WEBVTT

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Yeah .

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Hi okay . Sorry again . For the brief

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delay , I was I know you were all

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interested in what our Secretary of

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State had to say . Um just a note and I

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know all of you have been following

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this quite closely but to reiterate a

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total of approximately 19,000 people

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were evacuated from Kabul over a period

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of 24 hours . That of course ended

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early this morning . This is the result

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of 42 U . S . Military flights which

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carried Approximately 11,200 evacuees

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and 48 coalition flights which carried

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70 800 people . For a total of 90

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flights out of Kabul . Which if I get

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my math right , that's approximately a

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flight every 39 minutes . I believe the

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Department of Defense gave that

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statistic . Uh And just to reiterate

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since august 14th we have evacuated the

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United States has evacuated facilitated

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the evacuation of approximately 82,300

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people on U . S . Military and

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coalition flights . As part of one of

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the largest airlifts in world history

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since the end of july , we have

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relocated approximately 88,000 people

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on U . S . Military and coalition

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flights . Uh Two other items unrelated

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uh to that topic . Today , we are also

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announced , we have announced new

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actions to help protect vulnerable

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tenants and landlords for months . The

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administration has worked to speed up

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the delivery of emergency rental

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assistance as we've talked about quite

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a bit and here and help keep american

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families safe and in their homes . Uh

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And as the president has made clear no

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state or locality should delay in

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distributing resources that have been

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provided by Congress to meet families

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critical needs . And we want to

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continue to take steps to make that

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easier . So today the Treasury

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Department is strengthening existing

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guidance and implementing new policies

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to ensure that state and local grantees

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can further accelerate the distribution

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of er a funds to to struggling

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landlords and renters most at risk of

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eviction . Specifically , they're

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providing explicit permission for

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grantees to use self attestation

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without further documentation of their

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economic circumstances . To give you a

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specific example in order to speed the

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delivery of assistance to households in

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need during the public health emergency .

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There are also a number of steps that

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are being taken by U . S . D . A hud .

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The V . A . And HHS including USDA is

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USDA is working with owners of 400,000

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rental units in usd back properties to

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mitigate all evictions , hud will

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ensure tenants in public housing first

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have the opportunity to access

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emergency rental assistance money

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before facing eviction and how will

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extend the eviction notice period from

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14 to 30 days during the covid National

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Emergency period . And the V . A . Will

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expand rental support to at risk

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veterans and their families from just

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seven states . Uh to now all 50 states

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and the U . S . Territories . So this

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is just some of the examples of steps

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we're taking to go ahead in Afghanistan .

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There seems to be a disconnect Veterans

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organizations , refugee advocates are

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saying that afghans with visas are

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risking death and facing beatings at

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the airport . Yeah ,

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I'm car framing this right . But

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there's been the sense that I've heard ,

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I think from you and others in the

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administration of taliban is by and

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large met its commitment to allow

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people with the right papers on to the

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airport . Can you try to help americans

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that are seeing what seems to be a

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disconnect between these two different

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statements of what is happening ? Well ,

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first , let me say , I wouldn't see it

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as a disconnect . And let me explain to

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you why I noted earlier that are we put

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out earlier today , uh , that 19,000

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people were evacuated . The vast

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majority in the last in a 24 hour

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period . Uh , the vast majority of

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those were of course Afghans , as you

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know , by the numbers that the

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secretary of state just put out . That

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does mean that a great number of people

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are making their way into the airport

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and onto flights to evacuate from the

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country . There are certainly cases and

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incidents . And we have heard , you

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have reported where individuals are not

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getting through that should get through

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and we are approaching those and

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addressing those on a case by case

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basis as those are raised . But I would

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note that again , 19,000 people in a

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period of time , the vast majority of

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them are afghans s ivy applicants .

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Individuals who are have the

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appropriate paperwork to evacuate . And

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that was just in a 24 hour period .

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Yeah . Give us an update on where

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things stand with the president and the

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uh coronavirus origins review . Sure .

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Uh said he's gotten a copy of

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the 90 day report . Uh was there any

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conclusions that uh I see what they

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come up with ? Sure . Well let me

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confirm for you . As you noted , he did

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not just receive a copy . He received a

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briefing yesterday on the 90 day

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Origins report was classified briefing .

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So of course that's not information we

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would provide publicly because of the

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prioritization . We've given to this

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and the importance of this information

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for the public . The intelligence

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community has been simultaneously

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working on an unclassified version of

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summary . A summary version to provide

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publicly . I don't have a timeline for

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you and when that will be provided .

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But they've been working expeditiously

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to prepare that . And we have also been

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doing classified briefings . But until

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that unclassified version is available ,

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I won't be able to provide any more

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details of the assessment without

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getting into details of the broad

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upshot of the report . Do is there a

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better understanding of what was the

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ultimate origin ? Again , I can

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obviously speak to a classified

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briefing . I know you're eager to

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receive an unclassified summary . That

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is something the intelligence community

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has been working to produce and as soon

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as that is available it will be put out

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publicly from from the intelligence

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community from O . D . N . A . And

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we'll also ensure you all have access

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to it . Good thanks said Secretary

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Blinken just said And jake Sullivan

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said the other day that even after

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august 31st that the U . S . Government

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is committed to helping americans and

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afghans who are still in the country

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eligible to get out to get out safely .

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How do you do that if the military is

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gone , how do you safeguard these

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people and get them where they need to

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go without the U . S . Military in the

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country ? Well , I know and nancy as

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you as you mentioned that the secretary

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was asked that he didn't go into detail

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for a reason because we are currently

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having those . But what he assured , I

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think the public of and I can reiterate

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from here is that we are looking at a

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range of options for how we can

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continue to provide councillor support

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facilitate departures for those who

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wish to leave after August 31 . And our

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expectation and the expectation of the

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international community is that people

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who want to leave Afghanistan after the

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US military terry depart should be able

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to do so we're working on that as soon

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as we have more to to provide to all of

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you more information . We will do

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exactly that Based on the numbers that

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you provided Americans who have been

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evacuated . It sounds like there are at

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least 70,000 Afghans who have been

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evacuated . How do you possibly vet

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all of those people in a timely fashion ?

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When clearly the

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Customs and Border Patrol and relevant

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officials must be completely overloaded .

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uh they are uh and I will say this is a

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reflection of the fact that we have

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hundreds of employees of our

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intelligence community working 24 hours

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a day to do the vetting necessary

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and reviews necessary uh to move people

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uh into the United States . Now , I

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would remind you that uh there are a

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number of people , tens of thousands of

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people who are departing Afghanistan

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who are going to third countries lily

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pads as we've been calling them . And

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where additional vetting can take place ,

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either because they've only proceeded

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through certain steps of this , of the

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immigrant visa process or because

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they're vetting process has not yet

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been completed . I can give you a

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little bit more detailed to on the

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vetting process if that help , if that

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is helpful . Um So the screening and

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security vetting is conducted by a

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combination of the Intelligence , law

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enforcement and counterterrorism

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professionals from across government .

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So the Department of Homeland Security

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Department of Defense , the FBI State

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Department , the NCTC , the National

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Counterterrorism Center and Additional

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Intelligence Community Partners . Um

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What they are doing are there

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conducting screening and Security

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vetting for all the applicants and

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other vulnerable afghans before they

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are allowed into the United States .

