WEBVTT 00:02.240 --> 00:05.540 good to see you happy 00:05.540 --> 00:08.790 pride celebrating here today . 00:08.800 --> 00:10.800 Okay , I'm just going to give you a 00:10.800 --> 00:12.911 quick overview of the week ahead . On 00:12.911 --> 00:14.911 monday , the president will welcome 00:14.911 --> 00:17.022 Israeli President Rivlin to the White 00:17.022 --> 00:19.133 House President . Rivlin's visit will 00:19.133 --> 00:21.078 highlight the enduring partnership 00:21.078 --> 00:23.133 between the United States and Israel 00:23.133 --> 00:24.800 and the deep ties between our 00:24.800 --> 00:26.578 governments and our people . As 00:26.578 --> 00:28.744 President Rivlin approaches the end of 00:28.744 --> 00:30.744 his term , the visit will honor the 00:30.744 --> 00:30.460 dedication , he has shown to 00:30.460 --> 00:32.516 strengthening the friendship between 00:32.516 --> 00:34.571 the two countries over the course of 00:34.571 --> 00:36.793 many years . On Tuesday , the president 00:36.793 --> 00:39.016 will travel to Southwest Wisconsin with 00:39.016 --> 00:41.238 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to 00:41.238 --> 00:43.071 talk about growing agriculture , 00:43.071 --> 00:45.404 growing agriculture and rural economies . 00:45.404 --> 00:47.571 On Wednesday , he will convene cabinet 00:47.571 --> 00:49.516 officials , governors from Western 00:49.516 --> 00:51.627 States and private sector partners to 00:51.627 --> 00:53.849 discuss the devastating intersection of 00:53.849 --> 00:55.950 drought heat and wildfires in the 00:55.950 --> 00:58.500 western United States and strengthening 00:58.500 --> 01:00.556 prevention preparedness and response 01:00.556 --> 01:02.500 efforts for this wildfire season , 01:02.500 --> 01:04.778 which is already outpacing last season . 01:04.778 --> 01:07.660 All alone uh outpacing last season 01:07.660 --> 01:09.549 alone , sorry , the 2020 wildfire 01:09.549 --> 01:11.549 season alone burned over 10 million 01:11.549 --> 01:13.382 acres across the United States , 01:13.382 --> 01:15.327 resulting in the loss of dozens of 01:15.327 --> 01:17.438 lives and tens of billions of dollars 01:17.438 --> 01:19.604 in economic damage . This meeting will 01:19.604 --> 01:21.827 focus on how the federal government can 01:21.827 --> 01:23.993 most effectively protect public safety 01:23.993 --> 01:26.216 and deliver assistance to our people in 01:26.216 --> 01:28.271 times of urgent need and on friday . 01:28.271 --> 01:30.493 The president will also deliver remarks 01:30.493 --> 01:32.771 on the june jobs report uh , next week . 01:32.771 --> 01:34.827 Even while all of this is going on a 01:34.827 --> 01:37.049 busy week , the president also continue 01:37.049 --> 01:39.271 to work and engage closely with members 01:39.271 --> 01:41.271 of Congress about moving his agenda 01:41.271 --> 01:43.850 forward , whether it's the bipartisan 01:43.860 --> 01:46.082 infrastructure agreement just announced 01:46.082 --> 01:48.249 yesterday or the budget reconciliation 01:48.249 --> 01:50.304 process that's also moving forward , 01:50.304 --> 01:52.830 and he will continue to uh , on his 01:52.830 --> 01:54.830 work to protect the sacred right to 01:54.830 --> 01:56.941 vote . You'll hear from him next week 01:56.941 --> 01:58.997 on that , we're still finalizing the 01:58.997 --> 02:01.108 details and he's been engaged in that 02:01.108 --> 02:03.330 work through his career . So , you hear 02:03.330 --> 02:05.441 more from him on that next week ? I'd 02:05.441 --> 02:07.552 also note . So I don't forget today's 02:07.552 --> 02:07.350 drums last day in the White House 02:07.350 --> 02:09.183 briefing room as the White House 02:09.183 --> 02:11.350 correspondent . So , um , thank you to 02:11.350 --> 02:13.350 your service to the public over the 02:13.350 --> 02:16.910 last several years . All right . Why 02:16.910 --> 02:19.077 don't we kick it off , darling . Thank 02:19.077 --> 02:20.966 you , jen , is the infrastructure 02:20.966 --> 02:23.132 agreement already stuck in a pothole ? 02:23.340 --> 02:27.220 You worked hard on that . 02:27.230 --> 02:31.230 I like it . Uh , absolutely 02:31.230 --> 02:34.560 not . In our view , the President , uh , 02:34.570 --> 02:36.626 is continuing to , as I said , as he 02:36.626 --> 02:38.737 said yesterday , there's work ahead . 02:38.737 --> 02:40.792 There's no question about that . But 02:40.792 --> 02:43.014 yesterday was a significant moment when 02:43.014 --> 02:45.126 you saw democrats and republicans and 02:45.126 --> 02:47.070 the President of the United States 02:47.070 --> 02:49.237 stand outside together and say , we've 02:49.237 --> 02:51.292 come to agreement to , to work for , 02:51.292 --> 02:53.514 toward passing a historic investment in 02:53.514 --> 02:55.681 infrastructure one that would have , I 02:55.681 --> 02:57.848 just have this handy chart up here . I 02:57.848 --> 03:00.014 thought someone might ask about this , 03:00.014 --> 03:02.014 um , would have key components that 03:02.014 --> 03:03.903 would help communities across the 03:03.903 --> 03:06.014 country . And I talked with him about 03:06.014 --> 03:08.070 this this morning . What he was most 03:08.070 --> 03:07.060 excited about what he's going to 03:07.060 --> 03:09.282 continue , what his message is going to 03:09.282 --> 03:11.504 be as he continues to advocate for this 03:11.504 --> 03:13.338 bill moving forward , one is the 03:13.338 --> 03:15.282 significant economic impact . It's 03:15.282 --> 03:17.393 going to help create millions of good 03:17.393 --> 03:19.616 paying union jobs . It will also have a 03:19.616 --> 03:21.750 huge impact on low income communities 03:21.750 --> 03:23.639 on communities of color . It will 03:23.639 --> 03:25.806 eliminate lead pipes to stop kids from 03:25.806 --> 03:27.972 drinking poison water flint . Michigan 03:27.972 --> 03:30.194 should not be so far away that we don't 03:30.194 --> 03:32.417 remember the impact on that community . 03:32.417 --> 03:34.417 Uh , this is a Part of this package 03:34.417 --> 03:36.250 will help prevent that from ever 03:36.250 --> 03:38.139 happening again . It includes the 03:38.139 --> 03:39.750 single largest investment in 03:39.750 --> 03:41.917 environmental remediation in history . 03:41.917 --> 03:44.028 What does that mean ? A lot of people 03:44.028 --> 03:43.180 at home don't know what that means . 03:43.180 --> 03:45.402 I'm going to explain it . Uh , and it's 03:45.402 --> 03:47.458 100% of what he asked for . It means 03:47.458 --> 03:49.513 cleaning up pollution in communities 03:49.513 --> 03:51.680 that have disproportionately borne the 03:51.680 --> 03:53.791 brunt of environmental pollution . To 03:53.791 --> 03:55.902 capping , it also means capping wells 03:55.902 --> 03:57.958 where big oil companies left wells , 03:57.958 --> 04:00.069 I'm capped with methane pouring out . 04:00.069 --> 04:02.291 It means putting people back to work to 04:02.291 --> 04:04.180 do the work we need to do to help 04:04.180 --> 04:06.291 create a clean energy economy for the 04:06.291 --> 04:06.150 long term and has the largest 04:06.150 --> 04:08.150 investment in public transit in our 04:08.150 --> 04:10.206 nation's history . We know this will 04:10.206 --> 04:12.206 also have an enormous impact on low 04:12.206 --> 04:14.317 income communities , many communities 04:14.317 --> 04:16.317 of color . I'll also note there are 04:16.317 --> 04:18.372 huge components of this package that 04:18.372 --> 04:20.539 will help address the climate crisis . 04:20.539 --> 04:22.761 One is the first ever , uh , first ever 04:22.761 --> 04:24.539 network , first time we've ever 04:24.539 --> 04:26.706 invested , sorry , in a network of E . 04:26.706 --> 04:28.983 V charging stations across the country . 04:28.983 --> 04:28.960 So , electric vehicles , I don't 04:28.960 --> 04:31.182 currently own one . Maybe I will in the 04:31.182 --> 04:33.349 future , who knows ? Uh , it will make 04:33.349 --> 04:35.571 it easier . There will be more charging 04:35.571 --> 04:35.250 stations so people can use them across 04:35.250 --> 04:37.417 the country . It will have the largest 04:37.417 --> 04:39.306 investment in history and a clean 04:39.306 --> 04:41.361 energy transmission grid . Something 04:41.361 --> 04:43.583 that will also help us take a huge step 04:43.583 --> 04:45.750 forward . And this bill also will help 04:45.750 --> 04:45.530 us . And this is a piece he talked 04:45.530 --> 04:47.752 about yesterday , but he's particularly 04:47.752 --> 04:49.919 excited us make us more competitive in 04:49.919 --> 04:51.863 the world . And a specific example 04:51.863 --> 04:53.919 there is making sure we are building 04:53.919 --> 04:56.141 our battery industry here in the United 04:56.141 --> 04:56.110 States to compete globally . So that's 04:56.110 --> 04:58.277 the case he's making , uh , he's going 04:58.277 --> 05:00.277 to continue to make uh , there's no 05:00.277 --> 05:02.443 question , there's work ahead and he's 05:02.443 --> 05:04.554 ready to roll up his sleeves and work 05:04.554 --> 05:04.090 like hell to get it done . But we're 05:04.090 --> 05:06.090 hearing from the hill from a lot of 05:06.090 --> 05:09.070 senators that unhappiness over the 05:09.080 --> 05:11.302 president's decision to want to do both 05:11.302 --> 05:13.080 these packages at the same time 05:13.080 --> 05:15.970 preparing moving them in tandem . When 05:15.980 --> 05:18.036 senators agreed to this deal was the 05:18.036 --> 05:20.147 White House up front with them , that 05:20.147 --> 05:22.258 this was the way the president wanted 05:22.258 --> 05:24.369 to proceed first . You all have heard 05:24.369 --> 05:26.202 the president say multiple times 05:26.202 --> 05:28.202 publicly that he wanted to , he was 05:28.202 --> 05:30.202 going to move these bills forward , 05:30.202 --> 05:32.424 wanted to move them forward in parallel 05:32.424 --> 05:34.147 pass and that's exactly what's 05:34.147 --> 05:36.369 happening . That hasn't been a secret . 