LIVE: White Dwelling holds press briefing | NBC Info

What's going on I'm causing problems are you sure yes you know I could I'm happy to just stand here and wait we're we're not we're on time 102 I don't even know if it's 102 I think that time is a little either fast or slow okay good afternoon everybody where's the rest of the class.

Oh my gosh okay well good afternoon happy Monday today marks what would have been the 51st anniversary of roie Wade a ruling from the Supreme Court that recognized a woman's constitutional right to make deeply personal health care decisions free from the interference of politicians but then the.

Supreme Court rule to take that constitutional right away the aftermath has been devastating Women's Health and lives now hang in the balance today 21 states have abortion bans in effect 27 million women of reproductive age live in states with banss that's more than one in three women over 380 State bills restricting access to abortion care were.

Introduced just last year and on Capitol Hill Congressional Republicans have proposed three National Abortion bans the stories of women being denied care are gut-wrenching in Texas a woman was forced to go to court to ask permission to receive the care her doctor recommended before she ultimately fled Texas to receive the care she.

Desperately needed and she's not alone we've seen one horringer after another of women who are experiencing a miscarriage and are turned away from emergency rooms then later later nearly dying nearly dying because of that this should never happen in America never but here's the reality the overturning a roie Wade has led to the.

Chaos and confusion we're seeing play out out across the country and it's exactly why President Biden will continue to fight back and urge Congress to restore the prote s of row v Wade back into federal law the health and lives of women are on the line here so in about an hour you will hear directly from the president on this who will.

Convene a meeting with the task force on reproductive Health Care while vice president Harris today kicks off her reproductive freedoms tour in Wisconsin and with that as you can see to my right I'm grateful to welcome Jen kleene the director of The White House gender policy Council back in the briefing room and and she will talk.

About our actions that we're taking today CH thank you Karine as Karine said and as has as President Biden has made clear since the day of the Court's decision to overturn row Congress must pass a federal law restoring the protections of row and in the meantime the Biden Harris Administration will continue to fight to.

Protect access to reproductive healthcare since the Supreme Court overturned Ro versus Wade the Administration has taken action to help ensure that women receive the care they need in an emergency to protect access to safe and effective medication abortion to defend the right to travel for medical care to expand access to.

Contraception affordable contraception to strengthen privacy protections for patients and doctors to support access to reproductive health care for service members and Veterans and to partner with State leaders who really are on the front lines of protecting reproductive freedom to coordinate this work across the federal government the president's.

Established a task force on reproductive healthc care access which I chair alongside HHS secretary Basera and today as you heard as we Mark what should have been the 51st anniversary of Row versus Wade President Biden will convene the fourth meeting of that task force with agency leaders the task force will hear directly from two Physicians who are on.

The front lines of the Fallout from the overturning of Row versus Wade and who who will share their on the ground experiences of how State abortion bans have wreaked havoc on their patients and interfered with their ability to practice medicine the president will then receive updates from his task force on efforts to protect access to.

Reproductive health care and the continued threats to emergency care and FDA approved medication abortion task force members will also report on new policy actions the administration is taking to strengthen access to reproductive care while the president is convening his cabinet the vice president is in Wisconsin a state where Republican.

Elected officials want to enforce an extreme abortion ban from 1849 that's before women had the right to vote that includes no exceptions including in cases of rape or incest as you heard from Karine she'll kick off her uh fight for Reproductive freedoms tour and she'll be here Ing and listening to women and Healthcare.

Providers about the devastating impact of State abortion bans and with that I am happy to take some questions I'm just wondering um how much more new action the White House believes it can take between now in November on this front or do you mostly expect that the actions and announcements uh that are to come will be you know expansions.

On actions we've already seen since uh the Supreme Court took action yeah and as the president has been quite clear since um row was overturned the ultimate solution is to pass Federal National legislation to restore the Protections in row and uh we will continue to work to um hope that Congress will pass that legislation so the president can sign it.

He has also been clear literally since day one of uh when the decision came down in DBS that we will do everything we can so that's why he's issued three executive orders and one presidential me memorandum the ex itive orders are on um strengthening access to abortion and contraception on protecting patient privacy on protecting patient uh Safety.

And Security on protecting access to emergency care and defending the right to travel and we will take actions in all of those areas um we have already and we will continue to um so to your question is there anything left to do I think the answer is yes um and today when the president convenes his task force you will will see um actions in a.

Few more areas they do build on um the uh executive orders that he has already released so just to outline what um a little bit more about those what those policy actions uh today will be you know first um on contraception uh there will be new guidance to support expanded coverage of a broader range of contraceptives at no cost under the ACA.

Um the Secretary of Health and Human Services will also issue a letter to priv insurers State Medicaid programs and Medicare to reinforce their obligations to cover affordable contraception on Emergency Care um the there they will be HHS will be announcing a comprehensive plan to educate patients about their rights.

Under the emergency medical treatment and Labor Act known as amtala and the process for filing a complaint and uh also disseminate training materials for healthc care providers convene those Prov providers to ensure that they know how to comply with mtala and also establish an expert team at HHS to help uh hospitals and healthc care providers.

Comply with those uh legal obligations under mtala um and last piece is um we will take additional steps um to implement the presidential memorandum on medication abortion um to protect the Safety and Security of patients providers and pharmacies who need prescribe or dispense medication abortion and could you just talk to us a.

Little bit about how the White House is viewing ballot initiatives heading into November the importance of them what the landscape is yeah I think um the B the series of ballot initiatives most recently in Ohio but also in Kansas Kentucky uh Michigan Montana Vermont California um really show how Salient this issue is and how every time.

Americans are given the opportunity to make their voices heard they make their voices heard very loudly and clearly in favor of reproductive freedom and there are more ballot initiatives coming and we will do everything we can to support state leaders as I said um on the ground who are really on the front lines thank you thank you can you talk a little bit.