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This includes reviews of both

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biographic and biometric data . And if

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an individual is not through that

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vetting process , they're not coming

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into the United States . And are there

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any estimates for how long it will take

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to work through that backlog ? Could

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these people be going through the

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system for months or years ? You mean

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people who are in third countries ?

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Well , what I will tell you is that it

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typically takes months to go through

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this process and what , what this is a

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signal of is is the fact that this is a

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top priority for the President and the

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intelligence community and the

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individuals who oversee this vetting

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process , who have massively expedited

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the process in order to move through

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the necessary steps uh thorough steps

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in order to process individuals and get

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them moving through the system . Go

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ahead . Thank you , jen , At the tail

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end of the President's remarks today

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about cybersecurity . He was asked

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about Afghanistan and he made it .

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Peter asked him that question . The

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other Peter did and he made a joke . So

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what's so fun ? Well , I think the

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question he was asked if I remember

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correctly was about when he will

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provide information about a decision on

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August 31 . I don't want to paraphrase

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the question if that was an inaccurate

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description of the question . Of course

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it's a very important question and I

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think what he conveyed what is that ?

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Um he has not . Well , what I can

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convey from here , I should say is that

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as he stated yesterday and as the

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Secretary of State just stated , we're

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on track to complete our mission by

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august 31st . Obviously there are

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discussions uh and the president

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received a briefing just this morning .

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As I noted , he asked yesterday for

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contingency plans and he received a

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briefing on them this morning . These

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are incredibly serious issues and their

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discussions that are happening

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internally . And I note that in

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addition to the contingency uh plans

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that he he requested , he also , I will

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reiterate as we stated yesterday that

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this is all contingent on us achieving

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our objectives and our continued and

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the continued coordination with the

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taliban . And the President has spoken ,

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I would say to this issue , peter as

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you know , you've been attended a

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number of these multiple times over the

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last several days . Um And he has also

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highlighted the fact that we are

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closely watching closely following uh

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the threats from ISIS K . Which he also

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received a briefing on this morning .

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His remarks last night , he gave a lot

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of time on the domestic agenda . Does

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he think that the bill back better plan

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is as virgin and as time sensitive as

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this evacuation of americans and at him

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friendlies from Kabul ? Well , first of

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all , I think it's important to the

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american people who care deeply about

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whether they're going to have jobs ,

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whether they're going to have child

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care , whether they are going whether

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we are going to be able to compete with

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china and countries around the world to

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understand that we have to do multiple

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things at the same time . That's

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exactly what any President of the

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United States has to do the next one .

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Just as these negotiations about safe

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passage for americans and S . I . B .

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Holders continue , why haven't we heard

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the President say the United States

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does not negotiate with terrorists ? Is

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that still the U . S . Policy ? Well ,

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of course it is peter . But I would

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also say that uh there's a reality that

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the taliban is currently controlling

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large swathes of Afghanistan . Uh that

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is a reality on the ground . And right

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now our focus and our priority is

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getting american citizens evacuated and

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our afghan partners evacuated . And I

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would say given the numbers that we

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have outlined and brief for you that

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we've had made a great deal of progress

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in doing exactly that . Okay , go ahead

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Justin um thanks . I had a couple . But

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actually , to kind of follow up on the

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question of here , just sure , um

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you've talked about the coordination

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with the taliban and uh there's the

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president obviously made the threat of

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a severe response if they disrupt the

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effort to get americans out . But I'm

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wondering if the U . S . Offered the

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taliban anything in terms of cash or

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supplies to help facilitate this

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coordination ? No , this is not a quid

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pro quo . We have laid out clearly what

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our expectations are about moving

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american citizens and our afghan

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partners allies out of the country and

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that's what we're working to deliver on

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the Fed has their big comedian in

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Jackson Jackson Hole this week or a

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personal one Peg to that . My name .

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The president spoken to the Chairman

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Powell ahead of that meeting for Ben .

12:50.012 --> 12:52.330
I don't have any updates or previews or

12:52.330 --> 12:54.552
readouts of meetings or engagement with

12:54.552 --> 12:56.750
Chairman Powell . Good question about

12:56.750 --> 12:59.028
lawmakers who travelled to Afghanistan ,

12:59.028 --> 13:00.972
was the White House aware of those

13:00.972 --> 13:03.028
members of Congress that traveled to

13:03.028 --> 13:05.380
Kabul ? We were not aware when they

13:05.380 --> 13:07.860
were en route . No . What's your what's

13:07.860 --> 13:09.971
the White House reaction to that trip

13:09.971 --> 13:12.470
was beneficial or what's the White

13:12.470 --> 13:15.070
House ? Well , our guidance continues

13:15.070 --> 13:16.903
to be to all american citizens ,

13:16.903 --> 13:19.014
including elected officials . Uh this

13:19.014 --> 13:20.626
is not the time to travel to

13:20.626 --> 13:22.310
Afghanistan and our focus our

13:22.310 --> 13:25.360
objectives are resources need to be uh

13:25.740 --> 13:29.270
laser focused on uh evacuating

13:29.280 --> 13:31.640
afghan partners , evacuating american

13:31.640 --> 13:33.970
citizens And that's best done in the

13:33.970 --> 13:36.137
hands of the Department of Defense and

13:36.137 --> 13:38.303
State Department professionals who are

13:38.303 --> 13:40.470
on the ground . One more . The 31st of

13:40.470 --> 13:42.803
course is the deadline for the drawdown .

13:42.803 --> 13:44.637
But when do the gears shift from

13:44.637 --> 13:46.526
evacuation mission to withdrawing

13:46.526 --> 13:48.970
troops ? Well , I noted a little bit

13:48.980 --> 13:51.190
earlier that the president was briefed

13:51.200 --> 13:53.430
this morning on contingency plans and

13:53.430 --> 13:55.597
continues to have optionality . Should

13:55.597 --> 13:58.390
he decide to change plans even as we

13:58.390 --> 14:01.070
are uh on track to complete our mission

14:01.070 --> 14:03.990
by august 31st , I would also note that

14:03.990 --> 14:06.740
my D . O . D . Colleagues have put out

14:06.740 --> 14:08.851
some information about steps that are

14:08.851 --> 14:10.800
being taken . So as we've made

14:10.800 --> 14:12.856
consistently clear commanders on the

14:12.856 --> 14:14.467
ground and power to make any

14:14.467 --> 14:16.578
adjustments as they see fit when they

14:16.578 --> 14:18.633
see fit and that includes changes to

14:18.633 --> 14:20.467
the footprint to that end . They

14:20.467 --> 14:22.633
confirmed uh last night , I believe it

14:22.633 --> 14:24.356
was that of the departure from

14:24.356 --> 14:26.300
Afghanistan of several 100 U . S .

14:26.300 --> 14:28.356
Troops . Uh These troops represent a

14:28.356 --> 14:30.522
mix of headquarter , staff maintenance

14:30.522 --> 14:29.920
and other enabling functions that were

14:29.920 --> 14:32.142
scheduled to leave and whose mission at

14:32.142 --> 14:34.309
the airport was complete does not have

14:34.309 --> 14:37.330
an impact on our mission at hand . Just

14:37.330 --> 14:39.274
following up on Afghanistan people

14:39.274 --> 14:41.497
traveling there , the L . A . Times has

14:41.497 --> 14:43.719
a story saying that a group of students

14:43.719 --> 14:45.886
and their parents are in Afghanistan .

