 18.
ALEXANDER: Is the President going to be briefed on this from the domestic policy council today? DHS assessing 117,000 or so unaccompanied children — 117,000 unaccompanied children will arrive in the U.S. by their projection this year. Will he learn about it today? And that number seems like a crisis. The secretary said it isn’t. How would we define a crisis?
PSAKI: Well, I’ll leave that to the secretary of homeland security to define. He said it was a challenge. It is a challenge. We have more than 7000 unaccompanied kids who have come into the United States and that is certainly a lot of children that we’re trying to treat humanely and safely and process through the system as quickly as we can. That’s — that’s not easy. That is a challenge. Certainly the President receives briefings and regular updates from his team and, you know, we typically don’t confirm those publicly but he is — he is briefed regularly by his team, the Domestic Policy Council and other members of his policy team.
(….)
12:57 p.m. Eastern
KRISTIN FISHER: A question about Governor Andrew Cuomo. Vice President Kamala Harris was one of the most vocal critics of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, of Senator Al Franken when they faced similar allegations. She said repeatedly I believe them, the women. But she hasn’t said anything about the three women who are accusing Governor Andrew Cuomo and now this third accuser, Anna Ruch — she actually worked for the Biden-Harris campaign. So at what point is the first female vice president going to say something about this?
PSAKI: Well, I know that’s how the Vice President continues to feel, and the benefit of doing a briefing every is that I can certainly speak on behalf of the president and the vice president and so let me reiterate they both believe every women coming forward should be heard, should be treated with dignity, and treated with respect. As you all know, the New York attorney general will oversee an independent investigation with subpoena power and the governor’s office said he will fully cooperate. And we certainly support that moving forward.
FISHER: But as you know, it’s one thing to hear it from you and it’s appreciated, but it’s another thing to hear it from the vice president or the President himself. Can we expect to hear from either of them on this topic anytime soon?
PSAKI: Well, again, I’m speaking on their behalf. That’s how they feel. They’re personally both know this [sic] as the situation where both — all of the women coming for it should be treated with dignity and respect and should have their voices heard and that’s the representation of their points of view.
FISHER: And one question on immigration just to pick up from where Peter left off. I know you said you don’t want to label this a crisis. Secretary Mayorkas was in here yesterday saying it’s not a crisis. But now you have Axios reporting the administration needs 20,000 beds to shelter these children. Based on our own reporting, 97 percent of the beds through the Office of Refugee Resettlement are full, so I don’t want to sound like a broken record but at what point does it become a crisis?
PSAKI: Well, I would say I don’t think we need to meet your bar of what we need to call it. We had the secretary of homeland security yesterday conveying it’s a challenge. We have provided numbers publicly about how serious that challenge is. We, of course, because we are approaching this, this humanely and we are approaching this in a way where we will the children safe in a great break from the past administration and because we’re doing this at a time of COVID, that is even more challenging because most of these facilities are at 40 percent capacity, hence the number of beds that are being — being utilized. But again, we’re going to approach this without labeling. We will approach this with policy, with humanity and with a focus on what we can do to keep these kids safe and keep them — and get them in homes as quickly as possible.
(….)
1:14 p.m. Eastern
HUNTER WALKER: You know, obviously, this third allegation against Governor Cuomo has come out. This woman did work for President Biden during the campaign. I’m wondering what the President thinks about the calls for Governor Cuomo to resign and whether he’s spoken directly either to his former staffer or the governor about this situation?
PSAKI: The President believes, as I’ve noted, that every woman who comes forward should — deserves to be heard and treated with respect. There is an investigation, an independent investigation overseen by the attorney general, which has subpoena power and we certainly support that moving forward. In terms of any other conversations, I did not work on the campaign, as you know. I know that she did work on the campaign. I believe she was an organizer in Southwest Florida. I don’t know if they had — I’m not aware of a personal relationship that they had or that he knew her personally. But I don’t have any other engagements. I’m sure she has a number of people she still remains in touch with from the campaign but I don’t have any calls or engagements to read out.