About the significance of this rally in Virginia tomorrow and just how much more time you think the president is going to spend on the issue of abortion between now and November um I can't speak to the rally tomorrow directly because that's a a campaign event so it's political event um what I can say is that the president has been prioritizing and delivering on.

Reproductive freedom for his entire Administration starting with creating the gender policy Council and asking me actually before dabs to help lead the administration's uh whole of government approach to Texas sp8 and then of course once dobs uh came down to uh mobilize the entire administration's efforts um and he will continue to do that and of.

Course the vice president who's been a leader on this issue um will continue to um uh be that leader um she's as you just heard uh in Wisconsin uh right now um she will of course be part of the um of the rally tomorrow with all four of the principles participating um and um she will be around the country she's met with uh legislative leaders state and.

Local officials around the country um and uh they will both continue to uh draw the sharp contrast between what this administration's stands for and what Republican elected officials stand for um for the months to come just bouncing off with MJ though do you feel that the White House is reaching the limits of what it can do when it comes.

To abortion rights without congressional action again I think you know the president was was quite clear he literally said it you know within an hour of the DB's decision coming down that the only way to restore the rights that were lost the fundamental constitutional right that was lost um that was protected for nearly 50 years.

Under Row versus Wade is to have Federal legislation and that's why he is and he his entire Administration is laser focused on that and he has made it entirely clear that when Congress sends him that legislation he will sign it immediately I don't think that means that uh there's nothing we can do I think there's quite a lot we can do and.

I think that's evidenced by what we've done so far to in you know all the categories that I mentioned but really to protect access to reproductive Health Care in this country good can the federal government help to Define some of the circumstances that women have found themselves in when medical questions about is it the life.

Of the mother at risk where state law may not spell it out very clearly or clearly enough is there a role for the federal government there and since some of these instances do result in ordinary citizens having to get involved in litigation is there something that the administration can do to support them in pursuing those remedies yeah I mean I.

Think you know to to to state the obvious um we are seeing a lot of chaos uh legal chaos and medical chaos because of the overturning of Row versus Wade and the um State abortion bans that have been passed across the country you know it just Bears mentioning that there are 21 states with abortion banss right now that means that 27 million women one of.

Reproductive age one in three are living in states with those banss there are federal tools so the one that you know we were talking about today that we are going to build off of uh mtala the emergency medical treatment and Labor Act um you know the Administration has long uh sad long held view that that law requires that when somebody walks into.

An emergency room requiring emergency care to stabilize their medical condition that uh uh treatment even if it includes abortion is required under federal law so I think you know that's one of the things that we're trying to make sure that as I said patients know what their rights are know how they can file a complaint but even before you get.

To that the providers know what is required of them under that federal law um and um and that that's what we will be doing more of so you think you can add Clarity where there is confusion at this point yeah I mean again you know to return where we started ultimately the only way to uh to ensure that you know women in every state across the country.

Um have the right that they lost when row was overturned is to pass piece of federal legislation restoring row but I do think this is a step an important step in that direction um to your point about Federal legislation is the president willing to compromise with makers who think there should be some restrictions on Reproductive Rights in.

Order to get a bill through or is his approach more All or nothing at this point I I what the president has said um and he will continue to say that he believes that row was rightly decided and that we need a bill that stores the protections that were in row and you know by the way the majority the vast majority of American people agree that.

Row was white rightly decided and that's exactly what we need to do good thanks um you mentioned the 21 states to have a a ban at the moment do you have any uh number or any estimate of how many women have been forced to travel out of States since the um you know since the decision I don't numbers on that I I will say one thing which is.

That um the uh uh Department of Justice um uh filed a statement of interest in uh two cases in Alabama where the right to travel is that issue where um the Alabama attorney general has threatened to prosecute uh women and those who help those women uh cross state lines but that's not a that's not a number for sure thank.

You um you've been talking about abortions and medical emergencies on the fifth decision on that it's unusual to see a court agree to review agency guidance let alone um rule on whether it can be implemented how does that Court's decision affect your strategy going forward as you try and navigate this Post Road landcape yeah um as you.

Probably know in addition to you know making clear our long-standing position that that law and the guidance that followed it um reflects the position that uh mtala does cover emergencies when somebody walks into an emergency room needing medical uh care and that's abortion is the care that is required that that is covered by mtala um of.

Course that we are also uh the Department of Justice is also um uh litigating that defending that uh in court and um that stands before The Supreme Court at the moment in a different case and on um traveling are you doing anything to support uh Prov providers and states that are seeing an increase in patience from neighboring.

States with more restrictive laws for example Illinois um I I think the best answer to that question is that we've been really working with those State leaders in States like Illinois New York where they're seeing an influx of patients but really that's more about um you know connecting states to each other which.

Has been one of the things we've done in our state convenings so that they can learn from each other and help each other um there's less of a federal role there one more thing thank you um does today's announcement that the administration is going to publish training materials for providers in medical emergencies do that mean you're.

Going to advise that same information to hospitals in Texas and Idaho which I know are the States involved in those cases that the justice department is in that uh information will be available to any hospital and healthcare provider who needs to access it all right last question in the back go ahead I just wanted to ask um about medication.

Abortion and is the Supreme Court weighing restrictions on the mailing of myth prisone um do you see or rather does the Biden Administration see this as sort of the next big Frontier of this abortion fight and then uh you know what are the stakes of that case and is there any recourse that the White House would have I do think that that's uh a really.

Uh important Frontier um you know they've already made it clear that in some sense they don't think they need to pass a National Abortion ban because there is a National Abortion ban if uh they were to um be able to um limit the uh mailing uh the dispensing of Mya prone so you know I can't speak to the litigation but of course you know again.