05:36.369 --> 05:35.940 He hasn't said it quietly . He hasn't 05:35.940 --> 05:37.940 even whispered it . He said it very 05:37.940 --> 05:39.940 much out loud to all of you . As we 05:39.940 --> 05:42.162 have said many times from here . I will 05:42.162 --> 05:44.273 say that the president's view is that 05:44.273 --> 05:46.107 the public , the american people 05:46.107 --> 05:48.180 elected him to not lead on process , 05:48.190 --> 05:50.610 but to get things done . The House and 05:50.610 --> 05:52.499 Senate are going to determine the 05:52.499 --> 05:54.499 leaders in the House and Senate are 05:54.499 --> 05:56.610 going to determine the sequencing the 05:56.610 --> 05:56.590 timeline . And he looks forward to 05:56.590 --> 05:58.646 signing both pieces of legislation . 05:58.860 --> 06:01.650 What is the plan for when we get a 06:01.650 --> 06:03.594 statement from the president after 06:03.594 --> 06:05.870 their derek chauvin is sentenced ? Uh 06:05.880 --> 06:08.090 Do you expect the president will call 06:08.100 --> 06:10.267 George Floyd's family be in touch with 06:10.267 --> 06:12.489 them after the sentences . It's a great 06:12.489 --> 06:14.711 question early and I don't I don't have 06:14.711 --> 06:16.878 any anticipate , I don't have anything 06:16.878 --> 06:16.670 to preview for you . I guess I should 06:16.670 --> 06:18.726 say at this point we'll wait for the 06:18.726 --> 06:20.892 sentencing to come out . As you know , 06:20.892 --> 06:23.114 he has a close personal connection with 06:23.114 --> 06:25.226 the Floyd family . And certainly no , 06:25.226 --> 06:27.114 they and we are all watching this 06:27.114 --> 06:29.337 closely . Go ahead . Does the president 06:29.337 --> 06:31.559 have any plans to visit surfside to see 06:31.559 --> 06:33.726 the devastation for himself ? Well , I 06:33.726 --> 06:35.948 would say first that any decision along 06:35.948 --> 06:35.540 those lines would be done in 06:35.540 --> 06:37.762 coordination and cooperation with local 06:37.762 --> 06:39.873 authorities as you know , and you all 06:39.873 --> 06:41.984 have been covering this closely right 06:41.984 --> 06:44.040 now . We're in a rescue and recovery 06:44.040 --> 06:45.929 phase of this and there have been 06:45.929 --> 06:48.151 frequent updates from local authorities 06:48.151 --> 06:48.060 on the ground . So I don't have any 06:48.070 --> 06:50.181 trip to preview or predict for you at 06:50.181 --> 06:52.126 this point in time talking to Vice 06:52.126 --> 06:54.020 President choose El paso as the 06:54.030 --> 06:55.974 location for her first trip to the 06:55.974 --> 06:58.197 border as Vice President . It's a great 06:58.197 --> 07:00.252 question . I was I was interested in 07:00.252 --> 07:02.363 that as well . So we looked into it . 07:02.363 --> 07:04.419 Um , I would say , uh , that El paso 07:04.419 --> 07:06.586 has um , an interesting history as you 07:06.586 --> 07:09.770 may know , because it was the place 07:09.770 --> 07:12.240 where the former president , uh , kind 07:12.240 --> 07:14.296 of , it was a base place of where he 07:14.296 --> 07:16.351 put in place some of his immigration 07:16.351 --> 07:18.018 policies that we felt were so 07:18.018 --> 07:20.073 problematic . And so it's a , it's a 07:20.073 --> 07:21.796 place that has a little bit of 07:21.796 --> 07:23.962 historical connection in that regard . 07:23.962 --> 07:26.129 And it's an opportunity to , uh , draw 07:26.129 --> 07:28.129 a bit of a contrast with what we're 07:28.129 --> 07:30.296 trying to accomplish . Can you give us 07:30.296 --> 07:32.518 any details about the three staffers in 07:32.518 --> 07:34.518 the Vice President's office who are 07:34.518 --> 07:36.573 leaving and what should we take from 07:36.573 --> 07:38.820 the fact that you have several key 07:38.820 --> 07:40.987 staffers who are leaving this early in 07:40.987 --> 07:43.153 the administration . I just don't have 07:43.153 --> 07:45.264 any more details on the circumstances 07:45.264 --> 07:47.320 of their departure . Uh , as you may 07:47.320 --> 07:49.487 know , these are sometimes high stress 07:49.487 --> 07:51.542 jobs , tiring jobs , exhausting jobs 07:51.650 --> 07:53.706 and , but I don't have anything more 07:53.706 --> 07:55.872 specific on their decisions . Go ahead 07:55.872 --> 07:58.039 following up on surfside if I can very 07:58.039 --> 08:00.094 quickly . Obviously no details about 08:00.094 --> 08:02.261 whether he plans to travel there . Has 08:02.261 --> 08:02.150 the president now spoken to florida 08:02.150 --> 08:03.983 governor Ron de Santis about the 08:03.983 --> 08:06.150 circumstances , were working to set up 08:06.150 --> 08:08.206 a call between the president and the 08:08.206 --> 08:10.372 governor that should be happening this 08:10.372 --> 08:09.790 afternoon and we'll give you all a rate 08:09.790 --> 08:11.901 out of that . When it happens , we'll 08:11.901 --> 08:14.234 wait for the everyday . When it happens . 08:14.234 --> 08:13.150 The president yesterday spoke about 08:13.150 --> 08:15.094 voting rights and what he would be 08:15.094 --> 08:17.150 doing . He said I'll be going around 08:17.150 --> 08:19.039 the country making the case so he 08:19.039 --> 08:21.206 announced it . What specifically is he 08:21.206 --> 08:23.317 doing ? Where is he going And what is 08:23.317 --> 08:25.483 that going to look like ? Stay tuned . 08:25.483 --> 08:27.483 I don't have any specific visits to 08:27.483 --> 08:27.360 announce for yet , but this is going to 08:27.370 --> 08:29.259 be a fight of his presidency . He 08:29.259 --> 08:31.370 believes that voting is a fundamental 08:31.370 --> 08:33.426 right for the american people . He's 08:33.426 --> 08:35.203 going to use every lever at his 08:35.203 --> 08:37.370 disposal to advocate for that . You'll 08:37.370 --> 08:39.537 hear more from him next week as well . 08:39.537 --> 08:41.592 The DoJ announcement today that they 08:41.592 --> 08:43.648 would be filing this lawsuit against 08:43.648 --> 08:43.370 Georgia . Given what's going on with 08:43.370 --> 08:45.314 their election law there . Did the 08:45.314 --> 08:47.314 White House play a role in that the 08:47.314 --> 08:49.314 president consult anybody ? Does he 08:49.314 --> 08:51.481 have any thoughts on it ? We did not . 08:51.481 --> 08:53.648 Um , that was that was an announcement 08:53.648 --> 08:55.426 they made on their own , but it 08:55.426 --> 08:57.259 certainly is consistent with the 08:57.259 --> 08:58.926 president's commitment to the 08:58.926 --> 09:00.981 administration and the guidance he's 09:00.981 --> 09:02.926 given publicly and directly to use 09:02.926 --> 09:05.037 every lever at our disposal to ensure 09:05.037 --> 09:07.259 we are protecting the fundamental right 09:07.259 --> 09:09.481 to vote across the go ahead . So on the 09:09.481 --> 09:11.592 timing of when the president is going 09:11.592 --> 09:11.380 to get out and advocate for voting 09:11.380 --> 09:13.491 rights . I mean , how soon can we see 09:13.491 --> 09:15.658 this ? We're hearing everyone from the 09:15.658 --> 09:17.602 Department of Justice to activists 09:17.602 --> 09:17.260 saying that this is a really urgent 09:17.260 --> 09:19.538 issue . So how soon can we expect this ? 09:19.538 --> 09:21.704 Well , the president is going to speak 09:21.704 --> 09:23.927 to all of you into the public next week 09:23.927 --> 09:25.871 about his continuing commitment to 09:25.871 --> 09:27.871 voting rights , expanding access to 09:27.871 --> 09:27.490 voting rights , something that he's 09:27.490 --> 09:29.379 worked on for decades through his 09:29.379 --> 09:31.434 public career . And I expect to have 09:31.434 --> 09:33.434 more to say then . And if you could 09:33.434 --> 09:35.546 just follow up and maybe clarify when 09:35.546 --> 09:35.260 the president's talking about doing 09:35.260 --> 09:37.790 these two pieces of legislation in 09:37.790 --> 09:40.170 tandem , is he going to wait for both 09:40.170 --> 09:42.730 of them to land on his desk ? What 09:42.730 --> 09:45.180 exactly is the timeline here ? How does 09:45.180 --> 09:47.460 this play out ? Well , again , uh , he 09:47.470 --> 09:49.526 believes the american people elected 09:49.526 --> 09:52.840 him to lead on getting results to put 09:52.840 --> 09:54.951 out bold ideas to the public . That's 09:54.951 --> 09:56.896 exactly what he's done . And we're 09:56.896 --> 09:58.673 going to leave it to leaders in 09:58.673 --> 10:00.729 Congress to determine the sequencing 10:00.729 --> 10:00.330 and the timeline for those pieces 10:00.330 --> 10:02.552 moving forward . But he's going to uh , 10:02.552 --> 10:04.719 use every lever at his disposal . He's 10:04.719 --> 10:06.941 going to be involved , going to roll up 10:06.941 --> 10:09.163 his sleeves . He's gonna work like hell 10:09.163 --> 10:08.780 to get both of these pieces of 10:08.780 --> 10:10.669 legislation done . What does that 10:10.669 --> 10:12.891 really look like ? Because he says that 10:12.891 --> 10:15.002 if one doesn't come to him , he's not 10:15.002 --> 10:16.947 going to sign the other . So is he 10:16.947 --> 10:19.113 going to wait for both of them to land 10:19.113 --> 10:20.836 on his desk before signing the 10:20.836 --> 10:22.891 bipartisan package , waiting for the 10:22.891 --> 10:22.820 reconciliation package to come through . 10:22.830 --> 10:25.570 He fully expects hopes plans to sign 10:25.570 --> 10:28.670 both into law and he will leave it to 10:28.680 --> 10:30.736 leaders in Congress to determine the 10:30.736 --> 10:33.013 timeline and the sequencing . Go ahead . 