WALKER: As you know, Governor Cuomo is also taking questions over the nursing home situation on COVID. Currently, he’s chair of the NGA. He came up to the white house to discuss COVID with the president. His top aide Melissa DeRosa, who’s been pretty embroiled in this nursing home situation, was also advising the administration on COVID response during the transition. Does the president believe he should step aside from the NGA or is he still seeking advice from his administration on COVID?
PSAKI: Well, that’s a decision for the NGA not a decision for the President or the White House. But I would say that New York, as you know, continues to be one of the hardest hit states by the COVID pandemic. It is one of the hardest hit states by the resulting economic downturn and, of course, we’re going to continue to work with officials in that state to help the people of New York, help get the pandemic under control, and help get people back to work.
(….)
1:17 p.m. Eastern
PHILIP WEGMANN: First off, something that sorta touches, I guess, on immigration and also on vaccines. We’re five weeks into the new administration and the president hasn’t named a permanent FDA commissioner and then yesterday we heard that from the DHS secretary, who said he’s trying to rebuild an agency dismantled by the previous administration but so far, the president hasn’t named a nominee for director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, a Commissioner of Border Protection, a director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. What’s taking so long?
PSAKI: You’re right and he is eager to nominate individuals to fill all of these spots. We need to find the right people and the right nominees and I hope we will have news on that in the coming weeks, but I don’t have anything to review for you, unfortunately, on personnel .
WEGMANN: Alright, very good. And then from Christian Tatoc of the Daily Caller, Interior announced yesterday it’s giving out more than $260 million in grants to help coal-production states create clean energy jobs. Is the white house launching any program to help fossil fuel workers into green tech or are they leaving that up to the governors?
PSAKI: I’m not familiar with the interior program and I’m happy to certainly check on that. As I’ve noted here before the president is committed to moving forward on the rest of his Build Back Better agenda. WE’re going to wait and work with the American rescue plan and that is signed into law, direct checks are going out to the American people, more money to get vaccines into arms, schools are starting to reopen with money. So, that’s our focus now but he believes that we can invest in areas like infrastructure and do that in a way that creates good paying, green jobs that are good-paying union jobs and so, I have nothing more to preview other than that remains his commitment.
(….)
1:21 p.m. Eastern
OWEN JENSEN: First, pro-life groups right now very concerned about the phrase pregnancy discrimination in the Equality Act. You’re familiar with that, I’m sure. That would force doctors to perform abortions even if it violates their conscience. They’re also concerns with the bill that would for doctors to perform gender transition surgeries and sterilizations again even if it violates their conscience. What does the President — President Biden say about those concerns ?
PSAKI: The President’s been a long supporter of Roe v. Wade. It’s been his consistent belief that it should be law and he will fight to continue to protect that as being law .
JENSEN: So is conscience concerns not a concern of his?
PSAKI: I’m going to state what the President’s policies are. Did you have another question?
JENSEN: Two. Will the president keep the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division at HHS — the office that was put in place under President Trump, keep it in place to receive conscience complaints from those doctors ?
PSAKI: You’ll have to talk to a future Secretary Becerra once he is confirmed.
JENSEN: And then, quickly, another subject. On education, everyday that goes by, some kids are in school year round. They have been, for example, in Nebraska, kids have been in school since day one back in August. In other states, strictly virtually. The education gap is widening. No doubt about that. When fall rolls around, if some schools are still not in person full-time, will the President accept or will he have a firm deadline to get kids back in the classroom?
PSAKI: Well, the President wants school back in the classrooms. His wife is a teacher. He believes not only do students want to be in school, but teachers want to be in school and he wants them open five days a week. He put — there were CDC guidelines put out and we now have a secretary of education as of yesterday. This will be his number one priority and certainly the President looks forward to having schools open across the country .