14:45.886 --> 14:47.886
Do you have any more information on

14:47.886 --> 14:49.774
that or is that I do not who have

14:49.774 --> 14:52.160
recently traveled into Afghanistan who

14:52.160 --> 14:54.340
are apparently stranded in Afghanistan

14:54.340 --> 14:56.562
after learning travel there . I don't I

14:56.562 --> 14:58.784
don't know for certain that I certainly

14:58.784 --> 15:00.840
don't have additional information on

15:00.840 --> 15:02.896
that . I know as as our Secretary of

15:02.896 --> 15:04.729
State just noted um when he went

15:04.729 --> 15:06.896
through a thorough summary of american

15:06.896 --> 15:09.118
citizens and our contacts and our focus

15:09.118 --> 15:11.340
over the last several days , um he gave

15:11.340 --> 15:13.340
an update . I'm happy to take their

15:13.340 --> 15:15.451
information if there's something more

15:15.451 --> 15:17.396
detailed you have and then just on

15:17.396 --> 15:20.430
another issue said , you know the we're

15:20.430 --> 15:22.486
all waiting for some news about that

15:22.486 --> 15:24.374
appointment . Can you give us any

15:24.374 --> 15:27.600
timeline for a decision on that . Is

15:27.600 --> 15:30.080
there any of us any guidance ? I don't

15:30.080 --> 15:31.913
have any guidance for you on the

15:31.913 --> 15:34.960
timeline . Just got

15:35.690 --> 15:39.320
on Afghanistan and we just

15:39.330 --> 15:41.950
heard from Anthony Blinken that ah

15:42.640 --> 15:46.260
45-46% of those evacuated than women .

15:46.820 --> 15:48.820
There's been a lot of consternation

15:48.820 --> 15:51.020
about the plight of Afghan women going

15:51.030 --> 15:53.790
forward and notices an issue of concern

15:53.790 --> 15:56.790
to you as well . But can you say what

15:56.800 --> 15:58.970
provisions you are making to ensure

15:58.970 --> 16:02.600
that , you know , women are actually

16:02.600 --> 16:04.267
sort of an equal part of that

16:04.267 --> 16:06.322
population . It is being evacuated .

16:06.540 --> 16:08.596
It's not quite represented different

16:08.596 --> 16:10.651
patterns . Sure . Well , I know that

16:10.651 --> 16:12.707
our Secretary of State spoke to this

16:12.707 --> 16:14.873
just a few minutes ago . Um but what I

16:14.873 --> 16:17.490
can reiterate or add too , I suppose is

16:17.500 --> 16:19.940
one we are going to continue to work

16:19.940 --> 16:22.530
with the United Nations and ally our

16:22.540 --> 16:24.762
allies and partners around the world to

16:24.762 --> 16:26.596
continue to provide humanitarian

16:26.596 --> 16:28.818
assistance and a range of assistance to

16:28.818 --> 16:30.762
Afghanistan . Even we don't have a

16:30.762 --> 16:32.873
presence on the ground . Uh There are

16:32.873 --> 16:34.929
also uh messages we've made clear to

16:34.929 --> 16:36.707
the Taliban and I think that uh

16:36.707 --> 16:38.873
Secretary Blinken also reiterated this

16:38.873 --> 16:40.980
about what our expectations are . Uh

16:40.980 --> 16:43.100
and what the global community expects

16:43.110 --> 16:45.360
um once we depart Afghanistan , I don't

16:45.360 --> 16:47.471
have additional details beyond that ,

16:47.471 --> 16:49.693
but I will tell you that our commitment

16:49.693 --> 16:52.710
to the incredibly brave women uh and

16:52.710 --> 16:55.750
leaders and uh population in

16:55.750 --> 16:57.860
Afghanistan uh that has fought

16:57.870 --> 17:00.510
alongside us uh that has bravely stood

17:00.510 --> 17:03.260
up does not change , does not diminish

17:03.270 --> 17:05.326
even after our military is departing

17:05.326 --> 17:07.440
from the ground . You Anthony Blinken

17:07.440 --> 17:09.840
today gave us numbers for the numbers

17:09.850 --> 17:11.850
of americans that our beliefs still

17:11.850 --> 17:14.350
Afghanistan . But yesterday during a

17:14.360 --> 17:17.410
briefing we ask questions about how

17:17.410 --> 17:21.140
many afghans and americans have

17:21.140 --> 17:23.470
arrived in the United States . I think

17:23.470 --> 17:25.526
that I provided details on americans

17:25.526 --> 17:27.790
yesterday but not on the number of

17:27.790 --> 17:29.846
accidents that have arrived at these

17:29.846 --> 17:32.068
military bases . Do you have a specific

17:32.068 --> 17:34.068
breakdown on the number of people ?

17:34.068 --> 17:36.179
First I confirmed confirmed yesterday

17:36.179 --> 17:38.234
that it was 4000 americans have been

17:38.234 --> 17:40.123
evacuated . Obviously that number

17:40.123 --> 17:42.179
increased and the Secretary of State

17:42.179 --> 17:44.290
given updated number this morning . I

17:44.290 --> 17:46.179
would remind you that the U . S .

17:46.179 --> 17:48.290
Military is overseeing the evacuation

17:48.290 --> 17:50.510
of individuals out of Afghanistan and

17:50.510 --> 17:52.677
the State Department oversees the visa

17:52.677 --> 17:54.566
processing . Hence the update was

17:54.566 --> 17:56.510
provided by the Secretary of State

17:56.510 --> 17:58.732
during his briefing that he just gave .

17:58.732 --> 18:00.732
He also noted that he would work to

18:00.732 --> 18:03.260
provide additional numbers of afghans .