There's a case in the Supreme Court Alliance defending Freedom versus FDA where exactly what's at stake is um the is whether limits can be put on the FDA who has made a judgment of to to initially a judgment to approve and then further judgments to regulate using their scientific um evidence-based judgment that this is a safe medication.

That should be available it's by the way 53 or so uh percent of abortions in this country so we will continue to to defend uh that um and uh make clear that you know that is a safe and and um and legal drug um you know one of the reasons I think that case has attracted a lot of attention is cuz it is obviously squarely about medication abortion but.

You know you have pharmaceutical companies and Executives you have medical associations you even have conservative legal Scholars uh weighing in on the danger of that case because it could have implications for any drug that the FDA you know long ago approved and has regulated several times since all right thank you so much J to the.

Over office thank you thank you so much okay thanks Jen couple things before we continue um so just a scheduling update uh so on Thursday January 25th the president will travel to Superior Wisconsin to discuss how his bionomics and investing in America agenda are rebuilding our infrastructure lowering.

Cost spurring a small business boom and creating good paying jobs President Biden remains focused on investing in America and opposing Congressional Republican efforts to shower massive giveaways on the wealthy and big corporations cut Medicare uh Medicaid and Social Security and block us from lowering cost for American families and.

Before we continue with the briefing I wanted to say one last thing to uh my dear friend Emily the deputy our Deputy press secretary uh as she is going to head out to maternity leave today and uh Emily we are so happy for you and Stephen on your on your road to Parenthood uh and I think uh you are such an amazing human you're going to be.

An amazing mom and uh just have so much joy I know everyone here feels that and everyone certainly on our team and I'm going to miss you terribly I think you're going to be gone for like 5 months 5 months too long um but I'm going to miss you terribly and I hope you um you know spend that time I know you'll spend that time being very very.

Busy uh but also uh time with your your little one and so excited for you I have something for you yeah oh give one second give that to you actually let you open you open I want you to show everybody okay show my gift to everyone it's a little gift for.

Emily future president please please come in the back to the back if you don't get if you get a second today to say goodbye to Emily and wish her wish her love luck thank you K all right we love you Emily and with that uh we have uh Admiral John Kirby here to give us an update on the.

Middle East Admiral bringing you up and I'm bringing you down just a couple of things I promise and then we'll get right to it um today the United States is announcing additional sanctions designed to protect our not only our financial system but our National Security First the United.

States today sanctioned Iraqi Airline fly Baghdad and its CEO for supporting the Islamic revolutionary guard Corps otherwise known as the irgc and as well uh supporting Iran Iran aligned militia groups in Iraq Syria and Lebanon Additionally the United States is designating three leaders and supporters of katab hisbah one of the irgc's Iran.

Alli of militias in Iraq and one business that facilitates and launders funds for katab Hezbollah katab Hezbollah I think as you all know has been responsible for series of drone and missile attacks against us Personnel in Iraq and Syria now second we imposed a fifth round of sanctions on Hamas and this is the fifth round since the.

October 7th attacks and alongside the United States Australia and the United Kingdom are also placing sanctions on key Hamas officials and facilitators we'll obviously continue to use all the tools at our disposal to Target Hamas its financiers uh and its Financial transfer mechanism that funnel funds in support of their terrorist activities.

Uh in a uh in a related way I can also let you know that the president just recently hung up the phone talking to prime minister sunak of the United Kingdom uh clearly they talked about uh what's going on in the in the Red Sea uh and the need for a continued International multilateral approach uh to disrupting and degrading uh houti.

Capabilities uh they also had a chance to talk about obviously what's going on in Gaza um with uh stressing uh the need to continue to bring down the number of Civilian casualties and to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and of course they also talked about Ukraine and the urgent need that Ukraine is facing right now for.

Additional supplemental funding and support for their ability to to defend themselves in the on the field of battle um and then lastly um I'd be remiss speaking about the field of battle if I did not also um point you to the president's statement today uh acknowledging and mourning the death of two Navy Seals uh who were killed while.

Conducting an inter addiction operation um in the uh in the Gulf of Aiden uh trying to interdict uh Munitions and weapons that we believe were heading from Iran to uh to the houis uh in Yemen underscores how dangerous the mission can be um and the dangers that these uh these brave warriors are willing to face every day and I think as we all go about.

Our day we ought to just take a moment to remember that a couple of families are just got the worst news possible um and it's important that they know uh that the president and the first lady will stay solidly behind them and their families make sure that they get all the support they need and I know that the same sentiment has been expressed to.

Them from the defense department and from the Navy Department that any questions thanks um John I just wanted to go back to president's comments from from last week about there being a number of types of two-state solutions um and referencing the idea that a number of of UN members don't have their own military is it is it the president's.

Current view that a Palestinian State that's demilitarized is the most viable outcome here I won't get ahead of of uh where the where we are in the process of trying to achieve a two-state solution travel it's the president's view that a two-state solution is the best path forward for the people of Gaza for the Palestinian people as well as the.

Israeli people and as he said in those comments um there's a lot that can go into creating what that construct looks like um and when we say two stat solution what does it actually mean and there's many different interpretations there's lots of different ways you can get at that uh ultimate solution um and the president as he has always done kept.

An open mind about trying to pursue that now he's also under no illusions of how difficult it's going to be to get there particularly with this conflict going on in Gaza so we're going to keep the discussions going with our Israeli counterparts we're going to keep talking about it with makmun abas we're going to keep talking about it with our.

Counterparts in the region in the hopes that more progress can be made one significant Milestone to help us get there is protect is is trying to pursue normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia which we still believe is possible we were working on it very hard before the 7th of October we're still working on it hard uh and we've got you.

Know positive feedback from from uh the partners in the region including Saudi Arabia about pursuing that that could open up additional opportunities to try to get at a reasonable two-state construct is the reporting accurate that the president has Flo floated that idea in his last call with BB Netanyahu and that it's something that.

