Hey good afternoon everyone happy Monday happy Monday uh I have two items at the top before I turn it over to our national security adviser Jake Sullivan today to Mark women's History Month President Biden alongside the first lady and the vice president and the second gentleman signed a historic executive order that.
Will direct the most comprehensive set of executive actions ever taken to expand and improve research on women's health these directives will ensure women's health is integrated and prioritized across the federal government and will ganize new research on a wide range of topics including women's midlife Health the president and.
The first lady also announced more than 20 new actions and commitments by federal agencies which includes the launch of a new NIH effort that will Direct Key Investments of $200 million toward towards this work these actions also build on the first lady's recent announcement that the Advan research projects Agency for health Sprint for.
Sprint for Women's Health is is committing a hundred million towards transform transformative research and development in women's health in his State of the Union Address the president called on Congress to invest 122 billion in new funding for women's health research and he laid out his bold vision for transforming women's health research.
And with today's announcement he's keeping that promise now second today the White House Office of Public engagement will convene a Roundtable on President Biden's efforts to support black men's health this event will be moderated by Sharice Jones of USA Today and features actors Courtney B Vance and lemman Rucker recording artist Rahim.
Devon licensed psychologist Dr Robin L Smith and public health and an from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Dr Walker tisdell since the start of his administration President Biden has prioritized tackling the Mental Health crisis in 2022 he released a comprehensive mental health strategy.
Designed to strengthen system capacity connect more people to care and create healthier environments to support this work and help Advance how we transform mental health in the United States the bayen Harris Administration launched 988 hotline expanded Community Mental Health Centers established new centers of excellence to help promote mental health.
The bayen Harris Administration has and will continue to invest critical resources to expand mental health and substance use support substant use support to Americans including through the Biden the president's president B's proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 and with that I'm going to turn it over to our national security adviser Jake.
Sullivan who has an update on the middle east region thank you excuse me thank you Karine and thanks everybody I've got a few opening comments and that I'd be happy to take your questions earlier today President Biden spoke with prime minister Netanyahu as you all have heard the two leaders discussed the latest.
Developments in Israel and Gaza and they spoke about the state of Israel's military operations the president emphasized his bonee commitment to ensuring the long-term security of Israel and he affirmed as he did in the State of the Union that Israel has a right to go after Hamas the perpetrators of the worst massacre of the Jewish.
People since the Holocaust Israel has made significant progress against Hamas they've broken a significant number of Hamas battalions killed thousands of Hamas Fighters including senior commanders hamas's number three Marwan Isa was killed in an Israeli operation last week the rest of the top leaders are in hiding likely deep in the Hamas.
Tunnel Network and Justice will come for them too and we are helping to ensure that at the same time more innocent civilians have died in this conflict in this military operation than in all of the wars in Gaza combined including thousands of children a humanitarian crisis has descended across Gaza an Anarchy Reigns in areas that Israel's.
Military has cleared but not stabilized when the president visited Israel on October 18th the first US president to make a worktime visit to Israel I might add he said both privately and publicly that the United States has learned a vital lesson over the course of several Wars a military plan cannot succeed without an integrated humanitarian plan.
And political plan and the president has repeatedly made the point that continuing military operations need to be connected to a clear strategic end game the president told the Prime Minister again today that we share the goal of defeating Hamas but we just believe you need a coherent and sustainable strategy to make that happen.
Now instead of pause to re-evaluate where things stand in the campaign and what adjustments are needed to achieve long-term success instead of a focus on stabilizing the areas of Gaza that Israel has cleared so that Hamas does not regenerate and retake ter territory that Israel has already cleared the Israeli government is now talking about.
Launching a major military operation in Rafa the president and the Prime Minister spoke at length about Rafa today the president explained why he is so deeply concerned about the prospect of Israel conducting major military operations in Rafa of the kind it conducted in Gaza City and K yunes first more than a million people have taken.
Refuge in Rafa they went from Gaza City to K Yunis and then to Rafa they have nowhere else to go gaza's other major cities have largely been destroyed and Israel has not presented us or the world with a plan for how or where they would safely move those civilians let alone feed and house them and ensure access to basic things like.
Sanitation second Rafa is a primary entry point for humanitarian assistance into Gaza from Egypt and from Israel an invasion would shut that down or at least put it at grave risk right at the moment when it is most sorely needed third Rafa is on the border with Egypt which has voiced its deep alarm over a major military operation there and has.
Even raised questions about its future relationship with Israel as a result of any impending military operation now the president has rejected and did again today the straw man that raising questions about Rafa is the same as raising questions about defeating Hamas that's just nonsense our position is that Hamas should not be allowed a save.
Haven in Rafa or anywhere else but a major ground operation there would be a mistake it would lead to more innocent civilian deaths worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis deepen the Anarchy in Gaza and further isolate Israel internationally more importantly the key goals Israel wants to achieve in Rafa can be done by other means on the call.