JENSEN: But he doesn’t have a firm deadline in mind for when kids should be back? I know he can’t demand it. He can’t do that. I realize it’s up to the school districts but certainly he can create a sense of urgency, right?
PSAKI: Well, one of the steps you can advocate for his how any of these folks can advocate for is the signing of the American Rescue Plan which has $160 billion to ensure schools and make the changes to their facilities, can hire enough teachers so that they can have socially distant kids in classrooms, so that they can have enough bus drivers and that’s an important component of getting this done as well.
(….)
1:29 p.m. Eastern
FISHER: A question about Dr. Seuss since this is the only day you can bring up Dr. Seuss in the briefing. It is National Read Across America day. It’s also Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Both former presidents Obama and Trump mentioned Dr. Seuss in their read across America day proclamations but president Biden did not. Why not?
PSAKI: Well, first, the proclamation was written by the Department of Education and you could certainly them about more specifics about the drafting of it, but Read across America day which, as you’re right, has not existed forever, as only been around for a short training of time to celebrates a love of reading among our nation’s youngest readers and the day is also a chance to celebrate diverse authors whose work and lived experience reflect the diversity of our country and that’s certainly what they attempted to do or hope to do this year. And as we celebrate the love of reading and uplift diverse and representative authors, it’s especially important that we ensure all children can see themselves represented and celebrated in books that they read.
FISHER: So, does the omission have anything to do with the controversy about the lack of diverse characters in the author’s books?
PSAKI: Well, again, I think it’s important that children of — of all backgrounds see themselves in the children’s books that they read, but I would point you to the Department of Education for any more details on the writing of the proclamation.
: Neera Tanden is out as Biden’s OMB nominee
The White House will withdraw the nomination of Neera Tanden for director of the Office of Management and Budget, in the first significant personnel setback for the Biden administration.
WHAT?! AP Reporter to Psaki: Should Cuomo Resign to Avoid ‘Distractions’ from COVID?
Monday’s White House press briefing provided a list of noteworthy moments as Press Secretary Jen Psaki was joined by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, including a number of questions on scandal-plagued Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). While Psaki continued to largely deflect, she had help as an Associated Press reporter wondered if Cuomo should resign to avoid unwanted “distractions” on COVID.
White House Correspondents Association head and AP correspondent Zeke Miller led off Psaki’s portion with one question wondering if the Biden administration had been in contact with Cuomo or his staff following the latest sexual harassment claims and if, more broadly, the negative headlines were distracting from fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
“And then is the President concerned that this could serve from Governor Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic and should he potentially step aside while this investigation, so that there are no distractions handling the pandemic,” he wondered.
The horror!
Psaki reemphazied the ironic premise that Biden’s “view has been consistent and clear, that every woman coming forward should be treated with dignity and respect” and thus they’ll “wait to see…through” the investigation by New York AG Letitia James (D).
A few minutes later, The Washington Post’s Ashley Parker was much tougher, pressing Psaki on what would Biden consider to be a “red line” when it comes to the harassment and mistreatment of women (and specifically a boss and subordinate) (click “expand”):
PARKER: My question for you, in general, when it comes to sexual misconduct, where is the red line for this president and the administration? Is it only at unwanted physical overtures or is it at unwelcomed language between a boss and subordinate with a power differential?
PSAKI: Well, Ashley, as I — as O said yesterday, that story was incredibly uncomfortable to read as a am would. And we certainly believe every woman coming forward, Charlotte, Lindsey, have – should be treated with respect and dignity and be able to tell their story and treated with respect. There is a process of reviewing, as you noted, an independent investigation. We will leave it to that process through the attorney general to make a determination on the path forward.
PARKER: But just in general, not about this specific case, but can you explain — I mean, your White House discussed the resignation of someone who used simply language that was inappropriate and abusive. Is there a red line when it comes just to language or is President Biden’s red line — does it have to be something else?
PSAKI: I’m not sure a red line for whom? I am not sure what you mean. For what outcome?