Uh sympathetic toize Palestinians I won't get into the specifics of the discussions that uh the president is having with the the Prime Minister I think he was very clear with all of you about how he views the ultimate path to a two-state solution and the need for some flexibility and how you describe what that looks like.

But again it's going to require leadership on all sides in the region as well and it's going to require leadership there to also uh be willing to look at it uh the same way that the president is just one more thing U by my count there is at least two different Israeli operations today that are taking place in Gaz and hospitals what is the.

Current US guidance to Israel about operations within hospitals where civilians are seeking care we don't want to see hospitals as War zones we don't want to see hospitals as uh uh battle battlefields um they should be as protected as possible that said said we know that Hamas deliberately uses places like hospitals.

To store weapons uh house their Fighters even to some degree for command and control uh and so that places a special need on on the Israeli Defense Forces but also a special burden and how they uh approach uh any fighting in or around hospitals they have a right to defend themselves they have a right to go after these leaders they have a right to take.

Away the ability for Hamas to to store and and and resource themselves even if that is in hospitals but again I would say the same thing that we've said before on this issue that uh uh we we expect them to do so in accordance with international law and to protect uh innocent people in hospitals medical staff and patients as well as much as.

Possible good and just quick follow on that question has the have have the Israelis briefed the US on their plans to protect those civilian I'm not aware of specific military briefings about that and does but we've been very clear about our expectations and does the US agree with a prominent Israeli War Cabinet member who said recently that.

The remaining hostages can only be released through a ceas f we well I mean look we've seen um the way the way we got those 100 hostages out was through a one a weekl long humanitarian pause stopping a temporary stoppage in in the fighting because obviously at the very root of it you you can't you can't enact safe passage for.

Hostages out of a danger zone if people are shooting at each other so you need a you need people to lay down their arms at least long enough to affect a hostage transfer um and that one week got a 100 people out and the fact that there was no fighting helped enable that so clearly we still support pauses in the fighting to get hostages out we don't.

Support a general ceasefire which is usually put in place um in the expectation that you're going to end a conflict that is going to lead to specific uh negotiations uh that's that's no no change to our policy there good thanks Karine um thank you Kirby so on Friday the president did make his view clear about a two-state solution.

But he also suggested that Netanyahu was open to that view so did Netanyahu Express to the president that or why did the president I uh they had a they had a very constructive conversation uh and I think I just need to leave it at that um uh the Prime Minister should.

Speak to his comments um and I'm sure he has and he will all I can tell you is where the president's head is still believes in the two-state solution and as you heard him say himself he believes that they that that there's a way to it he's optimistic that we can get there and that it could you know obviously any two-state solution is going to require.

Some compromises on Friday when we asked you about it you said obviously we see things differently than nanal who based on his public remarks but the president interpreted those public remarks differently he said no netanel who didn't say that he was opposed to two-state Solutions So based on what.

Natyu has said publicly how do you interpret whether he's open or not to a two-state solution I would point you back to the president said they had a good conversation um including about the importance of a two-state solution that doesn't mean that uh we agree on every component of what that can look like that's why leadership's important here.

That's why the president's not going to let go of this and it's why we need leadership uh in the region on moving forward but look this is if this was easy I mean my goodness we we'd have a we've had a two-state solution for years now it's not easy it's hard it's really hard and it requires a compromise it's going to require negotiation it's going.

To require sacrifices again on both sides the president understands that he's not panish about that that's why he staying he's staying true to it thank you um two things if I can also ask about this over the weekend we did see Netanyahu make rather explicit again his opposition to a two-state solution do you or does the administration not take.

That opposition at face value when Netanyahu is saying he does think this is all irreconcilable with the Palestinian State we can and have and I'm sure will have very Frank discussions with prime minister Netanyahu and his cabinet about the future of of uh of uh of the Palestinian people um and what Gaza looks like postc.

Conflict and as I said earlier that doesn't mean we're going to agree with everything I'll let the Prime Minister speak to his comments I guess I'm just struggling to understand it seems like the president supports a policy or this White House does and then the Israeli Prime Minister is coming out in direct opposition to that policy um and I don't.

Understand well is the suggestion that we should then change our minds and we should not advocate for it anymore president think that he gets there that's what I don't understand or is he thinking that he gets there without nyaho well only the the Israeli people determine who they're officials are going to be not the United States that's.

One two the president still believes and he's again not polanish he knows this is going to be hard stuff and it has been it has proven extraordinary elusive EXT to to to date but he he believes that it's in the best interest of our Israeli friends to have an independent Palestinian State now how that looks what that looks like whether they have a.

Military or not th those are discussions that that need to be had in the region and with leaders of on both sides but he still believes in the power and the promise of it um and he has for for many many years so we're going to keep at this we're going to keep these discussions going it's also important to remember that Israel is in the middle of.

A a hardfought fight here with with Hamas and we got to make sure that they can continue to defend themselves one unrelated question as well on Friday you were asked about a Palestinian American Teenager who was killed in the West Bank I think you were trying to get some additional information um do you have additional information I'm just curious.

How you all are interpreting that situation and if give Administration has been in touch at all with his family uh I I don't know family Communications uh I'll come back to you on that one that's a good question uh but we have been able to get some more information about this certainly a tragic killing uh by all counts U that that we've been able to.

Glean so far um our deepest condolences go to the family he was 17 years old just a teenager so uh our thoughts and prayers certainly are with the family and we call on Israel to conduct a full thorough transparent uh investigation into his killing uh and of course we have every expectation uh that those uh that those responsible for it will be.

Held properly accountable this kid is 17 years old talk about another family that is going through some enormous grief right now great uh after last week's meeting on Ukraine here at the white house uh the Speaker of the House implied that President Biden uh did not articul it uh articulate a clear strategy for Ukraine so does the White.