Today President Biden asked the prime minister to send a senior inter agency team composed of military intelligence and humanitarian officials to Washington in the coming days to hear us concerns about Israel's current Rafa planning and to lay out an alternative approach that would Target key Hamas elements in Rafa and secure the Egypt Gaza border.
Without a major ground Invasion the Prime Minister agreed that he would send a team obviously he has his own point of view on a Rafa operation but he agreed that he would send a team to Washington to have this discussion and have this engagement and we look forward to those discussions president the Prime Minister also discussed the ongoing negotiations.
For an immediate ceasefire for several weeks in return for releasing hostages currently being held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza we would look to build on that ceasefire into something more enduring and use the space created by a cation of hostilities to Surge humanitarian assistance at a vital moment so far this deal has been more.
Elusive than we would have hoped but we will keep pressing because we regard this as an urgent priority as I've said before Hamas could of course end this crisis tomorrow if it chose to do so and as I've said before far too little of the energy and the pressure to end this conflict has been applied to Hamas we will keep pointing that out the.
President and the Prime Minister agreed to stay in close touch in the days and weeks ahead on all of these issues and of course their teams are in daily contact on every element of this crisis as well as the other threats that Israel faces from around the region and the shared threats that the United States Israel and others of our allies and.
Partners face from Iran and its proxy Force forces across the Middle East and with that I'd be happy to take your questions yeah J you mentioned that the the the ceasefire deal had been elusive understand that that Hamas put a proposal forward is that still what you guys are working with and is that still a live option at this point Hamas has.
Put a proposal on the table this is after uh Israel working with cter Egypt and the United States had indicated a willingness to move forward on a six we ceasefire and in return for the release of a number of hostages leading to further phases from there and having given us nothing for quite some time and the last time I stood at this Podium I.
Pointed out something I believe today if Hamas just handed over the elderly the women and the wounded tomorrow there would be a six- we ceasefire they've put a proposal on the table where they've added a series of other conditions as well now the Israeli government has responded by saying they can't just accept that uh they regard some of those.
Conditions as going too far but that's what a negotiation is about so as we speak today in Cutter you have teams from Israel cutter and Egypt sit down and banging through those details to try to arrive at an outcome over the next few days where there is actually a deal and uh we believe that those discussions are very live that a deal is possible.
That we should be able to achieve it and that it is the best way both to get hostages home and to alleviate the suffering of the civilians in Gaza and from our perspective um we the United States are going to keep pushing on that and the president have the opportunity to discuss that with the Prime Minister today and why do the president feel that.
This was that this was an appropriate time for this delegation to come from from Israel and why did he feel that these conversations would succeed in ways that your Outreach to the Israeli government have not previously look this is the Natural Evolution of a discussion between partners we've had many discussions at many different levels.
Between our military our intelligence our diplomats our humanitarian experts but we have not yet had the opportunity to have an all-encompassing comprehensive integrated strategic IC discussion about how to achieve two things one the ultimate defeat of Hamas and two the protection of civilians and the stabilization of Gaza in a way that.
Will lead to the long-term security of Israel as well as uh the the protection of innocent human life that is in Gaza so from the president's perspective we've arrived at a point where each side has been making clear to the other its perspective its view and now we really need to get down to Brass tax and have the chance for a delegation from each.
Side on an integrated basis everyone sitting around the same table talking through the way forward and from the US perspective this is not a question of defeating Hamas and anytime I hear an argument that says if you don't smash into Rafa you can't defeat Hamas I say that is a straw man our view is that there are ways for Israel to Prevail in.
This conflict to secure its long-term future to end the terror threat from Gaza and not smash into Rafa that's what we're going to present in this integrated way when this team comes we'll have it back and forth and we'll let you know how that unfolds as we go forward yeah uh can you describe the tone of the call there have been reports.
That they could be very tense that they have ended abruptly can you sort of characterize what the tone was and then also did the president say that an invasion of Rafa is the is his red line and what does that mean I went over the red line issue which I know is the obsession of this group last week I've got nothing more to say on that front as.
You know particularly for me I think that's something that is in your questions it's not stated as a declaration of our policy and we've made that clear with respect to the call I'm probably not the best person to you know give a kind of assessment of body language and tone I can confirm it did not end abruptly it ended in a totally.
Normal way when they had each gotten through all of their points and I would say it was very businesslike each of them recognized that we are at a critical moment in this conflict they share a common objective that is for Israel to Prevail over Hamas and uh they have a different perspective on this operation in Rafa and they went into.
Some detail on that and had the opportunity really to elaborate each of their respective views um in a full-throated way in the way they always do when President Biden and prime minister Netanyahu talk so in that sense I would say this call was much like uh previous calls that the two of them have had they each agreed to have the teams.
Get together and then they agreed that the two of them would stay in touch as we go forward yeah thank you Jake um the deadline for Israel to comply with the National Security memorandum 20 is coming up on Sunday has Israel responded in writing so first when you say to comply what they have to do by Sunday is just provide credible and reliable.
Assurances that they will abide by their International obligations not obligations we've imposed upon them but obligations they have freely accepted uh with respect to International humanitarian law which of course includes uh not arbitrarily impeding the flow of humanitarian assistance where they can control that um so I cannot.