18:03.270 --> 18:05.870
But I would note since we provided a

18:05.870 --> 18:07.870
detailed number of americans and we

18:07.870 --> 18:09.814
have also provided on a day to day

18:09.814 --> 18:12.037
basis twice a day the numbers of people

18:12.037 --> 18:14.259
coming out . The vast majority of those

18:14.259 --> 18:16.037
are afghans by numbers go ahead

18:16.037 --> 18:18.148
Secretary gave us some specificity in

18:18.148 --> 18:18.090
terms of what the president may

18:18.090 --> 18:20.270
consider uh completing a mission or

18:20.280 --> 18:22.447
achieving objectives as it pertains to

18:22.447 --> 18:24.669
americans . Do you guys have a specific

18:24.669 --> 18:26.724
threshold or number when it comes to

18:26.724 --> 18:29.060
afghans about what would define

18:29.070 --> 18:31.310
cleaning the mission or your objectives

18:31.320 --> 18:33.153
by obviously first , in terms of

18:33.153 --> 18:35.840
evacuation , we have never put a cap on

18:35.840 --> 18:38.150
the number of special immigrant visa

18:38.150 --> 18:40.740
applicants . The number of uh

18:40.750 --> 18:44.190
individuals who can apply for our

18:44.200 --> 18:46.520
variety of programs that are overseen

18:46.530 --> 18:48.530
by the State Department and I'm not

18:48.530 --> 18:50.697
going to put a cap on that today . I'd

18:50.697 --> 18:52.641
also note that as the Secretary of

18:52.641 --> 18:54.697
State said , we will continue and we

18:54.697 --> 18:56.752
are continuing to look at a range of

18:56.752 --> 18:59.890
options to provide support and to

18:59.890 --> 19:01.790
provide a means for departing

19:01.790 --> 19:04.560
Afghanistan . Even after we our US

19:04.560 --> 19:06.504
military departs , there's nothing

19:06.504 --> 19:08.671
where you guys are looking at existing

19:08.671 --> 19:11.630
backlog , August 14 and say we want all

19:11.640 --> 19:14.000
18 , we are not putting a cap on the

19:14.000 --> 19:15.944
number . We are continuing to work

19:15.944 --> 19:17.722
every day to get as many people

19:17.722 --> 19:19.889
evacuated as we can more quickly . You

19:19.889 --> 19:21.944
guys have been very clear in stating

19:22.040 --> 19:24.151
these numbers are americans that want

19:24.151 --> 19:26.429
to leave . There are clearly americans ,

19:26.429 --> 19:29.230
many of them dual citizens choosing not

19:29.240 --> 19:31.462
to leave . What is the level of concern

19:31.462 --> 19:33.310
inside the administration about

19:33.320 --> 19:35.209
citizens or american citizens who

19:35.209 --> 19:37.376
choose to stay in the country ? Well ,

19:37.376 --> 19:39.542
I know this is very hard to understand

19:39.542 --> 19:41.487
for many people sitting here and I

19:41.487 --> 19:43.542
think this is why you're asking this

19:43.542 --> 19:43.190
question . I'm not sitting here even I

19:43.190 --> 19:45.330
should say people who watch your ,

19:45.340 --> 19:47.173
watch your shows or or read your

19:47.173 --> 19:49.790
newspaper . But the many , many of the

19:49.790 --> 19:52.700
people um we suspect many of the people

19:52.700 --> 19:55.920
of these 1000 contacts um are dual

19:55.920 --> 19:59.400
citizens . Some uh as secretary Blinken

19:59.400 --> 20:02.460
noted , are people who uh may not be

20:02.470 --> 20:05.090
ready to leave for a variety of reasons .

20:05.100 --> 20:07.380
Uh maybe they have an extended family

20:07.390 --> 20:09.501
extended family there , Maybe they've

20:09.501 --> 20:11.723
spent their entire lives in Afghanistan

20:11.723 --> 20:13.946
and they have not yet made the decision

20:13.946 --> 20:16.112
to depart . Maybe they're working on a

20:16.112 --> 20:18.223
range of projects , they're not ready

20:18.223 --> 20:20.446
to leave . I know that it's hard for us

20:20.446 --> 20:22.557
to understand as we're looking at the

20:22.557 --> 20:24.834
images , but for many of these Afghans ,

20:24.834 --> 20:27.001
this is their home . Um and yes , they

20:27.001 --> 20:28.946
are dual citizens . Yes , as it is

20:28.946 --> 20:31.057
absolutely our responsibility to make

20:31.057 --> 20:32.834
sure we are reaching out to the

20:32.834 --> 20:34.723
multiple times . We are providing

20:34.723 --> 20:36.446
opportunity , we are providing

20:36.446 --> 20:38.668
opportunity , We are um finding ways to

20:38.668 --> 20:40.723
get them to the airport and evacuate

20:40.723 --> 20:42.779
them . But it is also their personal

20:42.779 --> 20:45.112
decision on whether they want to depart .

20:45.112 --> 20:47.279
Good . Could I just follow up a little

20:47.279 --> 20:49.557
bit on some masks , christian refugees .

20:49.557 --> 20:52.060
So , first he talked about the vetting

20:52.060 --> 20:54.171
that's going on outside of the United

20:54.171 --> 20:56.920
States after they leave Iraq . Oh , I

20:56.930 --> 20:59.208
didn't mean to imply outside of , well ,

20:59.208 --> 21:01.374
some of it is happening in Qatar , but

21:01.374 --> 21:03.650
some of it is happening here okay . But

21:03.650 --> 21:05.650
I mean , but I mean it's before the

21:05.650 --> 21:07.650
people come to the States , right ?

21:07.650 --> 21:09.872
It's happening before they arrived . So

21:09.872 --> 21:09.680
a lot of that vetting some of some of

21:09.680 --> 21:11.902
the pace of that vetting is within your

21:11.902 --> 21:14.124
control . You can add more people , you

21:14.124 --> 21:16.236
can add more interviewers and we have

21:16.236 --> 21:18.347
done that . But a lot of it is not in

21:18.347 --> 21:17.880
your control , right ? Like somebody

21:17.880 --> 21:21.260
comes to you with no documents . Uh you

21:21.260 --> 21:23.710
know , it takes time to figure out

21:23.710 --> 21:25.932
where is the actual birth certificate ?

21:25.932 --> 21:27.988
It takes time to find documents that

21:27.988 --> 21:31.520
prove 10 years of residency . It takes

21:31.520 --> 21:34.300
time to get the kind of proof that the

21:34.300 --> 21:36.467
FBI and some of these agencies like to

21:36.467 --> 21:39.520
use . So , um you know , does that all

21:39.530 --> 21:42.320
add up to refugee camps in these

21:42.330 --> 21:45.740
transit centers across the globe with

21:45.740 --> 21:48.100
tens of thousands of afghans sitting

21:48.110 --> 21:51.850
for months , years , whatever .

21:51.860 --> 21:54.410
It doesn't it doesn't add up to those

21:54.410 --> 21:56.480
of us who sort of have seen that

21:56.490 --> 21:59.860
process , you know , Back in 2015 when

22:00.740 --> 22:02.962
you were in a previous administration .

22:02.962 --> 22:05.129
One of the things that you guys argued

22:05.129 --> 22:07.018
was that the refugee community in

22:07.018 --> 22:09.060
particular was the most vetted

22:09.940 --> 22:13.370
Community of people entering the United

22:13.370 --> 22:15.426
States . And you pointed to the fact

22:15.426 --> 22:17.592
that it takes a year or two um for the

22:17.592 --> 22:19.648
typical refugee to sort of meet that

22:19.648 --> 22:21.870
burden . So , I guess the question is ,

22:21.870 --> 22:24.203
what how can you possibly not have this ?

22:24.203 --> 22:26.370
And where are you going to put these ?

22:26.370 --> 22:28.092
It's okay . There was a lot of

22:28.092 --> 22:30.259
questions wrapped up in there . Let me

22:30.259 --> 22:30.230
do the best I can here . Um No it's

22:30.230 --> 22:32.341
okay . I mean all good questions . Um

22:32.440 --> 22:35.190
First I would say um even prior to the

22:35.190 --> 22:37.880
last month or two we took steps to

22:37.890 --> 22:41.290
expedite processing in the S . I . V .