House have one and what quoting speaker Johnson is the end game for Ukraine uh look I I can't uh I can't speak uh to what the the speaker has heard or read or understood from the countless discussions that we've had with members of Congress about Ukraine and what we're trying to do here um it's it's been.

Pretty transparent pretty clear we want Ukraine to win this war as the president has said we want a whole prosperous Sovereign Ukraine we want Ukraine's borders internationally established borders to be fully recognized by everybody and that includes Mr Putin uh and we want to be able to continue to give Ukraine the support that it needs.

So that it can so that it can achieve those outcomes and we've been nothing but clear about that I mean and with every package that's gone out to Ukraine there's been a consultation with Congress there's been a conversation we've been very clear about this uh and we have talked to the ukrainians throughout this last two years it's hard.

To believe we're coming up on two years uh meeting their needs along the way we want to continue to do that would you make up speaker Johnson's comments repeated um comments the speaker can own his comments and he should he should be the one answering questions I can tell you we have been nothing but clear and.

Consistent with members of Congress since the beginning of the war about what we were doing to help ukra succeed on the battlefield and what we're going to need to continue to do I mean we can get caught up in all this the comments out here on the microphones but the next couple of months are going to be critical for Ukraine I mean if you think.

That the fighting is just going to stop because the snow's Fallen think again and the Russians continue to fire drones and missiles at Ukraine and the and while the Battlefront hasn't moved a lot on either side there's still a lot of active fighting going on there um and Ukrainian commanders I believe can be forgiven right now from having to make.

Some pretty difficult decisions about what weapons they're going to expend what shells they're going to fire what missiles they're going to use because they don't know when the next shipment is going to come um and that's a horrible place that's a horrible place to put uh the Ukrainian military in as the Russians certainly aren't suffering.

Under that that same uncertainty as they reach out to North Korea for ballistic missiles and by the way continue to fire them and drones from Iran and and and producing on their own C uh thank you my colleagues at the Wall Street Journal reported on a proposal by Arab countries including Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Egypt andq for a postwar Gaza that would.

Create a pathway toward a Palestinian state in exchange for a Saudi recognition of Israel is the US aware of this proposal does the administration support it I I am not going to obviously not going to try to negotiate uh here from the podium um so certainly seeing that reporting all I can tell you is that we as even on the call with prime.

Minister sunak today we continue to be in touch with our cter Parts our allies and partners about trying to get those hostages out trying to get the appropriate humanitarian Paws in place so that we can do that and get additional Aid in as well um as making sure that uh that uh that Israel has what it needs to defend itself but I I.

Won't I won't get into specific negotiations one way or another and is there anything else that you could tell us about Brett MC's visit to the region both in terms of the focus of his discussions and how you know the first day of talks has gone well I don't have any readout from his first day of talks he just got in the region uh I'm sure.

We'll have more to say about it as he um as he moves through this trip uh as you know he comes in and out of the region all the time um and I suspect that in all his discussions uh he'll be talking to a range of of Partners and counterparts on a range of issues to include of course the fighting in Gaza and our desire to to get those hostages.

Out Kell we have to wrap it up soon we together soon does the US have any concern that the positions of the Israeli government on two-state solution or the pace or intensity of the war have more to do with uh Benjamin netanyahu's domestic position in term as opposed to the long-term goals that the US and allies would have that there is uh a.

Focus on his own needs versus what might be what the US believes is the right course in all our discussions Kelly with a war cabinet we're we're not having them from a perspective of their domestic politics and and I recognize the the validity of the question but we're not we're not focused on what their domestic political issues are that.

Would be that wouldn't be a sound for us to have discussions with them about the war in Gaza um that's really for them to speak to that whatever pressures they might feel or might not feel from a domestic pers perspective uh what we want to make sure is that they know they're going to continue to get our support but that we also want to see.

Reduction in civilian casualties more humanitarian assistance going in and obviously as I said earlier get those hostages out thanks K Admiral just a quick one on China over the weekend the Chinese ambassador to the ne Netherlands was commenting on asl's ban of further chip equipment to China and he said it stretched the US has stretched its idea.

Of security far too far even to matters that have nothing to do with military risks and that the US is putting pressure on their allies to do the same I was wondering if you have any response no we talked about this um coming out of the the the G20 I mean um there is it's not just about the United States other countries share our concerns about um uh.

Certain export licenses of certain technology uh that can have a national security implication and we made it very clear we're trying to drisk not decouple a and our decisions in terms of of of uh these export licenses is really designed specifically to make sure that we can continue to protect us National Security that's what we're focused on and these.

And these companies obviously have to make their own decisions good John thanks a lot K John it seems as if the administration and prime minister Netanyahu are on the same page as it relates to the hostages that is that you can't talk about having a cessation of hostilities in Gaza without a release of the hostages would you agree with that.

Idea you you uh we believe that it's important for in order to be able to get hostages out safely you've got to have a pause in the fighting and where do things stand as relates to that we're almost approaching February the hostages were initially taken uh October the 7th of last year are there efforts underway there's various reporting for instance.

About uh efforts in Cairo can you confirm those efforts what I can confirm for you is that there are ongoing serious sober discussions with our partners and uh and our counterparts to try to get another hostage deal in place I wish I could stand here John and tell you that you know I I can announce it today or we're going to do it.

Tomorrow I can't do that but I can assure you that this is not something we we've forgotten about it's not something we haven't worked on every single day and as I said earlier you know Brett's in the region and I have no doubt that this will be a key part of his agenda while he's over there adal there have been roughly 150.

Attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria is the US response working is the US doing enough to protect its troops we'll continue to do what we have to do to protect our troops and our facilities uh we certainly mindful of the of the danger and uh and in these attacks over the weekends now a small number but a number nonetheless of of US troops uh.