Tell you today or confirmed today that they have provided that obviously as you said they have several more days before they have to do so and we anticipate that they will and then On a related note Jake on March 1st President Biden said that he was going to insist uh that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more people the help they.
Need on today's call did he make that clear well even before today uh the results of the president uh making clear that this was was a priority for him and his team working that at a detailed level operationally on the ground in Israel has resulted uh in certain steps including the opening of a new gate that we have seen uh since the president gave.
The state of the union and work to flow more convoys to the north along the Beach Road as well in addition to other steps like the landing uh of the first ship through a maritime Corridor on the beaches of Gaza and active work going forward to get that Pier that the president announced set up uh off the coast of Gaza as well so we have taken.
Steps the president reaffirmed today the need for Israel to do everything in its power and even more than it has already done uh to address the humanitarian crisis and obviously we saw a un report today which uh director power of usaid spoke to quite eloquently it's an alarming report about a possible impending famine if everyone doesn't do.
Their responsibility to ensure we address that that starts first and foremost with Israel who has an obligation to step up and ensure that more is done to deliver food to starving people in Northern Gaza but it's also incumbent on us the United States and the rest of the International Community to step up as well we're proud to be the.
Largest contributor of humanitarian assistance to Gaza but there's more we can do and there's more others can do as well this has to be in all hands on deck effort yeah thank you Jay given that alarming report that famine right now is imminent and the humanitarian catastrophe there are words enough when it comes to discussions with Israel does.
There a need to be some conditions put a military aid well first obviously words aren't enough it's action that matters and the action that matters is Flowing trucks and ships worth of humanitarian assistance particularly food water and medicine to people who are gravely in need of it as elaborated in that report as I said in the last few days we've.
Seen some steps forward we need to see those sustained we need to see them built on but ultimately our judgment comes down not to pledges or promises or words it comes down to act action and we're going to continue to pre to press on Israel to see the kind of action we want to see and then we're going to take responsibility to do our part and that's.
For example what the temporary per is all about reports that more than 20 people have been killed in that hospital attack how confident is the US that Israel is doing everything in its power to protect civilians I'd make three points about uh the reports of the attack at alifa hospital overnight last night and into today first uh Israel.
States that it was going after senior Hamas Commander and Hamas militants and it is clear that Hamas fired back at Israel from that hospital second we have seen uh Hamas over the course of this conflict used civilian facilities including hospitals to store weapons for command and control and to house Fighters and that places an added burden.
On Israel that very few militaries have to deal with an entrenched Insurgency a terrorist group using the shield of Civilian institutions to protect themselves uh during a fight rather than meeting is on some open field of battle and then third it also tells us something else that of some concern that I spoke to in my opening comments Israel.
Cleared shifa once Hamas came back into shifa which raises questions about how to ensure a sustainable campaign against tamas so that it cannot regenerate cannot retake territory and from our perspective it is connecting Israel's objective to a sustainable strategy that is the vital thing we need.
To focus on right now rather than have Israel go smash into Rafa and that is what the president talked to the Prime Minister about today yeah uh during the call did the president uh threaten at any point to withhold military aid to Israel if Israel moves into Rafa or a famine does ens Sue in Gaza president didn't make threats what the president.
Said today was I want you to understand Mr Prime Minister exactly where I am on this I am for the defeat of Hamas I believe that they are an evil terrorist group with not just Israeli but American blood on their hands at the same time I believe that to get to that you need a strategy that works and that strategy should not involve a major military.
Operation that puts thousands and thousands of lives civilian innocent lives at risk in Rafa there is a better way send your team to Washington let's talk about it we'll lay out for you what we believe is a better way and I will leave it at that and they talk about Senator Schumer's call for new elections and what did the president say about.
That so uh the Prime Minister did raise his concerns about a variety of things that have come out in the American Press I'm not going to talk specifically about any one of them because I want to you know let the Prime Minister speak for himself and also uh protect the uh the discretion of the call and I will just say that from President Biden's.
Perspective this is not a question of uh politics it's not a question of public statements it's a question of policy and strategy that's what he's focused on that's what he was focused on in the call yeah you give us any detail on the timing of this meeting here in Washington is that in the coming days and weeks and is it your expectation or.
Did Israel commit to not proceeding with any Rafa Invasion until that meeting takes place or is that unclear we have every expectation that they're not going to proceed with a major military operation in Rafa until we have that conversation and uh I they talked about as soon as the end of this week it could be the beginning of next week they have.
Not fixed a particular date because each side needs to prepare effectively but within that time frame not a longer time frame just to clarify that's your expect or do they explicitly commit on the call to not proceeding with the ra oper I'm not going to put words in their mouth on this I don't want to do that you can ask them but I think you will find that when.
Asked they will indicate to you that they're not going to go ahead with this before we've sat down and talked this all through yeah um Vladimir Putin in a press conference spoke about a possible navali prisoner swap he said he claimed they'd agreed to exchange naali for prisoners in the West on the condition that Nali never come back to Russia can.
