Jennifer Rene Psaki

“ We also welcome a similar statement from the EU and EU members, sending a clear message that the global community shares these concerns.
There are steps from here that we believe should be taken. There’s a second stage in this process that we believe should be led by international and independent experts. They should have unfettered access to data. They should be able to ask questions of people who are on the ground at this point in time, and that’s a step the WHO could take. ”

“ Well, I think he believes that the American people, the global community, the medical experts, the doctors — all of the people who have been working to save lives — the families who have lost loved ones — all deserve greater transparency. They deserve better information. They deserve steps that are taken by the global community to provide that.So there was an extensive statement put out by a number of countries, including the U.S. But let me highlight — and we’re still reviewing the report, but let me highlight some of the concerns that have come up to date. ”

“ But let me just say that the speech tomorrow is about making an investment in America — not just modernizing our roads or railways or bridges, but building an infrastructure of the future.So some of it is certainly infrastructure, shovel-ready projects. Some of it is: How do we expand broadband access? Some of it is ensuring that we are addressing the needs in people’s homes and communities. So there are a range of components that will be — he’ll talk about when he proposes his — his ideas tomorrow, when he lays that out in his speech in Pittsburgh. ”

“ Today, the President will sign an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, which passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan majorities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 400,000 small businesses have closed for good and millions more are struggling to stay open. ”

“ Those aren’t issues where Democrats just have concerns; Republicans have concerns; independents; people who don’t see themselves as political. And he believes that investing — we can’t afford not to invest in improving our infrastructure. ”

“ Walensky did yesterday, that we continue to be at war with the virus. But the way we feel we can be most impactful is not just through words but is through actions.And so, as we have seen an uptick — we’ve also taken an accelerating threat, I should say — we’ve also accelerated our response, and we’ve moved up the universal shot date for most Americans by two weeks, increased vaccine supply to states, doubled the number of pharmacies getting supply — more than doubled — opened more vacc- — mass vaccination centers. ”

“ He is somebody who has fought for gun safety measures since he was in the Senate himself. He did that in his effort to fight for the Brady Bill, in his effort to fight for a ban on assault weapons, and in his leadership getting — putting in place almost two dozen executive actions on gun safety when he was in the Biden — Obama-Biden administration.Right now, we’re working on a couple of levers. One is working with Congress. There are two background check bills that have moved their way through the House. ”

“ A lot of the power and the activism is going to come from the grassroots and incredible leaders, like Stacey Abrams, who are ensuring people have the facts they need, the information they need to vote, and that they push back against oppressive efforts to make voting more difficult.
Q How is the White House engaging the faith community when it comes to gun control? ”

“ Well, we believe it’s vital in working with international partners and other countries and, of course, strengthening and reforming our international efforts as it relates to addressing pandemics and future pandemics.We do have some concerns primarily about the timing and launching into negotiations for a new treaty right now, and we believe that could divert attention away from substantive issues regarding the response, preparedness for future pandemic threats. ”

“ And overall, this group represents a paradigm shift in the type of people who can see themselves on the federal bench while still maintaining the President’s absolute highest standards for the qualifications, integrity, and fairness of each individual being considered. ”

“ I mean, are governors sort of going their own way and ignoring you all?
MS. PSAKI: I don’t think we see it that way, Jeff, but I would say that one of the ways we can impact people across the country is by acknowledging this is hard. We’ve been at war with this virus for a long time. ”

“ We’re talking about tax reform proposals that would help pay for it over time. But the reason he is putting this forward is because he thinks it’s responsible to put forward a plan to pay for it as a means of discussing that. But it’s really about investing in workers. ”

“ Is there any update — anything you could advance for us on Vice — President Biden’s efforts to put a black person on the Supreme Court? Any kind of shortlist situation to that end? MS. PSAKI: It would require there being an opening on the Supreme Court, of course. Q (Inaudible.) MS. PSAKI: There is not an opening on the Supreme Court.Look, I think there is an incredible group of nominees the President announced today. You know, as someone who served for 17 years on the Senate Judiciary Committee as chairman and ranking member, he has a long history on judicial appointments. ”

“ Q And does the White House have a response to this new Chinese law finalized earlier today that essentially allows them to vet parliamentary candidates in Hong Kong for so-called “non- patriots” to not be allowed to run for office? MS. PSAKI: I know we have certainly expressed concerns about the undemocratic steps of the Chinese government in the past. I’ll have to check with our national security team. ”