10:33.013 --> 10:35.069 Mr . Follow both on that . Darling , 10:35.069 --> 10:37.236 question the issue republicans seem to 10:37.236 --> 10:39.458 be having is on that specific issue . I 10:39.458 --> 10:41.680 won't sign it if the other one isn't my 10:41.680 --> 10:41.660 desk and that's what has done . 10:42.460 --> 10:44.460 President perhaps would be the word 10:44.610 --> 10:48.560 eloquently so digging in on that if 10:48.560 --> 10:50.504 leadership decides to send you the 10:50.504 --> 10:51.949 bipartisan bill , but the 10:51.949 --> 10:54.060 reconciliation bill is not done yet . 10:54.060 --> 10:56.227 The President said yesterday , I won't 10:56.227 --> 10:58.338 sign it . And that is the White House 10:58.338 --> 11:00.560 position on . Well , let me just take a 11:00.560 --> 11:02.504 step back here because I think the 11:02.504 --> 11:02.500 american people are quite focused on 11:02.510 --> 11:04.566 how we're getting work done on their 11:04.566 --> 11:06.732 behalf , less focused on the mechanics 11:06.732 --> 11:08.566 of the process . Now it is up to 11:08.566 --> 11:10.788 republicans . Many of them are the ones 11:10.788 --> 11:13.010 who have conveyed that . I think if I'm 11:13.010 --> 11:15.010 accurate here to decide if they are 11:15.010 --> 11:16.843 going to vote against a historic 11:16.843 --> 11:18.843 investment in infrastructure that's 11:18.843 --> 11:21.066 going to rebuild roads and railways and 11:21.066 --> 11:23.066 bridges in their communities simply 11:23.066 --> 11:25.177 because they don't like the mechanics 11:25.177 --> 11:27.399 of the process . That's a pretty absurd 11:27.399 --> 11:29.566 argument for them to make good luck on 11:29.566 --> 11:29.490 the political front on that argument . 11:29.550 --> 11:31.661 So the president is going to continue 11:31.661 --> 11:33.610 to advocate , educate , convey to 11:33.610 --> 11:35.610 everyone directly why this needs to 11:35.610 --> 11:37.832 move forward . And he stands , he plans 11:37.832 --> 11:39.943 to stand exactly by the commitment he 11:39.943 --> 11:42.054 made yesterday to them and he expects 11:42.054 --> 11:44.260 you to do the same . Okay . Two more 11:44.260 --> 11:46.482 quick ones . Just released a readout of 11:46.482 --> 11:48.704 the call with senator . Senator was one 11:48.704 --> 11:50.760 of the lead negotiators in that read 11:50.760 --> 11:50.660 out . The president was reiterating 11:50.670 --> 11:52.781 pretty much all of the things he said 11:52.781 --> 11:54.948 when he was standing with the Senate . 11:54.948 --> 11:57.059 Was there a need for the president to 11:57.059 --> 11:56.920 reassure senator cinema or was that 11:56.930 --> 11:59.470 just a normal , I think it's just a 11:59.470 --> 12:01.137 reflection of the President's 12:01.137 --> 12:02.914 commitment to stay very engaged 12:02.914 --> 12:05.137 yesterday was not the end . I know none 12:05.137 --> 12:07.192 of you thought that , but just to be 12:07.192 --> 12:09.248 clear , there's work ahead . Senator 12:09.248 --> 12:11.192 cinema , isn't It was an important 12:11.192 --> 12:13.248 leader and partner on this effort to 12:13.248 --> 12:15.303 get this bipartisan bill passed . He 12:15.303 --> 12:17.526 also reiterated in that call his desire 12:17.526 --> 12:19.470 and his commitment and interest in 12:19.470 --> 12:21.637 getting a reconciliation bill passed . 12:21.637 --> 12:23.803 That has a lot of his key priorities , 12:23.803 --> 12:25.859 whether it's extending the child tax 12:25.859 --> 12:28.081 credit , making universal pre K reality 12:28.081 --> 12:30.192 or community college reality for kids 12:30.192 --> 12:32.248 across the country . So it's ongoing 12:32.248 --> 12:32.040 engagement . He's looking forward to 12:32.040 --> 12:33.760 signing both bills into law . 12:35.100 --> 12:38.960 Good Are republicans expected to 12:38.960 --> 12:41.182 be so enamored with the idea of sending 12:41.182 --> 12:43.238 perhaps billions of dollars into the 12:43.238 --> 12:45.238 hinterland that they're going to be 12:45.238 --> 12:46.849 willing . You need five more 12:46.849 --> 12:48.793 republicans obviously that they're 12:48.793 --> 12:50.960 going to be willing to accept this two 12:50.960 --> 12:53.071 track approach and sort of looked the 12:53.071 --> 12:55.238 other way when the express train comes 12:55.238 --> 12:57.293 through on the reconciliation idea , 12:57.293 --> 12:59.349 are they ? You're sounding as though 12:59.349 --> 13:01.016 you expect at least five more 13:01.016 --> 13:03.182 republicans to be so enamored with the 13:03.182 --> 13:05.293 idea of sending out these billions of 13:05.293 --> 13:07.516 dollars to the constituencies have been 13:07.516 --> 13:09.516 Well , sure , well , that's exactly 13:09.516 --> 13:11.571 what they're doing . This bill would 13:11.571 --> 13:13.682 again be a historic investment on our 13:13.682 --> 13:15.793 nation's infrastructure . The largest 13:15.793 --> 13:18.127 investment in public transit in history , 13:18.127 --> 13:20.016 the largest since the founding of 13:20.016 --> 13:22.127 Amtrak . And as I've noted , it would 13:22.127 --> 13:24.182 expand broadband access . That's not 13:24.182 --> 13:26.182 exactly a partisan issue that would 13:26.182 --> 13:26.080 rebuild roads and railways and bridges 13:26.080 --> 13:28.136 and people's communities , including 13:28.136 --> 13:30.302 republicans . So yes , we fully expect 13:30.302 --> 13:32.413 the american people support this . We 13:32.413 --> 13:34.413 fully expect and hope will have the 13:34.413 --> 13:36.747 votes to get it forward . At least five , 13:36.747 --> 13:38.969 well , five stood stood there yesterday 13:38.969 --> 13:41.136 and announced their support for it and 13:41.136 --> 13:43.302 it is now the job of of the Democratic 13:43.302 --> 13:45.469 Caucus and the Republican caucus to go 13:45.469 --> 13:47.450 back and make the case to their uh 13:47.460 --> 13:50.020 their other colleagues . Exactly , go 13:50.020 --> 13:52.130 ahead . Thank you . House Budget 13:52.130 --> 13:54.352 Committee Chairman john Yarmuth said he 13:54.352 --> 13:56.463 doesn't think it's realistic to fully 13:56.463 --> 13:58.463 pay for this broader reconciliation 13:58.463 --> 14:00.352 package that contains some of the 14:00.352 --> 14:02.463 President's other domestic priorities 14:02.463 --> 14:04.297 that you just laid out . Senator 14:04.297 --> 14:04.290 Manchin also said he doesn't think the 14:04.290 --> 14:06.623 country can take on that much more debt . 14:06.623 --> 14:08.734 So does the White House still believe 14:08.734 --> 14:10.957 that both the infrastructure compromise 14:10.957 --> 14:13.068 and this other reconciliation package 14:13.068 --> 14:14.790 needs to be fully paid for the 14:14.790 --> 14:16.901 President's proposed a number of ways 14:16.901 --> 14:19.012 to pay for these packages ? Obviously 14:19.012 --> 14:21.179 there was agreement already on the pay 14:21.179 --> 14:23.401 force for the infrastructure bipartisan 14:23.401 --> 14:25.457 deal which was agreed to by the five 14:25.457 --> 14:27.401 democrats and five republicans who 14:27.401 --> 14:27.330 stood outside with the president just 14:27.330 --> 14:29.274 yesterday . And the president also 14:29.274 --> 14:31.274 believes that raising the corporate 14:31.274 --> 14:33.274 rate back to where it was the first 14:33.274 --> 14:34.830 year of the George W . Bush 14:34.830 --> 14:36.441 administration making asking 14:36.441 --> 14:38.690 individuals the top 1% of americans to 14:38.690 --> 14:40.850 pay more to pay for these historic 14:40.850 --> 14:43.017 investments to pay for an extension of 14:43.017 --> 14:45.017 the child tax credit . To make sure 14:45.017 --> 14:47.128 kids have access to universal pre K . 14:47.128 --> 14:48.961 It's something that we should do 14:48.961 --> 14:51.072 because it's right the right policy . 14:51.072 --> 14:53.128 It will also it's also going to help 14:53.128 --> 14:55.183 move our country forward Question on 14:55.183 --> 14:56.961 Afghanistan . Can the president 14:56.961 --> 14:59.072 declared a true end to the war if the 14:59.072 --> 15:01.128 us is planning to keep 650 troops in 15:01.128 --> 15:03.017 the country to provide diplomatic 15:03.017 --> 15:04.794 security as well as several 100 15:04.794 --> 15:06.961 additional troops to maintain security 15:06.961 --> 15:09.183 at the Kabul Airport ? Well , again , I 15:09.183 --> 15:11.350 would say the president was clear from 15:11.350 --> 15:13.461 the beginning that we anticipated and 15:13.461 --> 15:13.240 planned to have a diplomatic presence 15:13.240 --> 15:15.462 on the ground and so he's doing exactly 15:15.462 --> 15:18.070 that on Afghanistan . They have a 15:18.080 --> 15:19.858 follow up on something else but 15:19.858 --> 15:21.969 Afghanistan . If we're keeping people 15:21.969 --> 15:24.136 there , what's the contingency ? If in 15:24.136 --> 15:26.469 fact the Taliban takes over the country . 15:26.469 --> 15:28.136 Do you have a contingencies ? 15:28.136 --> 15:30.247 Administration have a contingency for 15:30.247 --> 15:32.920 that . In what regard for the safety of 15:32.920 --> 15:35.610 our men and women serving in Kabul or I 15:35.610 --> 15:37.721 understand the safety of our people . 