You speak to this was there any in place we have spoken to Russian officials over the course of months and years with respect to American detainees who are unjustly being held in uh in Russia we have not heard a Russian official raise Naval as part of a prisoner swap in any of those conversations so if this is something they were interested in.
Certainly sounds like they're coming to it quite late in fact too late obviously since he's no longer alive because we did not hear that from them before yeah thanks Jak uh prime minister Netanyahu was on CNN yesterday he talked about having the support of the majority of the Israeli people for his policies including going into Rafa is there more.
That the administration US Administration needs to do to speak to the Israeli people directly so that they don't support uh this idea of going into Rafa now well first of all inherent in the question is is a kind of a an interesting irony which is you have the Prime Minister speaking on American television about his concerns about.
Americans interfering in Israeli politics and then your question is should Americans be speaking into Israeli politics which in fact um we don't do nearly as much as they speak into ours uh but that's not a constructive answer to your question it's just an observation in in answer to your question again as I said before.
From the president's perspective this isn't really about politics or public opinion or public statements this is about policy and strategy and so the president's not focused on what's popular what's not popular shape public opinion he's interested in how do we get to the right result and the right result is the enduring defeat of.
Hamas uh a two-state solution that has a secure Israel and a Palestinian State uh that vindicates the aspirations of the Palestinian people and a broader normalization of relations so that Israel also has peace with all of its Arab neighbors he believes we need to drive to that outcome and while it is true that many voices in Israel.
Can't see that today that is not going to alter the president's view from his perspective that that is what is not just in the US National Security interest but it's really the only solution to uh Israel's future as a democratic Jewish state that is secure and at peace with its neighbors including its most immediate neighbors.
The Palestinian people yeah thank you Jake um the head of Andra Mr Paul lazarini said today that he was denied entry to Gaza at the day you mentioned the report that Northern Gaza is facing imminent uh coming so is this a a issue that you're raising with the Israelis and uh on another question there is 5,000 according to the icrc prisoners.
That's being missing nobody knows anything about them they're being held by the Israelis including doctors and journalists and the arrest of one of our colleagues of jazer this morning as well um what can you do to push the Israelis to at least they declare where are these prisoners so their families know where they they are because most of them.
According to our knowledge our civilians so with respect to Mr lazarini efforts to get into Gaza today this is the first I'm hearing that he was denied access obviously will inquire as to the circumstances of that second uh with respect to the Detention of an Al jazer journalist today I've seen the reports uh I saw them just recently before.
Coming into this briefing room I have not had the opportunity to is to raise that with my Israeli counterparts will do so obviously we believe that the protection of journalists and the capacity for journalists to do their job jobs even in difficult circumstances even in war zones must be protected that's something this Administration.
Takes very seriously in all contexts and then finally we have regularly uh indicated to the Israeli government that they have a responsibility under International humanitarian law not just with respect to the conduct of their military operations but obviously with respect to the treatment of and access to prisoners and their custody that's.
Something that we will continue to remind them of as we go forward even as we would also point out that the enemy they are fighting doesn't even be come close to the same sport let alone the same ballpark of carrying a lick about anything to do with International humanitarian law yeah uh after the State of the Union the president was picked up.
On a hot mic saying he told prime minister net Yahoo they were going to have a come to Jesus moment given what you've said about their conversation today on the Raa operation was that this conversation today I'm not going to characterize that on behalf of the president I will just describe what happened in the conversation as I've.
Done here here today and I'll let you all draw your own conclusions yeah on the call at all no comment thank so why is is does it seem so hard for this Administration to stand up more firmly to benam Netanyahu he has been uh ignoring many of your requests is now threatening to launch an offensive in uh.
Rafa and the answer from the White House so far has been pretty soft and the US are still sending weapons to Israel so it seems like there is a big um cautiousness from the White House that seems more like a statement than a question yeah I have another question on president maon what do you make of uh his his position becoming more aish and.
Saying that he might send uh true not excluding the fact that he might send troops to uh Ukraine I can't speak for president macron obviously he continues to make his points publicly and obviously has every right to do that we've made we've made our position clear which is that we're not intending to send US troops uh to Ukraine President.
Biden actually reiterated that for the American people in the state of the union and we haven't wavered from that position we're not wavering from it today yeah can you talk a bit about ner ner yesterday suspended the security cooperation with the US do you have any reaction I think some of the things that they are saying is the US U doesn't.
Really approach them in the right way they come with this arrogance which is almost like a form of humiliation for the Biden Administration do you have any reaction to the suspension of the security agreement with well you've seen what we've said on this subject which is that we've seen the Facebook post from the cnsp came out Saturday night we're.
In touch with them this obviously follows discussions we had with them about our concerns with their trajectory and I'll leave it at that because those discussions with uh uh the authorities in these is Ong going yeah thank you so much um coming back to Israel and the humanitarian situation in Gaza uh we are now we have now 1 million people faced.