Were being evaluated for traumatic brain injury that's a that's a wound and we take that seriously and who they aren't stopping their attacks so when the US retaliates how can that not be seen as escalatory and how does this all end if you're trying to look if if you're uh if you're in a scrap with somebody um and you can find a way.

To tie one or both of their hands behind their back that's not the escalating or that's not escalating that's de-escalating that's taking ability away from the other party uh to uh to inflict harm and the strikes that we have conducted ashore in Yemen have degraded houti capabilities as I've said earlier it doesn't mean that they don't still.

Have offensive capability available to them clearly they do because they continue to to use it and as the president said as long as they continue to make that choice we have a choice too we have a choice to keep defending our ships and our Sailors and Merchant traffic and we have a choice when we have the information available to us to.

Preempt their ability to conduct those attacks and we'll continue to do that and there was a a pretty Stark statement from a senior Israeli official to AB news saying that Israel is closer than ever to a war with Hezbollah and possibly a full Regional War do you agree with that everything the president has done since October 7th everything.

Has really been designed to to keep this conflict from escalating and uh and widening um and we're going to that's that's going to be our Focus I wanted to get your response to a comment from the uh EU foreign policy Chief Joseph barell he's meeting with with other European Union foreign ministers in Brussels and and he said.

That the uh Israeli military operation is not working and that it is seeding hate for Generations in Gaza I wanted to get your response on what the White House thinks about the Israelis themselves have talked about the progress that they've made against Hamas leadership we believe that going after leadership is a useful approach when.

You're when you're dealing with a terrorist Network it worked for us with al- Qaeda it worked for us with Isis um I'll let them speak to their progress we've been very careful not to armchair quarterback this thing and uh throw in place from the sideline uh but uh but they have made some progress against the the the network they've made some.

Progress against the Network's ability to Resource itself and the infrastructure particularly underground infrastructure uh that they continue to use but as the Israelis have said themselves that's going to be a fight that's going to take them some time so um and as for the second part of that comment I mean uh look every single.

Every single life lost innocent life lost is is a tragedy um and should be mourned and we have been very clear with our Israeli counterparts about about the need to be more precise more deliberate more cautious uh there have been too many civilians killed in this conflict and uh we the right number right number zero and we recognize U that that there.

Could be long-term effects from that andj and then you have a last question thank you John um prime minister Netanyahu rejected hamas's conditions to end the war in exchange for releasing all of the hostages does President Biden support that decision the decision by prime minister n again I I'd let the Prime Minister speak to his his comments.

We want to see all the hostages home and we want to see Israel not have to face a threat next door like the fa like the one that they faced on the 7th of October I'm just asking if the president supports this decision to reject a proposal that would have freed all of the hostages including of course the valid I can't validate that proposal.

Itself uh I'm not in a position to confirm that proposal I I understand that I'm not in a position to confirm that what I can tell you is that the president supports Israel being able to defend itself he supports getting all those hostages out he supports in order to do that an additional humanitarian pause of some.

Length that will allow those hostages to go to Freedom safely and more Aid to get in and again you need a pause in the fighting to be able to do that we don't support still today uh some sort of General ceasefire and just on the going back to the phone call between the president and the Prime Minister on Friday we reported uh that the prime.

Minister in that phone call had privately indicated that he was not ruling out the possibility of any Palestinian state in any form obviously you're aware of what he has said in public over the last few days my colleagues have referenced those statements I guess I'm just wondering as far as you aware is there any daylight.

Between what the Prime Minister says in private versus in public on this matter that's a question for the Prime Minister and his last question so um if the US Aid is delayed for further for Ukraine uh is there a danger does the president worry that other European States might withdraw their support I would say that the president's.

Mindful that other nations are watching what we do obviously Mr Putin's watching what we do um and other nations not involved in this conflict are watching what we do I'm sure I'm sure China's watching it too president shei but our allies and our partners yeah they're watching closely what we end up doing here because American leadership has.

Been critical in supporting Ukraine we have literally led the way not only in the contributions but in the coordination of contributions of other nations to get stuff into Ukraine uh and so yeah I think it's entirely possible we we should expect that some of our allies and partners might have to make different decisions if if they see um.

American leadership falter here or or the United States pull back from supporting Ukraine and that would have potentially disastrous consequences es for Ukraine the president had any conversations with any of these uh European States well he just talked to prime minister sunac today and one of.

The topics was Ukraine so yes absolutely thanks thanks Admiral thank you so much Admiral all right we don't have too much time so rapid fire I guess um first of all does the White House see this week as sort of a maor break uh week when it comes to the Border deal coming together and advancing the Senate so look uh we think.

This week is obviously you heard from the president on Friday right right before he uh right before he addressed or when he was addressing the mayor so this is I think the way to look at it is this is an urgent moment an urgent time to get things done uh at the border to make sure we move his National Security Supplemental forward and it's not.

Obviously not just the board of security you just heard the Admiral talk about Ukraine you just heard the Admiral talk about uh Israel all of these request in that supplemental is urgent is important that's why supplementals are for uh when you have an emergency request so the border is important we think that uh we've had said before and I think you.

Also heard a little bit from the president on Friday that we think it's going in the right direction uh we are very grateful and and very thankful to the Senators uh to the Senators both Republicans and Democrats who have been doing this for several weeks several months now trying to get to uh a bipartisan agreement on the border and.

We want to see that happen it is time they have to act and we need to move quickly there is a Roc call circulating in New Hampshire that uses what appears to be fake audio of President Biden's voice acknowledging that's obviously a campaign issue and the campaign itself has spoken to it can you nonetheless talk about the concerns that the White.

House has about the president's likeness to being used in this false manner so look uh as you just stated I always have to say at the at the top it's a robo call For an upcoming election 2024 obviously so I just want to be careful in that comment but that call was indeed uh fake and not recorded by the president I can confirm that uh and so I.