15:37.721 --> 15:39.554 But what about the safety of the 15:39.554 --> 15:41.277 country ? We've been there for 15:41.277 --> 15:43.221 excellent amount of years . Are we 15:43.221 --> 15:45.166 going to reinvest more people ? If 15:45.166 --> 15:47.277 that's the case , will there be boots 15:47.277 --> 15:49.332 on the ground ? What exactly is this 15:49.332 --> 15:51.221 administration looking at if that 15:51.221 --> 15:53.277 country falls to the talent ? Well , 15:53.277 --> 15:55.610 here's I think what's important to note , 15:55.610 --> 15:55.210 brian when the president made this 15:55.210 --> 15:57.560 announcement , he was very clear that 15:57.570 --> 15:59.830 if we did not pull our troops withdraw 15:59.830 --> 16:02.210 our troops from from Afghanistan , 16:02.210 --> 16:04.432 something that he has long talked about 16:04.432 --> 16:06.880 having an interest and a desire to do 16:06.890 --> 16:09.112 the taliban would have been shooting at 16:09.112 --> 16:11.112 US troops again on May 1st that's a 16:11.112 --> 16:13.279 decision he had to make as president . 16:13.279 --> 16:15.390 So the withdrawal deadline negotiated 16:15.390 --> 16:17.334 because of the withdrawal deadline 16:17.334 --> 16:19.334 negotiators should say by the prior 16:19.334 --> 16:21.334 administration . So His fundamental 16:21.334 --> 16:23.557 belief is that after 20 years it's time 16:23.557 --> 16:23.400 to bring our troops home . We're doing 16:23.400 --> 16:25.567 that in a timely and orderly fashion , 16:25.567 --> 16:27.733 led by the Department of Defense . And 16:27.733 --> 16:29.678 we had to make sure we were taking 16:29.678 --> 16:32.011 steps . If we had left our troops there , 16:32.011 --> 16:34.178 they would be in harm's way . That was 16:34.178 --> 16:36.067 a step we had to take . So if the 16:36.067 --> 16:38.289 Taliban takes over , what would we do ? 16:38.289 --> 16:37.470 Well , again , we have , I'm not going 16:37.470 --> 16:39.760 to get ahead of or anticipate . We are 16:39.840 --> 16:42.070 we have a range of capacities including 16:42.070 --> 16:43.959 over the horizon , capacities and 16:43.959 --> 16:46.070 capabilities that we will maintain in 16:46.070 --> 16:48.292 place . The President announced that at 16:48.292 --> 16:50.181 the beginning of his announcement 16:50.181 --> 16:52.181 followed . The other question is is 16:52.181 --> 16:54.126 this administration prepared for ? 16:54.126 --> 16:56.237 We've heard rumblings from the former 16:56.237 --> 16:58.348 president and supporters about august 16:58.348 --> 17:00.292 and the inevitability of him being 17:00.292 --> 17:02.292 reinstated . Is this administration 17:02.292 --> 17:04.348 prepared to meet the challenge if in 17:04.348 --> 17:06.750 fact they press that issue in august I 17:06.750 --> 17:09.083 mean we've already seen an insurrection , 17:09.083 --> 17:10.917 what would this administration's 17:10.917 --> 17:13.028 actions be if that if that is pressed 17:13.028 --> 17:15.139 in august , the President is going is 17:15.139 --> 17:17.361 prepared to continue to govern and lead 17:17.361 --> 17:19.472 the United states of America . And of 17:19.472 --> 17:21.583 course , should there be an elevation 17:21.583 --> 17:23.583 and escalation that is something we 17:23.583 --> 17:25.639 would certainly monitor and track as 17:25.639 --> 17:27.806 well . Go ahead talking reconciliation 17:27.806 --> 17:27.770 before the President made this 17:27.770 --> 17:30.370 statement yesterday , had there been 17:30.380 --> 17:32.602 any understanding between the president 17:32.602 --> 17:34.670 and the GOP senators who were 17:34.670 --> 17:37.210 negotiating that these two deals would 17:37.220 --> 17:39.270 come in tandem ? Had the Republican 17:39.270 --> 17:41.437 senators expressed an understanding to 17:41.437 --> 17:43.603 the president that that would happen ? 17:43.603 --> 17:45.826 Well , Jackie , I think the point I was 17:45.826 --> 17:44.820 trying to make earlier is that it's 17:44.820 --> 17:47.042 something the president stated publicly 17:47.042 --> 17:48.960 many times . And certainly he was 17:49.040 --> 17:51.100 consistent with that case made 17:51.100 --> 17:53.270 privately as were our negotiating team 17:53.270 --> 17:56.320 that he expected , anticipated these uh 17:56.330 --> 17:58.552 these uh initiatives would move forward 17:58.552 --> 18:00.774 on a dual track . And I would also note 18:00.774 --> 18:02.941 that when we say budget reconciliation 18:02.941 --> 18:05.219 and just to make it like a human speak , 18:05.219 --> 18:07.163 what we're talking about here is a 18:07.163 --> 18:06.920 budget process that includes the 18:06.920 --> 18:09.031 american families plan , which is the 18:09.031 --> 18:11.198 president's idea he proposed , I don't 18:11.198 --> 18:13.364 think anyone expects that he was going 18:13.364 --> 18:15.476 to walk away from his own proposals . 18:15.476 --> 18:17.531 And the republicans had expressed an 18:17.531 --> 18:19.587 understanding level of understanding 18:19.587 --> 18:19.100 that that one I'm not gonna let I'll 18:19.100 --> 18:21.100 let them speak for themselves . But 18:21.100 --> 18:23.211 again , the President said this as we 18:23.211 --> 18:25.600 did multiple times public like , yeah , 18:25.720 --> 18:28.320 what are the red lines and they must 18:28.320 --> 18:31.990 have And is the same team working with 18:32.000 --> 18:34.750 Congress ? Machete throughout these 18:34.760 --> 18:36.410 about the next steps in the 18:36.410 --> 18:38.466 reconciliation ? Well , earlier this 18:38.466 --> 18:40.521 week . Space friday . I think it was 18:40.521 --> 18:42.521 Wednesday . We did have a number of 18:42.521 --> 18:44.743 those individuals you mentioned as well 18:44.743 --> 18:46.966 as uh Susan Rice was a part of the team 18:46.966 --> 18:46.930 and there may have been one or two 18:46.930 --> 18:49.160 other people who went up to the hill to 18:49.160 --> 18:51.216 talk about the budget reconciliation 18:51.216 --> 18:53.382 process . We're obviously at the early 18:53.382 --> 18:55.216 stage of that . There's a lot to 18:55.216 --> 18:57.438 discuss and negotiate , including among 18:57.438 --> 18:59.549 democrats . So we'll let that proceed 18:59.549 --> 19:01.549 in the coming weeks , the doj suing 19:01.550 --> 19:03.900 Georgia . Is this the beginning of more 19:03.910 --> 19:05.910 lawsuits against similar efforts in 19:05.910 --> 19:07.688 other states As the White House 19:07.688 --> 19:10.210 expressed any concern areas as they 19:10.220 --> 19:12.730 take on voting rights and initiatives ? 19:12.740 --> 19:15.210 I'll let the attorney general and the 19:15.210 --> 19:17.432 Department of Justice speak to that and 19:17.432 --> 19:19.488 what their plans are . They probably 19:19.488 --> 19:21.599 won't preview them , I would expect . 19:21.599 --> 19:23.710 Uh But I think it's just a reflection 19:23.710 --> 19:25.654 of the fact that the president has 19:25.654 --> 19:27.710 conveyed his priority is using every 19:27.710 --> 19:29.766 lever at his disposal to protect the 19:29.766 --> 19:29.750 fundamental right of people in this 19:29.750 --> 19:31.806 country to vote . What your timeline 19:31.806 --> 19:34.160 for these two pieces of legislation ? I 19:34.160 --> 19:36.216 don't have a new timeline to predict 19:36.216 --> 19:38.160 for you here , steve again , we uh 19:38.160 --> 19:40.216 Speaker Pelosi has been doing this a 19:40.216 --> 19:42.104 while . I don't know that there's 19:42.104 --> 19:44.216 anyone better . Uh and we're going to 19:44.216 --> 19:46.160 work with her leader , Schumer and 19:46.160 --> 19:48.160 others uh to make sure we get these 19:48.160 --> 19:50.049 bills signed into law Afghanistan 19:50.049 --> 19:52.049 meeting . Is the president going to 19:52.049 --> 19:51.620 talk about a negotiated political 19:51.620 --> 19:53.787 settlement ? Is that still possible in 19:53.787 --> 19:56.340 Afghanistan ? They're a political path 19:56.340 --> 19:58.173 forward is certainly one that we 19:58.173 --> 19:59.951 continue to support . We have a 19:59.951 --> 20:02.760 negotiator as you will know who is 20:02.760 --> 20:04.927 monitoring and closely engaged in that 20:04.927 --> 20:06.760 process and so that is certainly 20:06.760 --> 20:08.649 ongoing and will be a part of the 20:08.649 --> 20:11.480 agenda . Go ahead . Thank you . Uh 20:11.490 --> 20:14.320 Afghanistan . In terms of S . I . Ve . 20:14.320 --> 20:16.098 Applicants , the President said 20:16.098 --> 20:18.153 yesterday . This would be a topic in 20:18.153 --> 20:20.153 the meeting today . Can you provide 20:20.153 --> 20:22.376 clarity on what neutral locations these 20:22.376 --> 20:24.542 applicants will be moved towards ? And 20:24.542 --> 20:26.376 then also , will that withdrawal 20:26.376 --> 20:28.376 include those who have already fled 20:28.376 --> 20:30.209 Afghanistan because of a fear of 20:30.209 --> 20:32.264 retaliation to places like Jordan or 20:32.264 --> 20:34.153 Egypt . Yeah . So let me give you 20:34.153 --> 20:36.209 information on where we are and it's 20:36.209 --> 20:35.660 unfortunately not gonna answer every 20:35.660 --> 20:37.827 single question some of this we're not 20:37.827 --> 20:39.938 gonna be able to outline for security 20:39.938 --> 20:41.882 reasons , but we have identified a 20:41.882 --> 20:43.771 group of S . I . V . Applicants , 20:43.771 --> 20:45.882 special immigrant visa applicants who 20:45.882 --> 20:47.660 have served as interpreters and 20:47.660 --> 20:49.716 translators as well as other at risk 20:49.716 --> 20:51.882 categories who have assisted us . They 20:51.882 --> 20:54.104 will be relocated to a location outside 20:54.104 --> 20:56.216 of Afghanistan before we complete our 20:56.216 --> 20:59.130 military drawdown by september in order 20:59.130 --> 21:00.963 to complete the visa application 21:00.963 --> 21:02.852 process . So they will do it from 21:02.852 --> 21:04.741 another location . The additional 21:04.741 --> 21:06.963 details of that . I'm just not gonna be 21:06.963 --> 21:09.019 able to speak to from here . I don't 21:09.019 --> 21:11.074 have a number to outline for you and 21:11.074 --> 21:13.130 it's unlikely we will because we are 21:13.130 --> 21:15.297 going to those are the categories that 21:15.297 --> 21:15.270 we are prioritizing . I also note that 21:15.440 --> 21:17.551 these are individuals who are already 21:17.551 --> 21:19.910 in the S . I . V . Pipeline and so we'd 21:19.910 --> 21:22.420 under under and of course we undertake 21:22.430 --> 21:24.597 any relocation in full compliance with 21:24.597 --> 21:27.470 US law . Just follow up . I know I've 21:27.470 --> 21:29.692 asked about this good amount , but from 21:29.692 --> 21:31.692 my colleagues as well . We reported 21:31.692 --> 21:33.914 yesterday that the administration would 21:33.914 --> 21:36.137 lift Title 42 in a phased approach this 21:36.137 --> 21:38.137 summer . Um , Does this summer look 21:38.137 --> 21:40.248 likely ? And here's a new addition to 21:40.248 --> 21:42.359 that question . What what will be the 21:42.359 --> 21:44.526 administration's plan once that policy 21:44.526 --> 21:43.770 is lifted ? Will it be centered on 21:43.770 --> 21:46.250 deterrence ? Will it be prioritizing 21:46.250 --> 21:49.060 restoring the asylum system ? Um Well , 21:49.070 --> 21:51.237 first , I would say on the second part 21:51.237 --> 21:53.348 that of course we want to restore the 21:53.348 --> 21:55.403 asylum system and we want to make it 21:55.403 --> 21:57.514 more operational . We want to make it 21:57.514 --> 21:59.737 more humane . And there's a lot of work 21:59.737 --> 22:01.959 we can we need to do after the disaster 22:01.959 --> 22:04.126 of the last four years on this front . 