With the risk of starvation and Aid is not getting in at the levels necessary to help those people who's responsible for that and during this call has um was there any kind of commitment from the part of the Israeli Prime Minister to let more Aid come into Gaza uh the Prime Minister indicated that he intends to push his government to have more Aid.
Come into Israel but as I said to an earlier question question the issue is not statements or representations it's action it's whether Moray gets in we've seen certain things over the past few days that represent steps forward including the opening of this new gate including other convoys that have gotten to the north including throughput uh.
Through Kum Shalom and Rafa but we've seen that before and then numbers have dipped for a variety of reasons some to do with just the difficulty of moving Aid around Gaza once it gets inside as we've seen in in tragic circumstances um and from our perspective the key thing is that we need to flood the Zone we need to use every tool at our.
Disposal every land route every possible number of trucks as well as SE routes as well as aird drops to get as much uh Aid in as possible Israel has a responsibility in this regard to facilitate the aid and they can do more the International Community including the United States has a responsibility as well we have done a significant.
Number of things we can do more so from our point of view this is an urgent uh undertak taking an urgent priority and we will keep at it yeah one on Russia and then a follow up on Hai if possible I know you said um when asked about President Putin's comments yesterday uh that you hadn't heard of a Russian official raised Alexi nalni as part of a.
Prisoner swap you said uh that they had come to the table too late is that a way of saying that negotiations for uh to to release uh uh reporter Evan gershkovich and Paul wean are not on the table are there any active efforts going on right now for that we have had a continuous effort to secure the release of both Paul wheen and Evan gershkovich um we.
Will continue until they are free and that means regular communication at senior levels with the Russian Federation making a series of offers which we have done over time and will continue to do um so no we have not slackened one inch in our Zeal to get the two of them out it remains an utmost priority of ours and that work will will.
Continue not withstanding the tragic death of Alexi naly yeah one more um the state department announced this weekend that more than 30 Americans had been evacuated from Haiti but they were evacuated from a northern city not Port of Prince and today the state department said that more than a thousand US citizens have reached out.
Asking about their options for departing the island are there plans for the us to do more specifically out of the P Prince area so first minor understanding is that more than a thousand Americans have been in touch with the embassy to seek more information some number of those have asked for information about departing others have asked for.
Information about how to remain safely or if they choose to depart in the F in the future how they might do so so the Thousand is really a broad universe that encapsulates a number of different categories second as you noted we did have our first evacuation flight out of Cape Haitian uh more than 30 US citizens were on it and we will look to continue.
To operate out of Cape haian for people to be able to leave from there and then third of course if we determine that there is a secure way to move uh American citizens who want to leave Haiti out of the port of Prince airport or out of some other route we will do so there's active planning for that there's a active analysis of of the risks of.
Doing so but we will stay in close touch with every American citizen who wants to be in touch with us in Haiti and continue to look for options to ensure their safe passage out of the country should they choose to leave yeah why did President Biden wait so long why' he let 32 days pass between phone calls with prime minister.
Netanyahu well so first of all our teams are in contact every single day at every level President Biden gets a daily twice daily sometimes nine times daily update on what is going on and he reserves his calls for the Prime Minister for when he believes there's a key strategic moment that needs to come forward that's point one point two prime minister of course.
Knows how to reach President Biden if the Prime Minister fails felt he needed the president for some reason he would have picked up the phone and call then of course in the last 32 days President Biden has never declined a phone call from prime minister Netanyahu so this is pretty much the normal give and take of two leaders both operating their.
Governments both operating their foreign policies both working with their teams and then at a key inflection point in the uh in the dialogue between the two sides coming together and talking I wouldn't make more of it than that and there's a report that when President Biden was told his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas was starting to.
Affect his poll numbers uh the quote is he began to shout and swear so when he does that is he shouting and swearing about Netanyahu or about Hamas or about his poll members this is the when did you stop beating your spouse question because I don't think he ever did that um and so well you you use that as the premise of your question which is when.
He does that he I've never seen him do that shout or swear in response to that so from my perspective um that uh particular particular report is not correct yeah what can you tell us about uh this temporary peer the timeline for it how it's going to be secured how soon Aid may be uh available to those SE Roots you're talking about so um sencom.
Can go into the operational details on it what I can tell you is that our original timeline you know extended out something like 45 to 60 days to have it fully in place we're hoping to beat that if possible because we're moving Heaven and Earth to get you know all of the complex Logistics associated with it um fully integrated uh into the the.
Pipeline for Aid going into Gaza and ultimately it will be a scenario where sencom assets move the pier off the coast and then it will be IDF assets who actually secure it so that there are no us boots on the ground in Gaza but that effort is very much underway the sencom commander uh feels good about the progress we are making and that um he.
Will be able to move this on an expedited basis based on the original timeline that he provided U uh just one more question y reaction put Victory he will present until 2030 uh do you accept the result and his victory well first um nothing about the election outcome was unpredictable.
Because uh Putin had closed the political space had locked up political opponents some of his political opponents had tragically died uh and so there was nothing free or fair about this election and the outcome was pre-ordained second the reality is that President Putin is the President of Russia we've.