PARKER: For — if the review shows that governor Cuomo asked her questions. That it’s not — you know, as also has been alleged in other instances of forcible kiss or an unwelcomed physical overture, but just mere questions about someone’s personal life or sex life or romantic life or anything that makes someone feel uncomfortable, especially in a subordinate relationship with someone in power, is that someone that has to resign or should there be other consequences? That’s what I mean by the red line.
PSAKI: Look, the — the language — the — you know, the President has a bar for what is expected in his administration, which you referenced. Treating people with civility, treating people with respect and that’s what bar he holds in his administration. In terms of the path forward and the outcome of the investigation, we will leave it to the attorney general and others to conclude that.
Also on the topic of transparency, Real Clear Politics’s Philip Wegmann inquired about the White House release of virtual visitor logs (seeing as how they’re not taking as many in-person vistors due to the pandemic) as an act of “important” “transparency” that’d “be really easy to do,” but Psaki replied with snark.
She replied: “He’s meeting with members of the senate virtually today. There. I’ve released it for you. What else would you like to know?”
If Kayleigh McEnany did that to, say, Jim Acosta, Resistance-types would have melted down.
After Fox News’s Peter Doocy’s week of news-making exchanges, Doocy’s colleague Kristin Fisher took a turn in the briefing room and likewise made an impact, pressing Mayorkas on his notion that there isn’t a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
And during Psaki’s portion, Fisher sough comment on former President Trump’s insistence Biden has sold his soul to teacher’s unions. On both counts, neither strayed from their talking points (click “expand”):
FISHER: Do you believe that right now there is a crisis at the border?
MAYORKAS: I think the — the answer is no. I think there is a challenge at the border that we are managing, and we have our resources dedicated to — to managing it.
FISHER: And so a lot of the things that you are talking about, you admit takes some time to implement but right now, you’ve got about 200 migrant children crossing the border every single day. CBP protected a peak of 1,000 unaccompanied children in the month of May, according to a report in Axios. What is being done between now and then when you’re able to implement all the things that you’re talking about that will say will take time?
MAYORKAS: Let me answer that with tremendous pride. The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security are working around the clock, seven days a week, to ensure we do not have a crisis at the border, that we manage the challenge as acute as the challenge is, and they are not doing it alone. This is a challenge that the border communities, the non-governmental organizations, the people who care for individuals seeking humanitarian relief, all understand it is an imperative. Everyone understands what occurred before us, what we need to do now, and we are getting it done.
FISHER: Respectfully, sir, though, one of predecessors, Jeh Johnson — he said that 1,000 illegal border crossings a day constitutes a crisis, that it overwhelms the system. We’re at between 3,000 to 4,000 now, according to CBP officials. So, how is this not a crisis?
MAYORKAS: I have explained that quite clearly. We are challenged at the border. The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security are meeting that challenge. It is a stressful challenge. And we are — that is why, quite frankly, we are working as hard as we are, not only in addressing the urgency of the challenge but also in building the capacity to manage it and to meet our humanitarian aspirations in execution of the President’s vision.
(….)
FISHER: And one more question from former President Trump over the weekend speaking at CPAC —
PSAKI: I heard that. I heard he spoke there.
FISHER: He said — part of Joe Biden’s sold out America’s children to the teachers union. How has the white house responded to that?
PSAKI: I think we’re going to spend our time communicating to the agenda for the American people than responding to criticisms from the former president.
Speaking of Doocy, ABC’s Karen Travers followed a thread Doocy started last week about having reporters visit illegal immigrant detention facilities (read: cages or, as Nick Fondacaro has dubbed them, “kiddie kennels”) because HHS denied requests for reporters to visit them under the guise “of COVID restrictions.”
Travers took that to Mayorkas, who said he’d “happy to take a look at that,” and proceeded to wax poetic about the greatness of the media:
I will share with you something — another principle to which I intend to adhere throughout my tenure and that’s openness and transparency and that includes the — I grew up as a journalism student but apparently, I wasn’t a good enough writer to make it the whole way. Let me share with you what I communicate to the workforce and we’ll leave it at that because it’s in the service of openness and transparency: Don’t shrink from criticism. Just work very hard not to deserve it.