22:04.126 --> 22:06.292 In terms of the timeline of title 42 , 22:06.292 --> 22:08.292 I know I keep saying this too and I 22:08.292 --> 22:10.459 apologize . It's the same answer . But 22:10.459 --> 22:10.260 that is a decision that will be made by 22:10.260 --> 22:12.149 the C . D . C . I have nothing to 22:12.149 --> 22:13.927 preview for you in terms of the 22:13.927 --> 22:17.420 timeline , go ahead . Georgia . 22:17.420 --> 22:19.531 Governor brian kEMp today accused the 22:19.531 --> 22:21.753 president and his allies of weaponizing 22:21.753 --> 22:23.753 the Justice Department to undermine 22:23.753 --> 22:25.864 election integrity . What's the White 22:25.864 --> 22:28.031 House reaction to that ? I would say , 22:28.031 --> 22:30.198 uh , if you have such a fear of making 22:30.198 --> 22:29.920 it easier and more accessible for 22:29.920 --> 22:32.090 people to vote , uh then I would ask 22:32.090 --> 22:34.257 you what you're so afraid of the White 22:34.257 --> 22:36.368 House , see the Justice Department as 22:36.368 --> 22:38.479 its only real way of going on offense 22:38.479 --> 22:40.646 against some of these sweeping efforts 22:40.646 --> 22:42.812 across the country to implement voting 22:42.812 --> 22:44.590 restrictions that as opposed to 22:44.590 --> 22:46.701 legislation , right ? No , we don't . 22:46.701 --> 22:46.170 That's a good question . I mean , it is 22:46.170 --> 22:48.226 an area where of course the attorney 22:48.226 --> 22:51.070 general and some of the , as you know , 22:51.070 --> 22:53.237 Kristin Clark , Vanita Gupta , some of 22:53.237 --> 22:55.292 the highest ranking officials in the 22:55.292 --> 22:57.237 Justice Department , the president 22:57.237 --> 22:58.959 nominated and pushed for their 22:58.959 --> 23:00.848 confirmation have long records of 23:00.848 --> 23:02.792 advocacy effectiveness and work on 23:02.792 --> 23:04.959 these issues . So he certainly entrust 23:04.959 --> 23:06.959 them with the work they're going to 23:06.959 --> 23:09.070 continue to do on this front . We are 23:09.070 --> 23:11.181 going to continue to fight for battle 23:11.181 --> 23:13.403 for work toward federal legislation . I 23:13.403 --> 23:15.737 know it does not seem easy at this time . 23:15.737 --> 23:15.600 Hard things . We do hard things . 23:15.600 --> 23:17.822 That's what we do here . But we're also 23:17.822 --> 23:20.044 going to continue to engage and this is 23:20.044 --> 23:22.100 as it relates to an earlier question 23:22.100 --> 23:23.878 with local activists with local 23:23.878 --> 23:25.822 legislators . You've seen the vice 23:25.822 --> 23:27.822 president do a bit of this , engage 23:27.822 --> 23:27.520 with and work with them . We're going 23:27.520 --> 23:29.630 to to to fight this fight on many 23:29.630 --> 23:32.320 fronts and certainly not the role that 23:32.320 --> 23:34.320 the Attorney general in the Justice 23:34.320 --> 23:36.487 Department may decide to take is one . 23:36.487 --> 23:38.542 But there are a number of other ways 23:38.542 --> 23:40.709 the president , the vice president and 23:40.709 --> 23:40.680 our administration will be continuing 23:40.680 --> 23:42.902 to fight for voting rights . Go ahead , 23:42.902 --> 23:45.013 go ahead , right in the middle . Um , 23:45.013 --> 23:46.958 Today on the anniversary of Shelby 23:46.958 --> 23:49.124 versus holder , you have over 25 buses 23:49.124 --> 23:51.347 coming in between today and tomorrow on 23:51.347 --> 23:53.291 these freedom rides being led like 23:53.291 --> 23:55.402 black voters matter . Has anyone from 23:55.402 --> 23:57.569 the administration spoken with him ? I 23:57.569 --> 23:59.624 know that they're gonna be holding a 23:59.624 --> 24:01.680 news conference later on today , but 24:01.680 --> 24:03.902 have you reached out to them ? That's a 24:03.902 --> 24:03.270 great question . I'll have to talk to 24:03.270 --> 24:05.560 our outreach team and some other senior 24:05.560 --> 24:07.782 members of the team to see if they have 24:07.782 --> 24:09.782 been engaged directly with them . I 24:09.782 --> 24:12.004 don't know if it comes to the president 24:12.004 --> 24:14.227 trying to lower crime rate in the midst 24:14.227 --> 24:16.282 of this spike . Um , there have been 24:16.282 --> 24:18.338 many reports showing that um putting 24:18.338 --> 24:20.227 money adding more money to Police 24:20.227 --> 24:22.004 department does not necessarily 24:22.004 --> 24:24.227 correlate with lowering crime . Why did 24:24.227 --> 24:26.400 the president decide two do that , or 24:26.400 --> 24:28.930 instead of attaching it within the 24:28.930 --> 24:31.097 order to having the police departments 24:31.097 --> 24:33.263 do have some type of system where they 24:33.263 --> 24:35.097 have to do something in order to 24:35.097 --> 24:37.097 receive that type of money ? Well , 24:37.097 --> 24:39.263 first , I would say that the President 24:39.263 --> 24:41.430 and we saw some positive steps forward 24:41.430 --> 24:43.597 just yesterday on police reform in the 24:43.597 --> 24:45.763 negotiations , uh , that's certainly a 24:45.763 --> 24:47.930 positive step . The President believes 24:47.930 --> 24:47.910 we need to do both , and many , most 24:47.910 --> 24:50.021 people in most communities across the 24:50.021 --> 24:51.966 country where there's rising crime 24:51.966 --> 24:53.966 agree . Uh , and what the president 24:53.966 --> 24:56.188 announced just a couple of days ago was 24:56.188 --> 24:58.710 primarily a plan to to reduce gun 24:58.710 --> 25:00.654 violence , which he feels is a big 25:00.654 --> 25:02.960 driver of violence across the country . 25:02.970 --> 25:05.026 But I would say community policing , 25:05.040 --> 25:07.151 and that is something that we've seen 25:07.151 --> 25:08.984 as effective rebuilding trust in 25:08.984 --> 25:11.207 communities , ensuring that , uh , that 25:11.207 --> 25:13.318 law enforcement are working on behalf 25:13.318 --> 25:15.318 of communities . That's what he was 25:15.318 --> 25:17.318 proposing . Funding to go towards . 25:17.318 --> 25:19.318 That is different than a step as it 25:19.318 --> 25:21.596 relates to the criminal justice system . 25:21.596 --> 25:23.818 You're gonna talk back about creating a 25:23.818 --> 25:25.984 police oversight commission . Well , I 25:25.984 --> 25:25.920 think a number of activists have 25:25.920 --> 25:28.031 conveyed that that is not their their 25:28.031 --> 25:30.198 preference for the path forward . They 25:30.198 --> 25:32.087 want to see this legislation move 25:32.087 --> 25:34.198 forward . We've seen some progress on 25:34.198 --> 25:33.950 that front . So that's where we're 25:33.950 --> 25:36.117 gonna put the basket . We're gonna put 25:36.117 --> 25:38.172 our eggs go in the middle . Now that 25:38.172 --> 25:40.283 Vice President Harris is visiting the 25:40.283 --> 25:42.228 border speak . When will President 25:42.228 --> 25:44.394 biden visit ? I don't have anything to 25:44.394 --> 25:46.506 predict for you . A preview for you . 