Had to deal with that reality throughout the war in Ukraine throughout the other aggression Russia has undertaken throughout the other steps uh contrary to US national interest that we have seen from this President and from the Russian Federation under his leadership and we will continue to deal with that reality but that reality doesn't deny.
The fact that um this election was not something that met any kind of Benchmark of being free or Fair thank you all thank you so much thank you Jay all right Chris uh so I have a question about budget disc discussions over the weekend um what the US objective plans that were're taking shape over the weekend.
For the homeless security budget and and what do you want to make sure gets included in the final legislation last thing how close are you at this point so uh look I'm I'm not going to talk about reporting uh regarding ongoing negotiations is going to be super careful uh talking from the podium here uh one thing that I will.
Make clear is that uh you know DHS needs a bill that adequately funds operational P Pace right uh and we have seen during the this past fiscal year and that is what the administration is fighting for want to make sure that they have the operational funding to do the job that they need to be doing and that is what I can say and I want to also add is let's.
Not forget the past 10 months here uh DHS has removed and return more people than uh than during every fiscal year since 2013 so they have maximized their operations they have done the work uh to do uh what they can uh at the funding levels that there are that they are uh that they currently are operating in and we want to do everything that we can to.
Make sure that they have that operational pace so I'm not going to get into negotiations from here so it sounds like we're talking about the issue is a dollar figure the what has wants more money than being offered uh just going to be super Mindful and not negotiate from the podium but obviously uh we believe that DHS needs additional.
Funding we've always said that uh to deal with the security operations and much more uh that we're dealing with at the border obviously and just more broadly uh all the work that the D the DHS has to do on behalf of the American people progress today or look negotiations continue uh and we are focused certainly on reaching an.
Agreement as you know the the shutdown is set for uh this coming Friday and we want to get uh certainly get to a place where uh we have again DHS has what it needs to to have the operational continue the operational uh Pace that they've been having okay thanks Dre as the Supreme Court considers the case about social media disinformation.
Misinformation um can you talk about what the administration believes is at stake in this case I'm going to be super mindful it's an ongoing case I'm just not going to comment would have to refer you to Department of Justice we've been pretty consistent on this over the past uh year or so so I'm just going to be really mindful on that and I have a.
Leftover um Israel Hamas question because over the weekend the president talked about the importance of the freedom of the press he toasted them at the grd iron dinner has he or anyone in the administration pushed Israel to allow foreign media into Gaza to cover it so look uh as Jake said there's a continuous uh conversation that we have.
Uh with um uh the leadership of the Israeli government I don't have anything to share on that particular question you heard directly from the president as it relates protecting uh uh the freedom of the press protecting journalists we've always been very clear about that the president has spoken to that numerous of times I can't speak to that particular a.
Particular conversation on that issue U we want to make sure right we want to make sure that freedom of the press is respected uh that um uh that journalists are protected and so that is something that the president has had conver ation with leaders over the past 3 years as it relates to that as it relates to uh obviously um uh humanitarian uh issues.
As well we've always had those conversation it doesn't matter if it's our if it's our allies or friends or whoever it is we've always been pretty consistent uh but I can't speak to any direct conversation that the president has had on that issue what are the remaining sing points on the DHS funding bill and some H say.
That the White House came in at the 11th hour is did the white El step in too late I mean look let's let's be very clear here and take a step back when it comes to funding the government that is something that is the basic duty of Congress is to do that right it is their job to keep the government open it is something that Congress has to do on.
Behalf of the American people there are critical programs that Americans need that American families need the DHS funding more specifically as what is obviously being discussed uh is important right to to for DHS to do the work that they're currently doing as we think about the Border as we think about the immigration uh system um so it is.
Their job it is their Duty uh I'm not going to speak into timeline as to when we started to have conversations with them I'm not going to speak to negotiations that are currently uh happening certainly not going to do that at the podium we believe it is critical and important uh to continue the operational Pace uh that uh that DHS.
Needs to do their job obviously we've been pretty consistent as well over the last three years asking for additional funding uh and so I'm just going to be really Mindful and not negotiate from the podium thanks Karine does the administration still have close contact with social media companies and in.
Specific are there still Communications about removing misinformation look um I'm going to be I I know there is a uh currently scotus well I don't even know if it's happening right now but there is this particular uh Missouri case I'm going to be super mindful super careful uh and not to um and and not to answer a question that is.
Um uh you know adjacent to what's happening uh with this particular case um uh I don't have any conversations to speak to or to lay out uh to you about uh conversations with social media obviously uh the president tries to communicate with Americans and meet them where they are you see this you see us.
Do that uh pretty consistently I just want to be super mindful as uh there is an ongoing uh case happening at this time now speaking about the particularities of the case more broadly can you talk about the administration concerns on the kind of misinformation that's on social media' we've been pretty consistent about the importance.
Of uh you know it is it is the responsibility of social media to make sure uh that uh that what is on their platform uh is um uh you know is not misinformation not disinformation we've been always very clear about that uh I just don't have conversations to lay out or to speak to but we've been pretty consistent uh for at least the past.