Good call, Mr. Secretary. If you don’t feel like answering questions, just suck up to liberal journalists and, next thing you know, they’ll be eating out of your hand.
DHS chief: Trump ‘gutted’ immigration system, no ‘crisis’ at border
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at a White House press briefing March 1, 2021 (Video screenshot)
In his first White House press briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas accused the Trump administration of gutting the U.S. immigration system and instituting “cruel” policies.
“The prior administration dismantled our immigration system in its entirety,” Mayorkas said. “Quite frankly, the entire system was gutted.”
He said it will take time to rebuild the system “from scratch.”
Mayorkas denied there is a “crisis” at the border.
“I think here is a challenge at the border that we are managing, and we have our resources dedicated to managing it,” he said.
President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at the 450th mile of the new border wall Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, near the Texas Mexico border. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)
Fox News White House correspondent Kristin Fisher noted there are 200 migrants children a day arriving at the border. And Customs and Border Protection projects a peak of 13,000 unaccompanied children arriving during the month of May.
Mayorkas was asked what is being done between now and then to handle the surge.
“Let me answer that question with tremendous pride. The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security are working around the clock, seven days a week to ensure that we do not have a crisis at the border, that we manage the challenge, as acute as the challenge is, and they are not doing it alone,” he said.
Following up, Fisher noted that former Obama DHS Director Jeh Johnson said that 1,000 border crossings a day constitutes a crisis that overwhelms the system.
Since there are between 3,000 and 4,000 arriving daily, Fisher continued, how is that not a crisis?
“I have explained that quite clearly,” Mayorkas replied. “We are challenged at the border. The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security are meeting that challenge.”
What’s changed?
Reacting to Mayorkas’ comments, former Trump director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe said that “when Trump was still president there wasn’t a crisis or an issue at all at the border.”
“What’s changed is, immediately upon Joe Biden becoming president he advertised a different policy,” Ratcliffe told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum.
“As a result, we now have an issue that hasn’t existed for two years,” he said.
When there was a crisis two years ago, he said, it ended when Trump worked with Mexican President Manuel López Obrador to enforce Mexico’s southern border, which had been allowing illegal immigrants to come from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
“As a result, that crisis went away,” the former Texas congressman said.
“I hope this is not a situation where the Biden administration is quick to say, ‘Trump’s immigration policies were cruel, we’re going to do something different,’ when very clearly we can see the effect of that is it’s creating a crisis at the southern border of my state.”
Mayorkas remarks came ahead of Biden’s scheduled virtual meeting Monday with López Obrador.
The DHS chief advised asylum seekers to wait before traveling north on the “dangerous journey,” because Biden will make the process easier.
“We need individuals to wait,” he said. “They will wait with a goal in mind, and that is our ability to rebuild, as quickly as possible, a system so that they don’t have to take the dangerous journey and we can enable them to access humanitarian relief from their country of origin.”
Mayorkas was asked how Biden is handling immigration differently.
“The Trump administration expelled children to Mexico. And we are not expelling young children,” Mayorkas said.
“We are not apprehending a 9-year-old child who’s come alone, who has traversed Mexico, whose parents — whose loving parents — had sent that child alone, we are not expelling that 9-year-old child to Mexico when that child’s origin, country of origin, was Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador.”
Mayorkas said DHS is “actually bringing that child into a Border Patrol station as a stepping point to get that child in the hands of HHS, that has the capacity and in the unique talents to care for the child — health care workers, mental health counseling and the like — and moving that child to a sponsor as quickly as possible.”
AOC: Biden’s ‘kids in cages’
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and others from her party’s far left have condemned Biden’s detention camps unaccompanied minors as similar to the ones described as “kids in cages” under Trump.