25:46.506 --> 25:46.120 As the President has said , the Vice 25:46.120 --> 25:48.287 President said back in March should be 25:48.287 --> 25:50.509 open to visiting the border and if it's 25:50.509 --> 25:52.731 constructive and moves the ball forward 25:52.731 --> 25:52.410 for the president to visit it , I'm 25:52.410 --> 25:54.950 sure he may . But we come with a bunch 25:54.950 --> 25:57.750 of people as you all know , I'm voting 25:57.760 --> 26:00.050 voting rights . I just I just want to 26:00.050 --> 26:02.630 be clear . Are you saying that the 26:02.630 --> 26:04.630 White House had no contact with the 26:04.630 --> 26:06.797 Justice Department about this decision 26:06.940 --> 26:10.880 to move forward in Georgia ? Is 26:10.880 --> 26:12.769 the Justice Department completely 26:12.769 --> 26:14.991 independent . And no , I'm not . It's a 26:14.991 --> 26:17.158 it's a priority to the President . But 26:17.158 --> 26:19.269 and yes , of course we are allowed to 26:19.269 --> 26:21.380 know . But it is that was not meaning 26:21.380 --> 26:23.491 to convey that , but it is a decision 26:23.491 --> 26:25.658 made by the Justice Department to move 26:25.658 --> 26:27.880 forward . But clearly a priority of the 26:27.880 --> 26:29.936 President to take action wherever we 26:29.936 --> 26:31.824 can in government to make it more 26:31.824 --> 26:33.880 accessible to vote for people across 26:33.880 --> 26:36.102 the country . Go ahead . Just let me go 26:36.102 --> 26:38.270 to her personal thanks jen when you 26:38.270 --> 26:40.650 talk about engaging at the state level 26:40.660 --> 26:42.660 voting rights , what does that look 26:42.660 --> 26:45.220 like aside from travel , how will the 26:45.220 --> 26:48.640 administration be scrutinizing new laws 26:48.650 --> 26:50.761 going into place ? Well , you saw the 26:50.761 --> 26:52.706 Department of Justice taken action 26:52.706 --> 26:54.872 today , That's an example . But you've 26:54.872 --> 26:57.039 also seen the vice president meet with 26:57.039 --> 26:59.150 legislators um and work and talk with 26:59.150 --> 27:01.317 them about the path forward and how we 27:01.317 --> 27:03.539 can work together to fight back against 27:03.539 --> 27:06.090 uh efforts to suppress the vote across 27:06.090 --> 27:08.423 the country . So those are two examples , 27:08.423 --> 27:10.479 but also engaging with activists . I 27:10.479 --> 27:12.590 will say there are a lot of people in 27:12.590 --> 27:14.757 this building who know a lot about how 27:14.757 --> 27:16.979 to engage , educate , empower people to 27:16.979 --> 27:19.201 know what their rights are . We want to 27:19.201 --> 27:19.040 work with states and local authorities 27:19.040 --> 27:21.207 to do exactly that . But the president 27:21.207 --> 27:23.262 will be talking about this more next 27:23.262 --> 27:25.429 week . Does the administration believe 27:25.429 --> 27:25.290 that's making a difference in 27:25.300 --> 27:26.856 republican controlled state 27:26.856 --> 27:29.370 legislatures ? We'll have to see go 27:29.370 --> 27:31.810 ahead . The president of Angola , 27:31.820 --> 27:33.709 President Jean Lorenzo was at the 27:33.709 --> 27:37.000 United Nations this week and his main 27:37.010 --> 27:40.600 goal there , or his main focus was to 27:40.610 --> 27:43.980 advocate to end the arms embargo that 27:43.980 --> 27:46.020 is going on on the central in the 27:46.020 --> 27:48.260 Central african republic . And 27:48.260 --> 27:50.470 President Lorenzo is now the acting 27:50.480 --> 27:52.570 president of the International 27:52.570 --> 27:54.737 Conference on the Great Lakes Region . 27:54.737 --> 27:57.040 So he knows the area . He has done a 27:57.040 --> 27:59.262 lot of work to bring peace and security 27:59.270 --> 28:01.540 in this region . That's why he 28:01.550 --> 28:04.430 advocated strongly to end the embargo . 28:04.440 --> 28:07.080 But the United States wants to continue 28:07.080 --> 28:09.191 the embargo . Do you know what is the 28:09.191 --> 28:10.969 main reason or what what is the 28:10.969 --> 28:13.410 interest of the United States to keep 28:13.420 --> 28:15.460 the embargo on the Central African 28:15.460 --> 28:17.860 Republic ? I really pointing to our U . 28:17.860 --> 28:19.638 N . Ambassador , linda thomas , 28:19.638 --> 28:21.804 Greenfield or the State Department for 28:21.804 --> 28:23.971 that question . Go ahead . And I think 28:23.971 --> 28:25.971 we have to move on , go ahead . Any 28:25.971 --> 28:28.138 situation in which the president would 28:28.138 --> 28:30.770 sign the bipartisan infrastructure deal 28:30.780 --> 28:33.950 without an accompanying reconciliation , 28:34.340 --> 28:36.451 the president fully expects and plans 28:36.451 --> 28:38.800 to sign both pieces of legislation into 28:38.800 --> 28:42.470 law . Okay . Um the end of the Supreme 28:42.470 --> 28:45.400 Court term is next week . Uh does the 28:45.410 --> 28:47.632 President or the White House expect any 28:47.632 --> 28:49.466 retirements ? And what would the 28:49.466 --> 28:51.410 message from the president be to a 28:51.410 --> 28:53.570 justice who might be thinking about 28:53.580 --> 28:55.860 hanging up the road ? It's a decision 28:55.860 --> 28:57.971 for them to make as an individual and 28:57.971 --> 28:59.804 you still would support whatever 28:59.804 --> 29:01.582 decision they make . Go ahead . 29:01.582 --> 29:03.527 President biden met with financial 29:03.527 --> 29:05.471 regulators earlier this week . I'm 29:05.471 --> 29:07.471 wondering if there's any discussion 29:07.471 --> 29:09.638 about Buy Now Pay later companies . So 29:09.638 --> 29:11.749 like Lorna firm after pay , these are 29:11.749 --> 29:13.749 becoming very popular in the US and 29:13.749 --> 29:16.027 retail transactions in europe recently , 29:16.027 --> 29:18.138 made me a few months back to regulate 29:18.138 --> 29:17.950 them . It's very , you can talk about , 29:18.340 --> 29:20.562 you know , we provided a readout of the 29:20.562 --> 29:22.451 meeting and what the focus of the 29:22.451 --> 29:24.507 meeting is , what was , which was to 29:24.507 --> 29:26.673 provide an update and the state of the 29:26.673 --> 29:28.740 financial markets to talk about how 29:28.740 --> 29:30.629 they can work to make credit more 29:30.629 --> 29:32.851 accessible . I just don't have anything 29:32.851 --> 29:34.907 more to read out for you . You could 29:34.907 --> 29:37.018 certainly , you could certainly reach 29:37.018 --> 29:36.330 out to any of the regulators if they 29:36.330 --> 29:38.219 want to speak about anything they 29:38.219 --> 29:40.219 raised , but I don't have more of a 29:40.219 --> 29:42.386 readout from here from the White House 29:42.386 --> 29:42.280 that mama , I would point you to the 29:42.280 --> 29:44.391 regulators , I don't have any more to 29:44.391 --> 29:46.391 read out from here . Go ahead . You 29:46.391 --> 29:48.613 know , the President is meeting shortly 29:48.613 --> 29:48.540 with President Ghani and Chairman 29:48.550 --> 29:51.120 Abdullah . They met yesterday with the 29:51.120 --> 29:54.210 Senate minority leader . And after that 29:54.210 --> 29:56.432 meeting , he called for a reversal , of 29:56.432 --> 29:58.730 course , by this administration to 29:58.730 --> 30:01.450 avoid a taliban takeover , Afghanistan , 30:01.840 --> 30:03.729 contending that will give rise to 30:03.729 --> 30:06.610 renewed terrorism threats to the US 30:06.610 --> 30:09.250 homeland . What is your response to 30:09.260 --> 30:11.390 Senator McConnell on that ? I would 30:11.390 --> 30:13.612 first say it's important to take a step 30:13.612 --> 30:16.440 back and remember what we inherited one , 30:16.440 --> 30:18.440 the lowest number of US and partner 30:18.440 --> 30:20.610 forces in Afghanistan since the early 30:20.610 --> 30:22.580 days of the war . To an agreement 30:22.580 --> 30:24.469 between the United States and the 30:24.469 --> 30:26.580 Taliban to draw down all US troops by 30:26.580 --> 30:28.469 May one , just three months after 30:28.469 --> 30:30.247 inauguration day , a very short 30:30.247 --> 30:32.469 timeline and three a military stalemate 30:32.469 --> 30:34.691 between the Taliban and Afghan forces . 30:34.691 --> 30:36.691 That's the hand we were dealt . The 30:36.691 --> 30:36.630 president made a decision which is 30:36.630 --> 30:38.797 consistent with his view that this was 30:38.797 --> 30:40.990 not a winnable war uh to bring the U . 30:40.990 --> 30:43.700 S . Troops home after 20 years of 30:43.700 --> 30:45.811 fighting this war . And a big part of 30:45.811 --> 30:47.978 that decision was also around the fact 30:47.978 --> 30:50.033 that if we left our troops there are 30:50.033 --> 30:51.867 troops would be at risk physical 30:51.867 --> 30:53.922 taliban would be shooting them by me 30:53.922 --> 30:55.978 first . That's the basis of it . Are 30:55.978 --> 30:58.033 there challenges to it ? Of course . 30:58.033 --> 31:00.089 Will we continue to be engaged as is 31:00.089 --> 31:01.922 today is is evidence of with the 31:01.922 --> 31:04.144 government about how we can continue to 31:04.144 --> 31:06.367 provide humanitarian security support ? 31:06.367 --> 31:08.589 Yes , we will . Will we have a presence 31:08.589 --> 31:10.589 on the ground ? Yes , we will . But 31:10.589 --> 31:12.756 that was a decision the President made 31:12.756 --> 31:14.978 with all of those factors involved . Go 31:14.978 --> 31:17.089 ahead . Thank you . You again . Hello 31:17.089 --> 31:19.256 boil . How are you ? Thank you again . 31:19.256 --> 31:21.144 Good to see you . Quick questions 31:21.144 --> 31:23.256 please . One U . S . Indian relations 31:23.256 --> 31:25.367 of course . Prime Minister Mahdi have 31:25.367 --> 31:27.589 spoken with President violent number of 31:27.589 --> 31:31.380 times and had they at the level 31:31.390 --> 31:33.840 of moving forward US India relations 31:33.850 --> 31:36.920 now between the two of them and as well , 31:36.920 --> 31:39.240 the vaccine is concerned . And where do 31:39.240 --> 31:41.740 we start ? Well , I would say oil that 31:41.750 --> 31:44.530 um the India is an incredibly important 31:44.530 --> 31:46.697 partner uh to the United States in the 31:46.697 --> 31:48.752 region and globally . Uh and we work 31:48.752 --> 31:50.919 with India on a range of issues as you 31:50.919 --> 31:53.030 well know economic strategic security 31:53.030 --> 31:55.197 and the United States certainly took a 31:55.197 --> 31:57.230 range of steps as India was at the 31:57.230 --> 31:59.341 early stages of dealing with the rise 31:59.341 --> 32:01.563 in the pandemic to help provide a range 32:01.563 --> 32:03.674 of assistance and we will continue to 32:03.674 --> 32:05.897 do that moving forward . Go ahead . I'm 32:05.897 --> 32:08.063 sorry . We got it . We got we're going 32:08.063 --> 32:07.940 to run out of time . So I want to get 32:07.940 --> 32:09.996 to as many people as possible . Good 32:09.996 --> 32:12.218 for sure . Texas . Governor Greg Abbott 32:12.218 --> 32:14.218 released a statement saying that he 32:14.218 --> 32:16.440 would have preferred the Vice president 32:16.440 --> 32:18.551 went to the Del RIO sector or the Rio 32:18.551 --> 32:20.607 grande area . Any response to that ? 