22:41.300 --> 22:43.356
Pipeline and I would remind you that

22:43.356 --> 22:46.210
for quite some time . It was a program

22:46.210 --> 22:48.700
that was frozen in March of 2020 and

22:48.700 --> 22:51.170
hardly anything was done for policy

22:51.170 --> 22:52.781
reasons in part by the prior

22:52.781 --> 22:54.837
administration . It wasn't a program

22:54.837 --> 22:56.870
they necessarily supported . Um and

22:56.870 --> 22:59.092
also because of covid . So we worked to

22:59.092 --> 23:01.290
expedite and actually had some success

23:01.300 --> 23:03.411
over the course of a few months uh in

23:03.411 --> 23:05.650
the spring , even before evacuation

23:05.650 --> 23:07.890
flights took place to do exactly that .

23:07.900 --> 23:10.280
As jake Sullivan said the other day ,

23:10.290 --> 23:12.512
it was also not a program to your point

23:12.512 --> 23:15.880
that was uh that was planned for speed

23:15.890 --> 23:17.840
because of all of the requirements

23:17.840 --> 23:19.951
because what americans should also be

23:19.951 --> 23:22.062
assured of is that there are there is

23:22.062 --> 23:24.173
no one coming in through any of these

23:24.173 --> 23:26.173
programs who has not gone through a

23:26.173 --> 23:28.284
background check process and has been

23:28.284 --> 23:30.451
vetted . That is our responsibility to

23:30.451 --> 23:32.562
the american people . And one we will

23:32.562 --> 23:34.507
abide by . Hence we are incredibly

23:34.507 --> 23:36.618
grateful to these third countries who

23:36.618 --> 23:38.940
are providing a place for a number of

23:38.950 --> 23:41.117
many tens of thousands of people to be

23:41.117 --> 23:43.360
for this period of time . And we have

23:43.370 --> 23:46.530
uh put a wide range of staff personnel

23:46.530 --> 23:49.200
and others on the vetting process from

23:49.200 --> 23:51.500
a range of agencies to ensure that we

23:51.500 --> 23:53.611
can take steps to expedite as quickly

23:53.611 --> 23:55.833
as possible . You're right that some of

23:55.833 --> 23:58.230
this is dependent on documents and is

23:58.230 --> 24:00.220
dependent on uh information being

24:00.220 --> 24:02.600
available . But I will just close with

24:02.600 --> 24:04.822
and then I may have missed some of your

24:04.822 --> 24:06.933
questions . But um this is incredibly

24:06.933 --> 24:08.878
difficult . We're not , we're very

24:08.878 --> 24:10.767
clear eyed about that . And these

24:10.767 --> 24:12.489
afghans , many of them who are

24:12.489 --> 24:14.711
departing who are still in process made

24:14.711 --> 24:16.822
the decision and we made the decision

24:16.822 --> 24:18.878
to that evacuating them because they

24:18.878 --> 24:21.044
are vulnerable because their lives are

24:21.044 --> 24:22.989
at risk and moving them to a third

24:22.989 --> 24:24.656
country , even if they are in

24:24.656 --> 24:26.600
transition for a period of time is

24:26.600 --> 24:28.378
preferable to their lives being

24:28.378 --> 24:30.489
threatened . One more question here ,

24:30.489 --> 24:32.378
is that okay , So assume that the

24:32.378 --> 24:34.600
people that are are vetted once they're

24:34.600 --> 24:36.933
vetted , they come to the United States .

24:36.933 --> 24:38.544
Is it the commitment of this

24:38.544 --> 24:40.878
administration that all of those people ,

24:40.878 --> 24:42.822
100% of the people who have gotten

24:42.822 --> 24:45.044
through the vetting screens ? Obviously

24:45.044 --> 24:47.267
there might be some that fail and won't

24:47.267 --> 24:46.250
come the United States , but that all

24:46.250 --> 24:48.640
the people that come are going to be

24:48.650 --> 24:51.490
granted legal permanent residency and a

24:51.500 --> 24:53.389
path to citizenship in the United

24:53.389 --> 24:55.611
States ? Or is it possible that some of

24:55.611 --> 24:58.050
those people will have to apply through

24:58.060 --> 25:00.320
other programs and could be deported

25:00.320 --> 25:02.370
back to Afghanistan ? Well , once ,

25:02.380 --> 25:04.491
once individuals arrive in the United

25:04.491 --> 25:06.713
States , they will be eligible to apply

25:06.713 --> 25:08.380
for asylum or other available

25:08.380 --> 25:11.500
immigration pathways which have which

25:11.500 --> 25:13.290
have as a condition additional

25:13.290 --> 25:15.350
screening process , urgencies and

25:15.360 --> 25:17.582
procedures . So no , we can't guarantee

25:17.582 --> 25:19.780
anyone anything . Um but certainly we

25:19.780 --> 25:21.613
are also working with a range of

25:21.613 --> 25:23.669
countries around the world to ensure

25:23.669 --> 25:26.610
there are safe places for individuals

25:26.610 --> 25:29.390
who are freeing uh fleeing from

25:29.390 --> 25:31.460
Afghanistan have safe places to be ,

25:31.740 --> 25:33.684
wouldn't see a situation where you

25:33.684 --> 25:35.573
might you might reject somebody's

25:35.573 --> 25:37.684
asylum application and send them back

25:37.684 --> 25:39.684
to Afghanistan . I don't anticipate

25:39.684 --> 25:41.907
that being the plan . Go ahead . Thanks

25:41.907 --> 25:43.907
jen is the White House aware of any

25:43.907 --> 25:46.129
other members of Congress were planning

25:46.129 --> 25:48.351
to make a trip to Afghanistan ? I don't

25:48.351 --> 25:50.684
have any more information on that . Now .