In his CPAC speech Sunday, Trump charged “Biden has triggered a massive flood of illegal immigration into our country the likes of which we have never seen before.”
“They’re all coming because of promises and foolish words,” he said. “Perhaps worst of all, Joe Biden’s decision to cancel border security has singlehandedly launched a youth migrant crisis that is enriching child smugglers, vicious criminal cartels and some of the most evil people on the planet.”
DHS Secretary Mayorkas says there is not a “crisis at the border”
“The men and women of DHS are working around the clock seven days a week to ensure we do not have a crisis at the border… We are meeting that challenge.”
pic.twitter.com/WCu1RLWt5P— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 1, 2021
DHS Secretary Mayorkas says Trump administration “dismantled our nation’s immigration system in its entirety” and border policy & process must be rebuilt “virtually from scratch”
“It takes time to build out of the depths of cruelty that the administration before us established” pic.twitter.com/65rgeS1SUp
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 1, 2021
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Media ticked over plan to charge $170 for COVID test every time they enter White House
(THE BLAZE) — The White House plans to roll out a new policy starting Monday that would charge journalists $170 to take a COVID-19 test every time they enter the grounds, and reporters in the press corps and beyond are not happy about it.
The Washington Post revealed the plan, reporting that the Biden administration is getting pushback from media outlets large and small who are unhappy about being asked to pay the government what could amount to tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of doing their jobs.
But the Biden administration says the tests are just too expensive for the White House to keep paying.
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Psaki: Biden Supports Independent Investigation into Cuomo Sexual Harassment Allegations
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that President Joe Biden wanted an independent investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) over sexual harassment allegations by two former aides.
Doocy Smash: FNC Reporter Presses Psaki on Cuomo Sex Claims, COVID Scandals
Clearly on a roll since returning to the White House Briefing Room rotation on Tuesday, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy continued his streak Thursday of asking the tough questions to Press Secretary Jen Psaki. This time, Doocy was dogged in seeking comment on the nursing home scandal and sexual misconduct allegations against Biden ally and Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY).
Despite the fact that ABC had ignored it through Thursday morning (while ABC, CBS, and MSNBC waited until then with CNN first noticing in the noon Eastern hour), Doocy began his questions by invoking former Cuomo aide Linsdey Boylan’s claims in light of Cuomo chairing a virtual meeting of the National Governors Association with President Biden.
Doocy wondered if, given Boylan’s disturbing claims about Cuomo, the White House was “worried about this becoming a distraction from an important meeting about COVID response.”
Psaki’s answer was standard for a spokesperson in that she insisted Biden “has been consistent in his position” that “[w]hen a person comes forward, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect” and “[t]heir voice should be heard not silenced and any allegation should be reviewed.”
Ruling? Pants on fire, Jen. Sure, one could say anyone and everyone should be “heard,” but as we’ve seen with Tara Reade versus Christine Blasey Ford, not all allegations are actually heard in the public square. Psaki might as well have followed up with the adage about a tree falling in the forest.
Instead, she maintained that Cuomo would still attend given his role as “the governor of one of the largest states in the country that has been one of the hardest hit with millions of people still suffering from an ongoing pandemic and an economic crisis.”
Doocy then pivoted to three questions about Cuomo’s nursing home scandal, including his own attempt to ask the question she refused to answer on ABC’s This Week about whether Biden still considers Cuomo to be “the gold standard” when dealing with the coronavirus.
By that last question, a peeved Psaki insisted that Doocy of routinely engaging in disinformation (click “expand”):
DOOCY: And to him being in charge of the governors and in charge of such big state, will the President talk to him about these accusations from Democrats in the New York Legislature that Cuomo misled the public about deaths in nursing homes throughout the pandemic?
PSAKI: Well, this is a meeting and a conversation with a range of governors about how we can all work together to address the pandemic and get relief to the American people And that’s what I expect the focus of the meeting to be on.