32:20.607 --> 32:22.218 And secondly , was there any 32:22.218 --> 32:23.940 communication between the Vice 32:23.940 --> 32:25.884 President's office you can tell us 32:25.884 --> 32:27.829 about with the Governor's office , 32:27.829 --> 32:29.940 about a potential meeting , a meeting 32:29.940 --> 32:32.162 with the governor with between the vice 32:32.162 --> 32:34.273 president , the governor . I am happy 32:34.273 --> 32:34.170 to check with them and see if there was 32:34.170 --> 32:36.503 or if that was ever a part of the plans . 32:36.503 --> 32:38.460 And I'll get back to him that his 32:38.460 --> 32:41.110 criticism about where she went today . 32:41.120 --> 32:43.231 Well , I would say the purpose of the 32:43.231 --> 32:45.064 vice presidents visit , as we've 32:45.064 --> 32:47.231 outlined was too , she's long said she 32:47.231 --> 32:49.398 would be open to visiting the border . 32:49.398 --> 32:51.176 She's doing that with Secretary 32:51.176 --> 32:53.400 Mayorkas who oversees the border and 32:53.410 --> 32:55.400 has , has helped lead a range of 32:55.400 --> 32:57.622 progress there that we've seen over the 32:57.622 --> 32:59.511 last couple of months . And there 32:59.511 --> 33:01.622 certainly is a connection between the 33:01.622 --> 33:03.622 important work the Vice President's 33:03.622 --> 33:05.789 doing in the Northern Triangle , where 33:05.789 --> 33:05.620 we've also seen a reduction in 33:05.630 --> 33:07.630 migration of unaccompanied Children 33:07.630 --> 33:09.920 since March and since april . So that's 33:09.920 --> 33:12.031 the purpose of their visit . In terms 33:12.031 --> 33:13.809 of direct consultation with the 33:13.809 --> 33:15.920 governor , I'm happy to check and see 33:15.920 --> 33:15.650 if there's more I can read out for you . 33:15.650 --> 33:18.270 Go ahead in the middle of the back , go 33:18.270 --> 33:20.492 ahead , go ahead and then I'll go to go 33:20.492 --> 33:23.480 ahead on the governor's , a meeting 33:23.480 --> 33:25.647 with Western governors next week . Can 33:25.647 --> 33:27.480 you tell us anything about which 33:27.480 --> 33:29.647 governors invited , what we can expect 33:29.647 --> 33:28.880 to come out of a meeting and then 33:28.880 --> 33:31.158 specifically , the president mentioned , 33:31.158 --> 33:33.158 he was surprised at just how little 33:33.158 --> 33:35.269 federal wild land firefighters paid . 33:35.269 --> 33:37.436 What would the administration do about 33:37.436 --> 33:39.670 that ? Uh , well , one we could pass a 33:39.680 --> 33:41.624 federal minimum wage , which would 33:41.624 --> 33:43.736 represent a higher wage then it seems 33:43.736 --> 33:45.680 the firefighters are getting , but 33:45.680 --> 33:47.810 certainly he , uh , will continue to 33:47.810 --> 33:50.350 advocate for additional support and 33:50.350 --> 33:52.183 assistance for the men and women 33:52.183 --> 33:54.461 serving as firefighters in the country . 33:54.461 --> 33:56.183 Let me give you a sense of the 33:56.183 --> 33:58.072 governor's coming . So , um , the 33:58.072 --> 34:00.072 meeting first will focus on how the 34:00.072 --> 34:02.520 federal government can improve wildfire 34:02.520 --> 34:04.409 preparedness and response efforts 34:04.409 --> 34:06.298 protect public safety and deliver 34:06.298 --> 34:08.353 assistance to are people in times of 34:08.353 --> 34:10.510 urgent need as a formal local elected 34:10.510 --> 34:12.732 official himself . Maybe he will always 34:12.732 --> 34:14.954 feel that way in his heart . I think he 34:14.954 --> 34:17.066 feels it's really important to engage 34:17.066 --> 34:19.177 directly sit with people as you can , 34:19.177 --> 34:21.343 either remotely or in person to really 34:21.343 --> 34:23.399 discuss what the hold ups are , what 34:23.399 --> 34:25.621 the challenges are . How can we help be 34:25.621 --> 34:25.420 better partners from the federal 34:25.420 --> 34:27.531 government . So this is an example of 34:27.531 --> 34:29.650 that . Um , Governor kate Brown , 34:29.660 --> 34:31.860 Governor of Oregon , Governor of 34:31.860 --> 34:34.082 California , Gavin Newsom , governor of 34:34.082 --> 34:36.193 new Mexico Michelle , Lujan Grisham , 34:36.193 --> 34:38.193 Governor of Wyoming , Mark Gordon ? 34:38.193 --> 34:40.138 Governor of colorado Jared polis , 34:40.138 --> 34:41.971 Governor of Utah spencer cox and 34:41.971 --> 34:44.193 governor of Nevada steve . Sisolak will 34:44.193 --> 34:45.860 be , the governors will be in 34:45.860 --> 34:48.082 attendance governor little and governor 34:48.082 --> 34:50.410 june 14 or not invited . Uh , that's 34:50.410 --> 34:52.466 the list of attendees I have . I can 34:52.466 --> 34:54.632 certainly check if there's more on who 34:54.632 --> 34:56.577 or was or wasn't invited . Oh , go 34:56.577 --> 34:56.250 ahead . I said I would go to you right 34:56.250 --> 34:58.440 next again . We'll make sure we get to 34:58.440 --> 35:00.440 a promise . But you know , the more 35:00.440 --> 35:02.607 specifics about what the president and 35:02.607 --> 35:04.718 the White House will do over the next 35:04.718 --> 35:04.580 week to continue to boost , report for 35:04.580 --> 35:06.630 this infrastructure bill . Can we 35:06.630 --> 35:08.574 expect him to be on the phone with 35:08.574 --> 35:10.352 republicans that have expressed 35:10.352 --> 35:12.463 concerns about his comments yesterday 35:12.463 --> 35:14.186 or uh , you can expect , as is 35:14.186 --> 35:16.241 evidenced by the fact that he called 35:16.241 --> 35:18.297 senator . He had a conversation with 35:18.297 --> 35:20.519 Senator Sir Simona Cinema a friday , so 35:20.519 --> 35:22.540 hard won , uh , Senator Cinema this 35:22.540 --> 35:24.762 morning uh , that he'll of course be on 35:24.762 --> 35:26.651 the phone and he will be engaging 35:26.651 --> 35:28.762 directly with members of both parties 35:28.762 --> 35:31.070 about moving his priorities forward . 35:31.080 --> 35:32.913 Uh , you know , sometimes that's 35:32.913 --> 35:35.024 scheduled or planned a day in advance 35:35.024 --> 35:37.024 or the day before . So I don't have 35:37.024 --> 35:36.630 more specifics for you . But as they 35:36.630 --> 35:38.686 happen , we'll read them out for you 35:38.686 --> 35:40.574 follow up on that police . Has he 35:40.574 --> 35:42.686 called any of the Republican senators 35:42.686 --> 35:44.797 today ? Obviously you were mentioning 35:44.797 --> 35:46.797 earlier that he's talked about this 35:46.797 --> 35:48.963 publicly . What his stance was . There 35:48.963 --> 35:50.797 are Republican senators that are 35:50.797 --> 35:53.019 surprised by what he said yesterday and 35:53.019 --> 35:55.241 are upset has been reported . So has he 35:55.241 --> 35:57.241 talked to them today and what is he 35:57.241 --> 35:59.463 doing to sort of keep this deal thought 35:59.463 --> 36:01.686 intact ? Well , first I think what he's 36:01.686 --> 36:03.908 doing Anita is continuing to convey and 36:03.908 --> 36:06.074 provide details to the public who care 36:06.074 --> 36:08.130 deeply about whether he's delivering 36:08.130 --> 36:10.186 for them less about the mechanics of 36:10.186 --> 36:12.352 the process , about why this should be 36:12.352 --> 36:14.352 a package that supported broadly by 36:14.352 --> 36:16.186 democrats and republicans across 36:16.186 --> 36:17.963 congress . So that's what I did 36:17.963 --> 36:20.074 certainly at the beginning and that's 36:20.074 --> 36:22.130 the case . He's going to continue to 36:22.130 --> 36:24.186 make any of those senators today . I 36:24.186 --> 36:24.130 don't have any additional calls to read 36:24.130 --> 36:26.463 out . I think let's go ahead . Go ahead . 36:27.380 --> 36:29.380 First is following up on an earlier 36:29.380 --> 36:31.213 question . Sure . With a special 36:31.213 --> 36:34.200 immigrant visa population from 36:34.210 --> 36:36.370 Afghanistan . Does the United States 36:36.370 --> 36:39.840 plan to protect those translators and 36:39.850 --> 36:42.090 people who worked for americans who 36:42.090 --> 36:44.640 have already fled Afghanistan and are 36:44.640 --> 36:47.940 in different countries currently ? Well , 36:47.950 --> 36:50.061 there are individuals who are already 36:50.061 --> 36:52.283 in the S . I . V . Pipeline . I suppose 36:52.283 --> 36:54.061 some of them might not be I can 36:54.061 --> 36:56.228 certainly might not be still there . I 36:56.228 --> 36:58.394 can certainly check and see if there , 36:58.394 --> 36:58.110 if they've already departed Afghanistan . 36:58.110 --> 37:00.580 How that would apply another question 37:00.580 --> 37:03.540 about the manatee population in florida 37:03.910 --> 37:06.021 and they are not . That was not on my 37:06.021 --> 37:08.021 bingo card today , but I'm happy to 37:08.021 --> 37:11.960 answer it . Okay , well , the Wall 37:11.960 --> 37:14.127 Street Journal had a good article this 37:14.127 --> 37:16.404 week . They are dying at a record pace . 37:16.530 --> 37:18.830 800 of them died in the last year . And 37:18.830 --> 37:20.941 I wanted to see if the administration 37:20.941 --> 37:23.070 believes that these animals should be 37:23.070 --> 37:25.500 re listed as endangered and also 37:25.500 --> 37:27.056 whether anything in Biden's 37:27.056 --> 37:29.000 infrastructure deal that he strike 37:29.000 --> 37:31.230 yesterday would continue on to help 37:31.230 --> 37:33.270 with . Part of the problem is that 37:33.270 --> 37:36.320 there the florida waters are not , 37:36.330 --> 37:39.200 yeah , it's hurting their habitat . 37:39.210 --> 37:41.480 Yeah , I will say in all seriousness . 