Just want to be really careful since it doesn't uh it is a primary election it is a campaign don't want to speak too much uh about that uh and uh look more broadly it as we talk about deep fakes uh the president has been clear that there are risks associated with deep fakes uh fake images and uh misinformation can be exacerbated uh by.

Emerging Technologies and that's why this president has directed uh the Department of Commerce through uh through the AI safety Institute at nist to help develop Clear Water marking and content uh content standards so that's important uh but uh again to the your your question on on this robocall call that was not the president that was fake.

And it was certainly not rec recorded by this President okay thank you Karine um on Friday President Biden said that he does not believe the border is secure which is different from what uh secretary mayorcas has testified multiple times on the hill um why do they have two different views of the security of the Border I mean.

Look the president's been really clear right he's been clear that we need to move on the border the Border needs he needs resources to deal with the situation at the border that's why they're having these conversation uh at the Senate on the Senate level and that's why he's asking for more resources and he wants to see uh.

Additional resources but also changes uh to policy uh to address what we've been seeing at the border so him asking for it him saying that we need to deal with the B border security as my orcus as we all here have been doing at the White House I think shows that yeah we have there's an issue at the border we need to deal with it uh and we have to act.

Now there's an urgent need to act now we want to find a bipartisan agreement to deal with that and so we feel that uh meaningful change uh and additional resources are critical at this time myor is who is tasked with um you know making sure those resources are applied if he is saying something different than the president about.

Whether it's secure or not I guess I just have a hard time understanding why there is a disconnect here yeah I look the president has repeatedly said that the the immigration system is broken he has said that on day one from day one when he put forward his first uh piece of legislation his first big policy was to deal on the border and.

It's been 3 years we haven't seen any action we're glad to see that there's conversation at the Senate but he has said he has said it is broken immigration system is broken border of security we need more resources he's been very very clear very clear at about that and I think those are the actions that he's taken over the last three.

Years those are when you look at this uh bip parts and agreement obviously those conversation uh when it leads to the border security has been about that how can we see significant meaningful meaningful policy changes and also funding adding funding to that to deal with what's happening at the border so look it's broken the system is broken.

The president has said this that's why we have that's why on the first day again I'm just repeating myself here over and over again he put forward a comprehensive immigration policy to Congress to deal with that broken system that we that has been around for decades I just had a very quick follow up on the the the robo call um you know.

Understanding that that may raise some some federal issues as well is there going to be any kind of federal response in terms of National Security election Integrity law enforcement policy anything like that so I don't have anything else to share Beyond you know confirming that it was indeed fake it was not recorded by this President want.

To be also really really careful because it's an ongoing obviously an election year that we're in 2024 so don't want to get too far into it but I also just laid out why we have to be mindful right there are going to be deep fakes that's why the president has taken this very seriously over the last uh couple years here in the administration uh so I don't.

Have anything to preview or to lay out on any response from the federal level but I can certainly confirm that uh that was not the president uh it is not the president's uh voice he did not uh uh record uh uh that message uh okay go ahead it's been a while hi it yes hello where you been uh just preparing for this moment.

I think I'm going to disappoint you really badly if you've been preparing all this time for this moment it's not going to be that exciting I'm pretty let's see uh Karine why do you think it is that more and more people p feel like over time President Biden is getting less and less mentally sharp which poll is this ABC uh has.

President Biden's rating for health since May down five points and for mental sharpness down four points you know I have to say that's a little confusing for me because if you look at what this president has done the last 3 years historical pieces of legislation right when it comes to bipar infrastructure deal many presidents.

Before like your favorite President had said that who's my favorite President why don't you why we let the American people guess but had said wait no no no let me finish let me finish let me finish you ask me a question I'm let me let me finish let me finish let me finish and you'll you'll get who I'm.

Talking about who used to say infrastructure week infrastructure week which was a punchline became a joke and now we are seeing infrastructure decade because of this President there's the chips and science Act Right There is the infl inflation reduction act these are legislation that is going to have a difference for generations to come right.

And so this is something that this president has done that's pretty sharp for this president to have been able to do that let's look at the economy the economy now unemployment is under 4% 14 million jobs created the economy is in a better place than when it was when he walked in that's just a fact that's just a data and we're seeing consumer.

Sentiment is going up and we saw just in December how um how people spent more and we hadn't seen that in some time so I think you needed a president like President Biden to get that type of stuff done someone who's had Senate experience someone who was the VP vice president under under uh president B Obama obviously and someone who has been.

A pretty effective president over the last three years okay uh following up on immigration authorities in Fairfax County Virginia ignored an ice detainer they released an illegal immigrant from Honduras who is charged with sexually assaulting a Virginia minor and production of sexual abuse material doesn't that go to show that as record.

Numbers of people appear at the border you guys have no idea what kind of people people are coming into this country let me just say uh first of all this is why the president is having negotiations with the Senate Senators Republicans and Democrats right for the past couple of weeks to deal with what's going on at the border security right as.

It we as it relates to border security this is why the president on day one put forth a comprehensive immigration plan that more than 3 years now Congress didn't do anything about but he's appreciative that we're having these conversation in this Senate we've we've deployed additional troops uh and federal agents to the Border who have by.

The way returned more than 482 uh th000 individuals since May that's that's what we've been able to do uh We've led the largest expansion of lawful Pathways and that we haven't seen in some time the president continues to have diplomatic conversation with Mexico who have actually taken taken actions to deal with uh the situation there's more.

Work to do there's more work to do we understand that we have said that you've heard that from the president on Friday we understand that there's more work to do we need more resources we need more funding which is why we're having these negotiations in on the hill but Republicans in the Senate is working with us Republicans in the house are.

Trying to get in the way so it's up to them are they going to help are they going to actually deal with an issue or continue to move forward at a political stunt and as President Biden tries to make the national conversation more about Reproductive Rights abortion how many weeks into a pregnancy does he think abortion should still be legal so.