DOOCY: There are some Democrats in New York who want a — who want congressional hearings about these deaths in nursing homes. There was a Cuomo aide who told lawmakers in February that the Cuomo administration withheld the number of residents who died in hospitals from the public due the fear that it would be used against them by federal prosecutors. Is this something the White House thinks would be appropriate for a congressional hearing?
PSAKI: It’s really up to Congress to determine how they want to review or have hearings on those reports.
DOOCY: And I know you’re asked about this this weekend, but I’ll try again: Does President Biden still think Andrew Cuomo is the gold standard for COVID leadership, and he’s doing a hell of a job, which he has said about him?
PSAKI: Well, first of all, I think to be fair, let’s put all the comments in context, which sometimes is a missing from these conversations we have in here during interviews. At the time, which was I believe April of last year, the President spoke out and said positive things about a range of governors, Democrats and Republicans, who are stepping in when there was a vacuum of leadership at the federal level, when they were getting no information, when they were getting no help, and no guidance from the former Trump administration. He had — he made some positive comments about Governor Cuomo and his role in New York at the time, as he did about a range of governors.
Doocy closed with a query about an upcoming meeting on climate change between White House officials and airline executives, but fortunately for briefing viewers, Doocy closed out Thursday’s episode with a second round of questions that touched on the Biden’s American Rescue Plan, immigration, and the January 6 Capitol attack.
Doocy started with the ongoing discussions concerning “a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection” and Republican concerns about a partisan makeup of such a commission (which wasn’t how the 9/11 Commission was constructed). Of course, Psaki demurred, saying it was a congressional matter.
Before closing with a back-and-forth about why Biden didn’t bring up his stimulus package in a Wednesday meeting with a group of Senate Republicans (which was about semiconductors), the FNC reporter returned to the well on immigration (click “expand”):
DOOCY: And on immigration, why does the White House think There is this surge of unaccompanied children right now? Your critics are saying it’s because you’re not sending anybody back — any of these unaccompanied children back. Do you share that?
PSAKI: Well, I think there’s a couple reasons. One, there’s conditions that are in these countries that we have not done enough to help improve, and that’s why there is funding in the President’s immigration bill, and why one of the reasons we’re eager to have it passed. We don’t feel that sending unaccompanied minors — kids — back to take a dangerous journey is the right step to take, and that’s not something that we’re going to do in his administration, and it won’t be our policy. But we always need to keep communicating more effectively about how this is a dangerous time to travel. This is a dangerous time for families to come, for children to come and we’ll continue to have work to do that more.
To see the relevant transcript from February 25’s briefing, click “expand.”
White House Press Briefing
February 25, 2021
12:53 p.m. Eastern
PETER DOOCY: Thank you, Jen. The head of the group the President is gonna be with today, the National Governors Association, Andrew Cuomo is being accused of sexual harassment by a former staffer named Lindsey Boylan. She says that Cuom, while he was governor, gave her an unwanted kiss on the lips. He asked her to play strip poker. Is the White House worried about this becoming a distraction from an important meeting about COVID response?
JEN PSAKI: Well, let me first say that the President has been consistent in his position. When a person comes forward, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Their voice should be heard not silenced and any allegation should be reviewed. Governor Cuomo is also the governor of one of the largest states in the country that has been one of the hardest hit with millions of people still suffering from an ongoing pandemic and an economic crisis and our focus is to continue working with governors from across the country from a range of states on how we’re helping people in their states. He also is still head of the National Governors Association, hence he’s at the event today.
DOOCY: And to him being in charge of the governors and in charge of such big state, will the President talk to him about these accusations from Democrats in the New York Legislature that Cuomo misled the public about deaths in nursing homes throughout the pandemic?
PSAKI: Well, this is a meeting and a conversation with a range of governors about how we can all work together to address the pandemic and get relief to the American people And that’s what I expect the focus of the meeting to be on.