Couple of years on that green um a temporary pause on S4 the Texas the controversial Texas immigration law said to expire at 5:00 p.m. today if the Supreme Court doesn't take action what is the administration's plans if if that does go into effect so a couple of things going to be really careful not to comment on uh on uh uh.
Well not to comment beyond what the doj filings have uh have laid out so have shared with all of you so I'll say this I will point out that department of justice makes clear that sb4 is flatly inconsistent with the Supreme Court's decision in Arizona V United States in 2012 and More Than A Century of additional precedent uh but generally.
Speaking sb4 is just another example of what we have seen from the governor of Texas governor Abbot attempting to politicize what's happening at the border politicize obviously what's happening with the immigration uh system and so look the president's going to be focused on uh on on making sure that there are significant policy changes and.
Resources we need to secure the border and so that is why he's going to continue to to call on Congressional uh Republicans to pass the bipartisan uh border security agreement that came out of uh the Senate uh just a couple of months ago a a an an agreement uh that was supported by the border of Patrol Union us Chamber of Commerce uh and uh.
That we worked on for months and we believe that is going to meet uh the needs that that uh that we have with the Border challenges and deal with some real immigration policies outside of that I don't have anything else to share uh but clearly the Department of Justice has been very clear on their filings on S sp4 good thank you so much a domestic.
Question then two quickies on foreign adversaries first of all what is the White House planning for ifar this year um and what is your message to Muslim Americans about this particularly difficult year uh so I I look we uh are going to um I don't have anything to share about an event as it relates to uh uh ifar what I can say is that um we've.
Been very consistent and very clear that um this conflict is personal and painful for many and uh and the president has been clear on that we have been clear from this Podium uh he respects all Americans uh to be uh to speak out and for their voices to be heard as long obviously as long it's it's peaceful obviously uh but we understand that it.
Is a p painful time for a number of communities as you know know we've had White House official uh senior White House officials meet uh with members of um uh the different communities whether it's Arab Muslim Palestinian communities uh to talk about uh their views to voice their concerns and we welcome that uh I just don't have anything to share on any.
Events or or beyond that okay so Pakistan conducted two air strikes over what they say are militant hideout in Afghanistan was the US consulted on that were these coordinated attacks and are you concerned about the potential for violence escalating in that region and then a quickie on South Korea when I'm done North Korea a quickie a quickie all.
Right uh on uh Pakistan just a couple of things that we do want to share with all of you we are aware of the report obviously that Pakistan carried out air strikes in Afghanistan in response to attack in Pakistan on Saturday at a military post we deeply regret the loss of life and injuries sustained during the attack in Pakistan and the loss of.
Civilian lives during the strikes in afgh Afghanistan we urge the Taliban to ensure that teror attacks are not launched from a Afghan soil we urge Pakistan to exercise restraint and ensure civilians are not harmed in their counterterrorism efforts we urge both sides to address any differences through dialogue we remain committed to ensuring.
That Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists who wish to harm uh United States or or other partners or Allies so we've made that very clear and we're going to continue to be consistent confirm South Korea reports that North Korea sent 7,000 containers of Munitions to Russia and if so what what are the consequences of.
That so I don't have anything uh I have not seen those reports so don't have anything to share on that I want to be really Mindful and careful on that one okay thank you can you give us an update on the president's review of the China tariffs whether that's nearing a decision point you guys ask that question all the time which I I.
Appreciate don't have anything to share at this time on that uh pivoting to the United Health ha I'm wondering if you can give us the latest the administration's view on whether that is nearing a resolution or if you're still in the thick of it and whether it's possible to say whether you know yet whether American Health Data has been.
Compromised by this act so uh um I would have to refer you to HHS uh I've seen the reporting obviously on this just don't have anything for you at this time Beyond uh the reporting good uh just wonder if you could comment on the Russian elections um and whether see Putin as a legitimately elected president well I think Jake Sullivan did.
A very good job uh speaking to this and uh uh one of the things that he did say Obviously uh pu Mr Putin is the leader of Russia uh he spoke to this extensively we are uh the results obviously also were predetermined no one is shocked uh by the results uh coming out of the elections there I just don't have to add anything to add beyond what.
Jake Sullivan laid out pretty well here thanks thanks green um technically is it still possible to avoid a shut down given the um 72-hour review window that has to happen look I think we have to be hopeful this is obviously Administration that is hopeful and uh hopes that uh Congress gets to uh gets to the bottom of this and gets to a point where we.
Keep the uh government open uh it is again their basic duty to do so uh as you know there's negotiations I've been asked about uh with the DHS I'm not going to speak to them from here uh but this is important it's critical uh that we keep the government open it's not just DHS there's numbers of other uh programs that Americans need that we.
Have to continue and so this needs to get done and then on the Israeli delegation that's coming do we have a sense at this point of who is going to be leading that from their side or from the US side I don't have anything more to share on that obviously as we get to a point where we're able to share uh more information on that when that.