You've asked me this question before I've been very clear the president's been very clear we want to see the Protections in row we want to see row become the law of the land that's what the president wants to see that's what the president believes in and let me be very clear here it's not some sort of shift that the president is.

Making majority of Americans want to see their protections protected by their by by this by by the by the folks who are here in Washington DC in Congress by this president and the vice president that's the president is standing with majority of Americans we saw that in the 2023 uh midterm elections and we saw that in 2022 not midterm election but.

The 2023 election and 2022 midterm elections they've been very clear we need to stand for freedoms for make sure women have the right to make their own decision personal decisions on their body on their health care that's where majority of Americans are guess what Republican officials they're not there they're not with majority of Americans.

So the president's going to continue to stand with majority Americans on this go ahead Brian thanks Bri uh the president on Friday said that he wants to see massive changes uh at the border um what kind of policy changes is he discussing and open to so I'm not going to negotiate from here we're going to be very careful very mindful we want to see.

Meaningful change meaningful change so that we can actually deal with a broken system the immigration system is obviously broken and we want to make sure that we have resources to deal with what we're seeing at the border and so that's what they're talking about in the Senate with both Republicans and Democrats not going to negotiate from.

Here I'm going to let them have those conversations I think that's important that they have the space to do that but the president wants to deliver meaningful change uh and he's also very grateful uh to uh to those legislators continuing to have those conversations we think it's headed in the right directions but not going to get into.

Specifics as to what those policy changes would look like okay right behind you go ahead thank you um Biden admitted Friday that the board order is in Secure does he have any plans to visit the southern border before the election President wasn't visited the board recently in January yeah that was that was a year.

Ago he's been there um in December 2023 there were 300,000 migrant encounters which is the highest month everon record how bad does the Border crisis have to be for Biden to take a trip back so just to reiterate what I just said seconds ago the president's been to the Border he's visited the Border he saw for himself he spoke to law enforcement he.

Saw exactly what goes on at the border the president understands what's going on at the border which is why he included in his national uh Security Supplemental right which is again a request that is when when you feel like there's an emergency you make that supplemental request which is what the president did it included border.

Security included uh obviously Ukraine and Israel and it is incredibly important which is why he continues to push for it and you're seeing those conversations happening in the senate in a bipartisan way a bipartisan agreement and the president is very thankful to that and so I'm going to leave that there he's taking this very seriously.

Remember day one day one he put forward an immigration uh comprehensive immigration legislation go ahead hey Grant um you made clear that the that call in New Hampshire was a fake uh with the president's voice and that that was discouraging people from coming out to vote does that mean that he would encourage people to go out and vote in.

New Hampshire even though he's not on the ballot I'm not going to speak to an ongoing uh ongoing election I can't I can't from here I'm a federal employee I cannot speak to this I cannot I can't you I would refer you to the campaign I cannot speak to that from here and quick follow from I think Friday I know that the president through his chief of staff.

Apologize to ASA Hutchinson who is a defeated candidate it does that I know he want he didn't agree with those words in the DNC statement but does he fear that the DNC has taken its Eye Off the Ball as far as trying to win over disaffected Republicans with that I'm going to be very careful because you speak you're you're asking me.

Essentially about a upcoming election an election year that we're in so I'm not going to speak to the DNC I would refer you to the DNC themselves uh but I I reiterated that the statement that came out from the DNC that I can speak on behalf of the president that what he uh what was said and what was in that statement uh did not reflect this.

President I just don't have anything else to share beyond that thanks um Governor Whitmer was on face Nation on Sunday and she talked about um the abortion issue and she said that it would be good for the president to talk more about it and she also said that he should use more blunt language what's your reaction to that so in a in.

A few minutes we're going hear directly from this president he's going to be meeting with his task force uh it is the fourth time he'll be meeting with this task force uh the president has made it very clear that women across the country should be making uh these uh personal deeply personal decisions about their own bodies uh and not politicians he'll.

Continue to stand for that he'll continue to stand uh with overwhelming uh overwhelmingly uh majority of Americans and uh and you know he believes and agrees that um that reproductive freedom is a fundamental right it is a fundamental right uh within I believe if my timing is Right within the hour after the decision was.

Made by the Supreme Court uh to overturn row you heard from the president he he spoke passionately about it he spoke forcefully about what had just happened freedoms being taken away uh and at the top I talked about how 21 states uh now have uh um have bans on abortion or some sort of restrict restrictive uh um ban on abortion or.

Restrictive restricting rights on that and that affects 27 million women 27 million women so you're going to hear from the president in very like I said in a few short minutes you'll hear from him and he'll speak directly to this and he's been very very clear he's going to stand with the majority of Americans on this the president's going to South.

Carolina on Saturday he's going to spend the night do you have any more information about what he going to be we'll have I believe The Campaign Will have more to share on his trip to South Carolina I don't have anything at this time all right okay all right go ahead green you said to Peter that the president wants to see row restored it's.

Still not clear to me though if he supports the late term abortion restrictions that were included in row I well if it's in row then that's what he wants to see I'm just not going to get into it it's whatever is in row what row was when it was a constitutional law that's what the president wants to see restored he's been very clear about that.

He also said he wants to be a president for all Americans but how in this situation with this issue does he best represent the pro-life Americans who want to see more unborn babies Sav what I will say is majority of Americans majority of Americans wants to see their rights protected wants to see women have their rights protected wants to be able.

To wants want women to be able to make those deeply deeply personal decisions on their bodies on their own not politicians that's what majority of Americans want to see and so the president's going to stand with majority of Americans on this issue do those unborn babies have any rights then I'm not going to get into that specific I'm.

Not going to get into that question I've been very very clear about this where majority of Americans stand uh and that's what matters the president wants to see row become the law of the land and that's what he's going to continue to ask uh Congress to do thanks everybody we'll see you tomorrow thank you.

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