DOOCY: There are some Democrats in New York who want a — who want congressional hearings about these deaths in nursing homes. There was a Cuomo aide who told lawmakers in February that the Cuomo administration withheld the number of residents who died in hospitals from the public due the fear that it would be used against them by federal prosecutors. Is this something the White House thinks would be appropriate for a congressional hearing?
PSAKI: It’s really up to Congress to determine how they want to review or have hearings on those reports.
DOOCY: And I know you’re asked about this this weekend, but I’ll try again: Does President Biden still think Andrew Cuomo is the gold standard for COVID leadership, and he’s doing a hell of a job, which he has said about him?
PSAKI: Well, first of all, I think to be fair, let’s put all the comments in context, which sometimes is a missing from these conversations we have in here during interviews. At the time, which was I believe April of last year, the President spoke out and said positive things about a range of governors, Democrats and Republicans, who are stepping in when there was a vacuum of leadership at the federal level, when they were getting no information, when they were getting no help, and no guidance from the former Trump administration. He had — he made some positive comments about Governor Cuomo and his role in New York at the time, as he did about a range of governors.
DOOCY: Okay and then one war on climate change. There’s been some reports about a meeting with airlines CEO next week. How important is it to the White House to reduce airline emissions is part of the overall climate agenda?
PSAKI: I’m not actually familiar with that meeting. Do you know who it’s with?
DOOCY: Gina McCarthy and some of the airline company CEOs.
PSAKI: I’d have to look back into it. I don’t have any more details on that meeting. I’m happy to.
(….)
1:14 p.m. Eastern
DOOCY: There are reports that if Congress launches a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection, Nancy Pelosi wanted to have seven Democrats and four Republicans as part of the makeup. Would White House be satisfied with that, or would you rather see it more evenly distributed by party?
PSAKI: We’ll leave that up to Congress — leaders in Congress to determine what that will look like.
DOOCY: And on immigration, why does the White House think There is this surge of unaccompanied children right now? Your critics are saying it’s because you’re not sending anybody back — any of these unaccompanied children back. Do you share that?
PSAKI: Well, I think there’s a couple reasons. One, there’s conditions that are in these countries that we have not done enough to help improve, and that’s why there is funding in the President’s immigration bill, and why one of the reasons we’re eager to have it passed. We don’t feel that sending unaccompanied minors — kids — back to take a dangerous journey is the right step to take, and that’s not something that we’re going to do in his administration, and it won’t be our policy. But we always need to keep communicating more effectively about how this is a dangerous time to travel. This is a dangerous time for families to come, for children to come and we’ll continue to have work to do that more.
DOOCY: And when the president had half a dozen Republican lawmakers in the Oval Office yesterday they came out, they shared, and they thought it was a good meeting. But they said the COVID-19 rescue package never came up. Why not?
PSAKI: Well, did they raise the COVID-19 rescue package?
DOOCY: I don’t — the President says that he makes it a top priority.
PSAKI: Of course.
DOOCY: He talks about it with great urgency. He could’ve brought about and I’m just curious why didn’t —
PSAKI: Well the meeting was about a supply chain executive order, something that there is a great deal of interest on and bipartisan support for. The only time the president talks about the American Rescue Plan is not in meetings in the Oval Office. He picks up his phone and calls Democrats, Republicans and others on a regular basis and I think he’s used every opportunity has to make the case publicly to have those conversations, and it’s probably why more than 70 percent of the public, including the majority of Republicans, support the plan.
DOOCY: That is not a signal that the president has conceded. He’s just gonna pass the package with Democrats.
PSAKI: Hardly look, I think the President’s view is that this is a package that will help get the pandemic under control. It will help put people back to work. If somebody has a better idea, by all means, bring it forward. We have not seen one. This is a plan that he remains committed to and he is hopeful that Republicans, many in Congress will follow what their constituents want on the American people clearly want this Rescue Plan passed. They clearly want money for vaccinations. They clearly want schools to reopen and funding to reopen schools and they clearly want direct checks, so hopefully members will listen to that, and we have plenty of time for Republicans to vote for the package.