Meeting is going to happen who will be part of that meeting uh uh we'll have more to share I just don't don't have anything no any further details than what Jake shared from here earlier and is it fair to to to uh understand from the detailed engagement that Biden is having with Netanyahu and with his government that.
This means that President Biden feels that the government is legitimate and should continue and that engagement with them can bear more fruit than it has in the past say that legitimate that netanyahu's government is legitimate that he is still views him as the legitimate leader and that his appeals to them to him I mean let's be clear.
Like that is up to uh I mean BB Nan is the prime minister of Israel like that is something that we know right that is something that is fact you know that doesn't change anything that is the reason why we've been in constant communication uh with uh the Israeli government uh from all levels right and so that is that has not changed right.
That is as far as uh um I asked Schumer suggested that that maybe should long look that is something for as it relates to any elections or any anything like that that's up to the Israeli government right is something for them to decide I can't speak to that what I can speak to is the president and his involvement and his engagement uh I think it's important.
That he had this conversation with the Prime Minister uh today about Rafa about the about how we move forward and so you know Jake Sullivan did a really good job laying that out and what that's going to look like how that conversation went the president doesn't want to see a military operation uh go into uh Rafa he's been very clear about that he wants to make.
Sure that innocent lives are protected uh and we and has to be done in a way that we don't see Palestinian lives um uh you know lose any more Palestinian lives but understanding that uh Israel uh has to go after Hamas right a terrorist organization we understand that uh so there's going to be a conversation with both sides obviously.
It's going to happen uh but uh I just don't have anything else to share further from that in screen the president has quite a bit of travel this week uh I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about what he's doing beside his uh political activity as well as how he's going to be engaged with these ongoing negotiations to make sure.
There's not a shut down so look um I'm going to answer your uh talk about your the last part of your question first uh obviously the president always engage always communicating with his team it doesn't matter where he is if he's at the White House or anywhere else in this country or the world he's president wherever he is uh so I'll say that at.
The top the president's going to be going to Reno in Las Vegas tomorrow in Reno he will participate in a campaign event so obviously I will refer you to the campaign for more details on that particular event in Las Vegas he will deliver remarks on lowering costs for American families which is the priority as it relates to his economic plan on.
Behalf of the American people on Wednesday the president will be in Phoenix and will deliver remarks on investing in America agenda uh this is this part of a this is part of a busy travel schedule following the State of the Union where the president is hitting the road meeting American talking to them directly about how he sees his.
Vision how he sees the future uh of this country for obviously the American people will certainly have more details to share the um the specifics on the political Point uh parts of uh the trip I would refer to the campaign there's one more question next week the president is going to be going up to New York meeting with former President Obama.
And former President Clinton uh it's a campaign event but there's a report that came out today about President Biden's relationship with President Obama indicating that there might be some jealousy involved I was wondering if you can speak to that let's be very clear the president the two presidents President Obama and president uh Biden.
Have a very good relationship you all have seen it over the the past several years uh they they're like family to each other and I'm just not going to to speak to reporting that we don't believe to be true okay thank you so much another foreign policy question um on Saturday in N decided to cut all military ties.
With the United States uh can you maybe explain what what led to this decision and how concerned are you that nisia is now one of these African countries seeking military cooperation with Russia instead of the United States so a couple things uh Jake spoke to this uh when he was here not moments ago uh let me just say some two top lines about um about.
The situation in Jer first which is since the coup last year we fought uh we sought to um we sought to work with the Nigerian jont towards a de Democratic trans transition and our shared security interest uh last week assistant secretary fee General Langley and assistant Secretary of Defense Wallander were in uh naimi for Frank conversation.
With the cnsp to explore how we can chart a common path uh forward and our concerns about the lack of progress towards a democratic transition and operational consideration for us to maintain a longterm security uh partnership as it relates to uh to Russia uh the Russian Russian federation's repeated violations of.
International law to include its illegal Invasion and ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine represent a clear threat uh to the rules uh uh based U rule-based International System so we are closely monitoring the Russian defense activities closely uh obviously in order to assess and mitigate potential risk to us Personnel interest and assets and so.
That is how we are looking at that relationship in particular okay thanks gr um when when will the president hold another news conference so we can ask a question of him without having helicopter noise or jet noise in the background I don't have anything to for you to share obviously the president president as you just say as you were.
Just saying the president uh takes questions pretty regularly enjoys having engagement with all of you uh I don't have a press conference to lay out for you at this time but is there is there talk of one I don't have anything for you but as I said the president enjoys engaging with all of you on a regular basis and he'll continue to do that I.
Think I have to go I'll take your question last good thank you the North Carolina lieutenant governor and other state officials sent a White House letter about a wet hos uh who was arrested in the state last week I'm wondering if say that say that one more time arrest of who uh AET hogo in North Carolina last week I'm wondering if the.
White House has seen the letter um and if you have any information about that I don't have anything to share on that particular letter I'm happy to go back to to the team and and let you know thanks everybody see you on the road thanks and