25:50.684 --> 25:52.796
Have you learned anything about how ,

25:52.796 --> 25:54.962
how they made the trip out ? They were

25:54.962 --> 25:56.962
able to get into the country . They

25:56.962 --> 25:59.184
show up on any manifests or I think you

25:59.184 --> 26:01.407
guys have any more , I think you should

26:01.407 --> 26:03.629
ask their offices that question . Can I

26:03.629 --> 26:05.796
ask you a question on cybersecurity In

26:05.796 --> 26:07.740
light of today's summit , Does the

26:07.740 --> 26:09.796
White House believe that the private

26:09.796 --> 26:11.629
sector can make sufficient cyber

26:11.629 --> 26:11.550
security improvements without

26:11.940 --> 26:14.162
government mandates ? Or do you believe

26:14.162 --> 26:16.384
that Congress needs to pass legislation

26:16.384 --> 26:18.329
mandating reports of cybersecurity

26:18.329 --> 26:20.162
incidents to better address this

26:20.162 --> 26:22.218
situation ? Well , we certainly have

26:22.218 --> 26:24.107
made clear that we expect private

26:24.107 --> 26:26.310
sector companies to report when they

26:26.310 --> 26:29.180
have experienced a cyber breach . We

26:29.180 --> 26:31.402
have worked in partnership with some to

26:31.402 --> 26:33.624
address these cyber breaches . And also

26:33.624 --> 26:35.569
there is an impact on the american

26:35.569 --> 26:37.513
public in many cases . Uh there is

26:37.513 --> 26:39.513
congressional legislation that um ,

26:39.513 --> 26:41.624
some are considering . Um , and there

26:41.624 --> 26:43.950
are a range of options uh that uh ,

26:43.960 --> 26:46.340
that could be taken by Congress and

26:46.340 --> 26:48.173
we'll look at those as they move

26:48.173 --> 26:50.340
forward and if they move forward . But

26:50.340 --> 26:52.229
our view has long been that it is

26:52.229 --> 26:54.396
combined responsibility of the federal

26:54.396 --> 26:57.440
government to put in place , um , clear

26:57.440 --> 27:00.570
guidelines , clear best practices and

27:00.570 --> 27:02.570
the private sector to take steps to

27:02.570 --> 27:04.626
harden their own cybersecurity . One

27:04.626 --> 27:06.848
last question , his White House learned

27:06.848 --> 27:08.737
anything more about this possible

27:08.737 --> 27:11.070
possible cases of Havana syndrome uh in

27:11.080 --> 27:13.330
Vietnam . I don't have any more

27:13.330 --> 27:16.760
information . No . Good not to belabor

27:16.760 --> 27:18.871
the point , I know that the Secretary

27:18.871 --> 27:20.982
of State talked about this and I know

27:20.982 --> 27:23.093
that you can answer your questions on

27:23.093 --> 27:22.650
this , but I really just want to kind

27:22.650 --> 27:26.570
of drill down on how confident is the

27:26.570 --> 27:30.050
administration that all americans who

27:30.060 --> 27:32.260
want to get out ? Would it be out by

27:32.270 --> 27:34.600
August 31 ? I know that you put out the

27:34.610 --> 27:36.721
contacts , you've been text messaging

27:36.721 --> 27:38.888
all the message , contacts to people .

27:39.140 --> 27:41.251
Is there any concern that there could

27:41.251 --> 27:43.450
be people with somehow falling through

27:43.450 --> 27:45.561
the cracks ? Haven't been able to get

27:45.561 --> 27:47.672
in contact and they want to get out .

27:47.672 --> 27:49.570
Like how will How will the

27:49.570 --> 27:52.920
administration determined on August 31

27:52.920 --> 27:55.870
or whatever , they the military pulls

27:55.870 --> 27:57.960
out that all of the Americans who

27:57.970 --> 28:00.890
wanted to get out have been able , Well ,

28:00.900 --> 28:02.622
first , I think the reason the

28:02.622 --> 28:04.844
Secretary of State gave such a detailed

28:04.844 --> 28:07.011
overview is because it's not as simple

28:07.011 --> 28:08.789
as you've just laid it out . Um

28:08.789 --> 28:10.680
Certainly there could be american

28:10.680 --> 28:13.090
citizens , dual citizens , individuals

28:13.100 --> 28:15.211
who may want to depart , who have not

28:15.211 --> 28:17.500
yet decided to depart by august 31st .

28:17.510 --> 28:19.780
We know that is a potential and

28:19.780 --> 28:21.724
therefore we want to ensure we are

28:21.724 --> 28:23.836
looking at a range of options for how

28:23.836 --> 28:26.210
we can allow them to depart uh and

28:26.210 --> 28:29.000
enable them to depart after that date

28:29.000 --> 28:31.300
and time . Uh It is also true that

28:31.300 --> 28:33.522
there may be individuals who have not ,

28:33.522 --> 28:35.578
we're not yet in contact with , they

28:35.578 --> 28:37.633
have not contacted us and we want to

28:37.633 --> 28:39.689
leave optionality for that as well .

28:39.689 --> 28:41.578
But he also provided the specific

28:41.578 --> 28:43.750
information on the numbers to give you

28:43.750 --> 28:45.972
an understanding all of you , everybody

28:45.972 --> 28:48.139
in understanding that while we started

28:48.139 --> 28:50.700
with as many as 6000 population of as

28:50.700 --> 28:52.920
many as 6000 americans in Afghanistan

28:52.930 --> 28:55.820
over the last 10 days alone , 4500 of

28:55.820 --> 28:57.653
those americans have been safely

28:57.653 --> 28:59.900
evacuated in the last 24 hours . We've

28:59.900 --> 29:02.178
been in contact with approximately 500 .

29:02.178 --> 29:04.900
So we're looking at a relatively small

29:04.900 --> 29:07.960
population . We all left right . We

29:07.970 --> 29:10.960
also believe that there are uh

29:10.970 --> 29:14.790
individuals in that set of 1000 who may

29:14.790 --> 29:16.679
not want to depart for a range of

29:16.679 --> 29:18.790
reasons as we've also outlined . Uh I

29:18.790 --> 29:20.846
would also note that a big factor on

29:20.846 --> 29:23.012
the President's mind and the Secretary

29:23.012 --> 29:25.410
of State noted this as well is the real

29:25.420 --> 29:28.220
threat of ISIS K , which is the reason

29:28.220 --> 29:30.164
why the President again received a

29:30.164 --> 29:32.276
briefing on that as he does regularly

29:32.276 --> 29:34.331
from his national security team . Uh

29:34.331 --> 29:36.276
That is why we are concerned about

29:36.276 --> 29:38.331
numbers around the airport . That is

29:38.331 --> 29:40.553
why we were we earned in direct contact

29:40.553 --> 29:42.220
through a range of means with

29:42.220 --> 29:44.220
individuals , about how and when to

29:44.220 --> 29:46.442
come to the airport . Um and you know ,

29:46.442 --> 29:46.430
that is something we have to evaluate

29:46.430 --> 29:48.486
each day as well because putting our

29:48.486 --> 29:51.340
servicemen and women at risk is

29:51.340 --> 29:53.396
something that weighs heavily on the

29:53.396 --> 29:55.460
President's mind . A question on the

29:55.460 --> 29:57.800
Supreme Court decision . Well , the

29:57.810 --> 29:59.921
Supreme Court basically keep him back

29:59.921 --> 30:03.100
on the remain in Mexico . What is the

30:03.110 --> 30:05.388
White House response to that ? Uh Well ,

30:05.388 --> 30:07.277
I know the Department of Homeland

30:07.277 --> 30:09.332
Security put out a statement on this

30:09.332 --> 30:11.554
last evening , so let me reiterate some

30:11.554 --> 30:13.443
of those points . We respectfully

30:13.443 --> 30:15.388
disagree with the District Court's

30:15.388 --> 30:17.720
decision and we regret that the Supreme

30:17.720 --> 30:21.030
Court has declined to issue this day .

30:21.040 --> 30:23.280
Uh DHS has appealed the District

30:23.280 --> 30:25.224
Court's order and will continue to

30:25.224 --> 30:27.420
vigorously challenge it . We are also

30:27.420 --> 30:31.070
though in the same vein um compelled uh

30:31.080 --> 30:34.820
to by law to now proceed with means

30:34.830 --> 30:37.670
by which we we abide by the ruling .