37:41.480 --> 37:43.536 I mean , certainly it's an important 37:43.536 --> 37:45.536 question , important issue . Um , I 37:45.536 --> 37:47.591 don't want the pro manatee people to 37:47.591 --> 37:50.720 not think I feel that . But I will say 37:50.720 --> 37:53.350 that yes , there are components of his 37:53.360 --> 37:55.580 of his package . I mean a part of this 37:55.580 --> 37:57.802 package , a big part of this package is 37:57.802 --> 38:00.210 a down payment on climate resilience , 38:00.220 --> 38:03.920 on ensuring that we are cleaning up 38:03.930 --> 38:06.000 some of the polluted areas in our 38:06.000 --> 38:08.222 country , something that is impacting a 38:08.222 --> 38:10.444 lot of communities proportionately more 38:10.444 --> 38:12.667 than others . So that is , I would have 38:12.667 --> 38:14.722 to check and sort of what that means 38:14.722 --> 38:16.722 for the florida coast . I think you 38:16.722 --> 38:18.722 said specifically there in terms of 38:18.722 --> 38:21.000 relisting them . It's a great question . 38:21.000 --> 38:23.167 I just have to talk to the , the folks 38:23.167 --> 38:25.389 who would be more specific about that . 38:25.389 --> 38:27.444 Go ahead . Thank you . Kill american 38:27.444 --> 38:29.389 journalist . Many protester afghan 38:29.389 --> 38:31.444 protesters outside the White House . 38:31.444 --> 38:33.556 They are waiting and they have a high 38:33.556 --> 38:35.340 expectations from today's two 38:35.340 --> 38:37.396 presidents meeting . Do you have any 38:37.396 --> 38:39.880 message for them ? Because as soon as I 38:39.880 --> 38:41.936 live here , I go to see them and get 38:41.936 --> 38:44.158 their opinion . Well , I would say that 38:44.158 --> 38:46.840 um the meeting today is an opportunity 38:46.840 --> 38:49.190 to convey from the president that we 38:49.200 --> 38:52.160 have an ongoing commitment . We are 38:52.160 --> 38:54.110 committed to supporting the Afghan 38:54.110 --> 38:55.999 people uh and the Afghan national 38:55.999 --> 38:58.166 Defence and security forces even as we 38:58.166 --> 38:59.999 continue to undertake a security 38:59.999 --> 39:01.943 transition . The president is also 39:01.943 --> 39:04.221 going to emphasize during this meeting , 39:04.221 --> 39:06.443 the need for unity cohesion and for the 39:06.443 --> 39:08.554 Afghan government to focus on the key 39:08.554 --> 39:10.790 challenges of Afghanistan faces . And 39:10.790 --> 39:13.012 so , as you noted , well , welcome both 39:13.012 --> 39:15.123 President Ghani and Chairman Abdullah 39:15.123 --> 39:17.401 and one of the most important messages . 39:17.401 --> 39:19.623 He will stresses that they need to have 39:19.623 --> 39:21.846 a united front as Afghanistan continues 39:21.846 --> 39:23.512 to address security and other 39:23.512 --> 39:25.457 challenges . And finally , he will 39:25.457 --> 39:27.457 emphasize our continuing diplomatic 39:27.457 --> 39:29.568 support for the peace process and for 39:29.568 --> 39:31.623 all afghan parties to engage in good 39:31.623 --> 39:33.568 faith uh and that process . So the 39:33.568 --> 39:35.790 bottom line that you can convey is that 39:35.790 --> 39:37.901 uh he's going to discuss our enduring 39:37.901 --> 39:40.123 United States support including through 39:40.123 --> 39:39.420 security assistance to the Afghan 39:39.420 --> 39:41.750 national Defence and Security Forces 39:41.820 --> 39:44.220 development humanitarian assistance to 39:44.220 --> 39:45.887 support the Afghan people and 39:45.887 --> 39:47.887 diplomatic engagement in support of 39:47.887 --> 39:49.831 peace . Thank you guys , I'm sorry 39:49.831 --> 39:52.109 you've got to you've got together . Oh , 39:52.109 --> 39:54.331 I'm sorry , chris , chris , chris , and 39:54.331 --> 39:53.810 then I want to go to because it's your 39:53.810 --> 39:56.100 first time to Okay , good . I know 39:56.100 --> 39:58.267 we're running out of time . It's gonna 39:58.267 --> 40:00.489 push my multiple inquiries a day on the 40:00.489 --> 40:02.544 developments into one and that is uh 40:02.544 --> 40:04.767 take your time . It's okay . People can 40:04.767 --> 40:06.878 leave if they need to gather . No one 40:06.878 --> 40:09.100 is rushing you out of here that the the 40:09.100 --> 40:11.240 initiatives today , how do they place 40:11.610 --> 40:13.990 and the president's both domestic and 40:14.000 --> 40:16.390 foreign policy agenda . And don't they 40:16.390 --> 40:18.557 fall short of the President saying the 40:18.557 --> 40:20.779 Equality Act into law ? Well , first on 40:20.779 --> 40:22.946 the Well , let me start with the first 40:22.946 --> 40:22.570 one , because I think that's an 40:22.570 --> 40:24.681 important question because what we do 40:24.681 --> 40:26.737 here and the values that we advocate 40:26.737 --> 40:28.570 for the United States do send an 40:28.570 --> 40:30.737 important message around the world and 40:30.737 --> 40:32.792 sometimes we forget that . So during 40:32.792 --> 40:34.959 his remarks today , the president will 40:34.959 --> 40:37.070 outline , of course the historic step 40:37.070 --> 40:39.181 his administration has taken . But he 40:39.181 --> 40:41.403 will also renew his calls on the Senate 40:41.403 --> 40:43.459 to swiftly pass the Equality Act and 40:43.459 --> 40:45.570 provide overdue explicit civil rights 40:45.570 --> 40:47.403 protections to LGBT Q people and 40:47.403 --> 40:49.514 families across the country . He will 40:49.514 --> 40:51.014 also speak directly to the 40:51.014 --> 40:53.237 proliferation of state level anti L G B 40:53.237 --> 40:55.403 T Q bill plus bills denouncing them as 40:55.403 --> 40:57.514 un american and legislation disguised 40:57.514 --> 40:59.626 as bullying . And he will commend the 40:59.626 --> 41:01.848 community for their courage and bravery 41:01.848 --> 41:04.070 pushing progress forward . Finally , he 41:04.070 --> 41:03.970 will announce his appointment of 41:03.970 --> 41:06.400 Jessica stern as the U . S . Envoy to 41:06.400 --> 41:08.380 advance the Human rights of LGBT Q 41:08.380 --> 41:10.547 persons at the Department of State , a 41:10.547 --> 41:12.658 role just to make the connection here 41:12.658 --> 41:14.824 that will be critical to advancing his 41:14.824 --> 41:17.047 agenda overseas and around the world as 41:17.047 --> 41:20.920 well . I don't have 41:20.920 --> 41:23.087 anything to preview in terms of travel 41:23.087 --> 41:25.142 beyond next week . Uh Maybe we don't 41:25.142 --> 41:27.309 work too far ahead and planning around 41:27.309 --> 41:29.531 these parts . Um but certainly the fact 41:29.531 --> 41:31.476 that he's signing this legislation 41:31.476 --> 41:33.531 today sends a clear message about um 41:33.531 --> 41:35.587 you know his commitment to the LGBTQ 41:35.587 --> 41:37.587 Plus community and to Commemorating 41:37.587 --> 41:39.531 what was a tragedy in our nation's 41:39.531 --> 41:41.587 history . Okay , last one . And then 41:41.587 --> 41:43.809 everybody can gather it's on the news . 41:43.809 --> 41:42.980 I have been in touch with Taliban 41:42.980 --> 41:45.300 spokesman Sohail Shaheen ran by him . 41:45.300 --> 41:47.633 The reports of hundreds of additional U . 41:47.633 --> 41:49.300 S . Forces staying beyond the 41:49.300 --> 41:51.467 withdrawal . This is his response . He 41:51.467 --> 41:53.689 says it's a violation of the commitment 41:53.689 --> 41:55.800 and the agreement made by the U . S . 41:55.800 --> 41:55.760 It jeopardizes the peace process and 41:55.760 --> 41:57.593 could pave the way for continued 41:57.593 --> 41:59.593 prolonged war . So what's the White 41:59.593 --> 42:01.760 House response to that ? I would say 42:01.760 --> 42:03.927 first that we have been very clear and 42:03.927 --> 42:05.871 the president was when he made his 42:05.871 --> 42:07.649 announcement about his plans to 42:07.649 --> 42:09.816 withdraw troops , that we plan to have 42:09.816 --> 42:11.927 a diplomatic presence on the ground , 42:11.927 --> 42:13.816 including uh including a security 42:13.816 --> 42:15.760 presence to protect our diplomatic 42:15.760 --> 42:17.760 presence on the ground . And that's 42:17.760 --> 42:19.871 something that has been a part of the 42:19.871 --> 42:22.038 discussion from the beginning . Um and 42:22.038 --> 42:24.260 beyond that , I certainly would have to 42:24.260 --> 42:24.020 talk to our national security team if 42:24.020 --> 42:26.187 there's more than one more quick one , 42:26.187 --> 42:28.353 the family of Mark for your ex US Navy 42:28.353 --> 42:30.409 veteran who is still held hostage in 42:30.409 --> 42:32.576 Afghanistan . He's worried that as U . 42:32.576 --> 42:34.798 S . Troops continue to leave you locked 42:34.798 --> 42:37.131 all leverage in any efforts to free him . 42:37.131 --> 42:39.187 So what's the president's message to 42:39.187 --> 42:41.409 his family ? The president's message is 42:41.409 --> 42:41.190 that he will continue to fight every 42:41.190 --> 42:42.912 day of his presidency to bring 42:42.912 --> 42:44.690 americans home who are detained 42:44.690 --> 42:46.912 overseas uh whether it's in Afghanistan 42:46.912 --> 42:49.134 or any other country around the world . 42:49.134 --> 42:51.023 Again , we will have a diplomatic 42:51.023 --> 42:52.857 presence on the ground . We will 42:52.857 --> 42:52.840 continue to work closely with the 42:52.840 --> 42:54.784 government with security support , 42:54.784 --> 42:56.951 humanitarian support . And there needs 42:56.951 --> 42:58.951 to be continued continued political 42:58.951 --> 43:01.380 process , ongoing negotiations . That 43:01.380 --> 43:03.602 will be part of the president's message 43:03.602 --> 43:05.769 today when he meets with the leaders . 43:05.769 --> 43:07.936 Thanks everyone so much happy friday . 43:07.936 --> 43:07.120 Right .