30:39.140 --> 30:40.918
Good . Does that then mean that

30:40.918 --> 30:43.029
negotiations are now underway between

30:43.029 --> 30:45.140
the US and Mexico on returning to the

30:45.140 --> 30:47.362
migrant protection protocol . Uh Well ,

30:47.362 --> 30:49.418
the Department of State DHS with DHS

30:49.418 --> 30:51.307
support is engaging in diplomatic

30:51.307 --> 30:53.251
discussions with the government of

30:53.251 --> 30:55.084
Mexico as part of our efforts to

30:55.084 --> 30:57.084
implement the court's order . And I

30:57.084 --> 30:59.140
would just note , I should have said

30:59.140 --> 31:01.196
this a little earlier . I mean , our

31:01.196 --> 31:03.418
point of view continues to be that this

31:03.418 --> 31:05.418
program is was not implemented in a

31:05.418 --> 31:07.590
moral way . It was inefficient . It

31:07.590 --> 31:11.060
used resources by cBP resources . It

31:11.540 --> 31:14.210
led to a backlog in the system and it

31:14.210 --> 31:16.154
is fundamentally a program we have

31:16.154 --> 31:18.210
opposed but we are also abiding by a

31:18.210 --> 31:20.230
court order . Professional question

31:20.230 --> 31:22.910
about the range of assistance that the

31:22.920 --> 31:25.240
US is promising to offer to Afghanistan

31:25.250 --> 31:27.730
after august 30 yep , you talk about

31:27.730 --> 31:30.090
consular services is that the

31:30.090 --> 31:31.923
President's expectation that the

31:31.923 --> 31:33.923
taliban will continue to allow safe

31:33.923 --> 31:35.868
passage for afghans to the airport

31:36.340 --> 31:39.740
after the US later . Uh it is our again ,

31:39.740 --> 31:41.796
this is part of an active discussion

31:41.796 --> 31:43.907
and I understand certainly why you're

31:43.907 --> 31:45.684
asking the question . Uh but we

31:45.684 --> 31:48.010
continue to believe that there will be

31:48.020 --> 31:50.076
american . There could be , I should

31:50.076 --> 31:52.320
say american citizens , there could be

31:52.330 --> 31:56.160
um afghans who our would be eligible

31:56.160 --> 31:58.382
for special immigrant visas or would be

31:58.382 --> 32:00.604
individuals eligible for a range of our

32:00.604 --> 32:02.771
programs who would want to depart that

32:02.771 --> 32:05.310
would require a means of departing and

32:05.310 --> 32:07.532
that's what we're working through now ,

32:07.532 --> 32:09.421
there's no guarantee yet from the

32:09.421 --> 32:11.310
taliban to continue to allow safe

32:11.310 --> 32:13.532
passage for the people that the U . S .

32:13.532 --> 32:13.530
Is hoping . Again , these are ongoing

32:13.540 --> 32:15.762
discussions and that is our expectation

32:15.762 --> 32:17.929
and what we're working toward . What a

32:17.929 --> 32:20.096
couple quick questions yesterday . The

32:20.096 --> 32:22.262
President and you I think said that he

32:22.262 --> 32:24.096
had asked the pentagon and State

32:24.096 --> 32:23.850
Department for all contingency plans .

32:23.860 --> 32:25.860
Has he received all the contingency

32:25.860 --> 32:28.027
plans or is there a full set that he's

32:28.027 --> 32:29.804
still waiting for more ? Yes he

32:29.804 --> 32:31.916
received a briefing this morning . So

32:31.916 --> 32:33.916
he has received in totality all the

32:33.916 --> 32:33.550
contingency plans that they're

32:33.550 --> 32:35.610
providing again this is an ongoing

32:35.610 --> 32:37.666
discussion . Right ? And as you well

32:37.666 --> 32:39.570
know and the president has Length

32:39.570 --> 32:41.792
meetings sometimes more than once a day

32:41.792 --> 32:43.903
with his national security team . But

32:43.903 --> 32:46.070
yes the contingency plans he requested

32:46.070 --> 32:45.790
he received a briefing on this morning

32:45.820 --> 32:47.987
that helps earlier . We heard from the

32:47.987 --> 32:50.042
Secretary of State saying that there

32:50.042 --> 32:52.042
are as many as 1500 Americans by my

32:52.042 --> 32:54.209
math Who still want to get out of here

32:54.209 --> 32:56.042
in Afghanistan right now . Is it

32:56.042 --> 32:58.153
possible that they could be evacuated

32:58.153 --> 33:00.209
before because these evacuations and

33:00.209 --> 32:59.560
before that date could have finished

32:59.570 --> 33:02.930
before August 31 . Well it could peter

33:02.930 --> 33:04.986
I think and I would just note by the

33:04.986 --> 33:06.960
numbers right 4500 americans were

33:06.960 --> 33:09.340
evacuated over the last 10 days . That

33:09.340 --> 33:11.562
doesn't even count their family members

33:11.562 --> 33:13.673
whether it's a spouse or a spouse and

33:13.673 --> 33:15.618
Children or a combination and that

33:15.618 --> 33:17.562
we've also been in contact with an

33:17.562 --> 33:19.729
additional 500 . So it's actually more

33:19.729 --> 33:21.951
like a pool of 1000 who we are reaching

33:21.951 --> 33:23.951
out to multiple times a day through

33:23.951 --> 33:26.284
multiple communication channels , phone ,

33:26.284 --> 33:28.507
text , email , WhatsApp etcetera . As I

33:28.507 --> 33:30.562
noted a little bit earlier , we also

33:30.562 --> 33:32.618
have an expectation that there are a

33:32.618 --> 33:34.562
number of these individuals , dual

33:34.562 --> 33:34.240
nationals , people who may have

33:34.250 --> 33:37.920
expansive extended family who may not

33:37.920 --> 33:40.087
have made the decision to part at this

33:40.087 --> 33:42.364
point in time . Let me ask you earlier ,

33:42.364 --> 33:41.850
one of my colleagues asked you and you

33:41.850 --> 33:43.961
said you didn't want to provide a cap

33:43.961 --> 33:46.060
as it relates to afghan allies ,

33:46.340 --> 33:48.507
vulnerable afghan allies who are still

33:48.507 --> 33:50.673
seeking to leave the country right now

33:50.673 --> 33:52.896
recognizing you don't want to provide a

33:52.896 --> 33:55.007
cap . Can you provide us a baseline ?

33:55.007 --> 33:57.229
What is the stated goal as provided the

33:57.229 --> 33:59.396
president of the number , you estimate

33:59.396 --> 34:01.562
it is at least as many as . So there's

34:01.562 --> 34:03.618
some context for these numbers of 80

34:03.618 --> 34:05.673
plus 1000 people who have now been .

34:05.673 --> 34:07.618
I'm just that is similar to me and

34:07.618 --> 34:09.729
giving a cap and there are people who

34:09.729 --> 34:11.951
are not yet through the process who may

34:11.951 --> 34:13.729
may not count as an S . I . V .

34:13.729 --> 34:15.896
Applicant at this point in time or may

34:15.896 --> 34:18.118
be eligible for a range of programs are

34:18.118 --> 34:20.340
objective as you've seen by the numbers

34:20.340 --> 34:20.230
over the past several days is to

34:20.240 --> 34:23.360
evacuate as many people uh the airport ,

34:23.440 --> 34:25.551
those are the people we are in direct

34:25.551 --> 34:27.496
contact with . And then let me ask

34:27.496 --> 34:29.551
lastly about the two congressmen who

34:29.551 --> 34:31.551
went over there . I know you're the

34:31.551 --> 34:31.440
statement you put out about they

34:31.440 --> 34:33.551
shouldn't be doing this that this was

34:33.551 --> 34:35.850
The wrong decision to be made about the

34:35.850 --> 34:38.017
merits of what they said though having

34:38.017 --> 34:40.239
now returned they said that because the

34:40.239 --> 34:42.660
evacuations started so late there's no

34:42.660 --> 34:44.604
way the US will be able to get all

34:44.604 --> 34:47.040
those necessary evacuees out even by

34:47.040 --> 34:48.984
September 11 . What does the White

34:48.984 --> 34:51.640
House say to that criticism that those

34:51.640 --> 34:53.584
two lawmakers were saying based on

34:53.584 --> 34:55.640
their first hand experience ? Well I

34:55.640 --> 34:57.807
would say first that we're on track to

34:57.807 --> 35:00.084
have the largest US airlift in history .

35:00.084 --> 35:02.307
And I think that speaks for itself . Go

35:02.307 --> 35:04.360
ahead . Can you speak to what

35:04.370 --> 35:06.037
colleagues reporting that the

35:06.037 --> 35:07.926
administration plans to recommend

35:07.926 --> 35:09.981
Vaccine boosters at six months ? Not

35:09.981 --> 35:13.390
eight . I have not seen that report but

35:13.390 --> 35:15.240
I would note we just put out the

35:15.250 --> 35:17.250
guidance . The CDC just put out the

35:17.250 --> 35:19.520
guidance a couple of weeks ago or last

35:19.520 --> 35:21.576
week . It's all running together two

35:21.576 --> 35:23.798
weeks ago on eight months . And if they

35:23.798 --> 35:26.020
update that guidance it would certainly

35:26.020 --> 35:28.242
come directly from them . Is that under

35:28.242 --> 35:30.298
consideration ? I would point you to

35:30.298 --> 35:32.464
the C . D . C . And then secondly what

35:32.464 --> 35:34.520
is President biden prepared to do to

35:34.520 --> 35:36.409
push the chinese on the Wuhan lab

35:36.409 --> 35:38.576
investigation ? There's been reporting

35:38.576 --> 35:40.298
that the chinese are not being

35:40.298 --> 35:42.409
cooperative . They're pushing back at

35:42.409 --> 35:44.631
the US on that . What is he prepared to

35:44.631 --> 35:46.909
do to free up more information on that .

35:46.909 --> 35:46.650
Well I think it's well known they

35:46.650 --> 35:48.817
haven't been cooperative right through

35:48.817 --> 35:50.983
your reporting , other reporting . And

35:50.983 --> 35:53.150
just the fact that they obviously have

35:53.150 --> 35:55.094
not in a publicly available way it

35:55.094 --> 35:57.206
provided the data and the information

35:57.206 --> 35:59.317
that we have been requesting in terms

35:59.317 --> 36:01.539
of an assessment of what steps we might

36:01.539 --> 36:01.490
take . I don't have anything to preview

36:01.490 --> 36:04.040
for you on that front . Good thank you .

36:04.050 --> 36:06.161
I know you don't want to get into the

36:06.161 --> 36:08.770
details of the origins report

36:08.780 --> 36:11.540
assessment . I will be happy to when

36:11.540 --> 36:13.620
there is an unclassified summary for

36:13.620 --> 36:16.390
all of you . But of course the purpose

36:16.390 --> 36:19.330
of the 90 day review was to put a focus

36:19.330 --> 36:21.900
on this question . So at the end of the

36:21.910 --> 36:24.180
question without have clarity or a

36:24.180 --> 36:26.660
smoking gun for high confidence ,

36:27.230 --> 36:29.452
what's the next step ? We'll talk about

36:29.452 --> 36:31.730
that once the summary is out in public ,

36:31.730 --> 36:35.710
Just go ahead . But if

36:35.710 --> 36:37.766
you can update us on the White House

36:37.766 --> 36:39.920
role in responding to the crisis in

36:39.930 --> 36:43.330
Haiti , I know usa I'd it's a comma

36:43.340 --> 36:45.390
giving us updates . But what is the

36:45.390 --> 36:48.030
White House ? Yeah this is something I

36:48.040 --> 36:49.929
think as you know and you've been

36:49.929 --> 36:52.040
following closely , we've been deeply

36:52.040 --> 36:54.262
engaged with and involved with um under

36:54.262 --> 36:57.950
the leadership of our uh Samantha Power

36:57.960 --> 37:00.127
who is the director of U . S . A . I .

37:00.127 --> 37:02.293
D . Um in terms of are you looking for

37:02.293 --> 37:04.580
specific assistance and specific what

37:04.580 --> 37:06.636
we're getting to the ground ? Let me

37:06.636 --> 37:08.691
get you updated numbers that we have

37:08.691 --> 37:10.913
provided as of today . I think the last

37:10.913 --> 37:13.024
information I have is about a day old

37:13.024 --> 37:15.136
but it's it's an ongoing process . Go

37:15.136 --> 37:16.969
ahead . Just wanted to give us a

37:16.969 --> 37:16.910
preview of the President's upcoming

37:16.910 --> 37:19.530
meeting with Israeli Prime Minister and

37:19.530 --> 37:21.641
if we can expect any announcements on

37:21.641 --> 37:23.474
the reopening of the Palestinian

37:23.474 --> 37:25.697
offices in Washington and the Consulate

37:25.697 --> 37:28.130
in Peru and if not , what's the status

37:28.130 --> 37:30.800
of those projects ? Sure , I know we

37:30.800 --> 37:32.633
did a briefing call to provide a

37:32.633 --> 37:34.610
preview of that um last night or I

37:34.610 --> 37:36.832
believe yesterday at some point in time

37:36.832 --> 37:39.054
I will say that the President's looking

37:39.054 --> 37:41.277
forward to welcoming the Prime Minister

37:41.277 --> 37:43.443
who is already in town . As you know ,

37:43.443 --> 37:45.610
having a variety of meetings today . I

37:45.610 --> 37:47.221
would expect we expect their

37:47.221 --> 37:49.166
conversation to be wide ranging to

37:49.166 --> 37:51.054
cover a range of topics of mutual

37:51.054 --> 37:53.221
interest , everything from uh Covid 19

37:53.221 --> 37:55.332
and our efforts to address the global

37:55.332 --> 37:57.388
pandemic to regional security issues

37:57.388 --> 37:59.499
which could include a range of topics

37:59.499 --> 38:01.520
including security within Israel as

38:01.520 --> 38:04.740
well as um uh you know , Iran and other

38:04.740 --> 38:07.220
issues of mutual concern . Um And I

38:07.220 --> 38:09.331
expect we'll have a read out once the

38:09.331 --> 38:11.387
meeting concludes of anything coming

38:11.387 --> 38:13.498
out of the meeting , any decisions on

38:13.498 --> 38:15.553
these things to be announced . We'll

38:15.553 --> 38:17.553
have more to say . Once the meeting

38:17.553 --> 38:19.776
concludes . Thanks to follow up with my

38:19.776 --> 38:19.680
colleague Stephanie's question . She

38:19.680 --> 38:21.791
asked about the gear shift that might

38:21.791 --> 38:23.958
be taking place over the next . Sure .

38:23.958 --> 38:23.940
Did you talk about the contingency

38:23.940 --> 38:26.107
plans and optionality . Yeah , but can

38:26.107 --> 38:29.030
you say today when the last flight will

38:29.030 --> 38:31.570
leave in order to get the drawdown done

38:31.580 --> 38:33.802
by that deadline ? I don't think that's

38:33.802 --> 38:36.024
information we're going to be providing

38:36.024 --> 38:38.024
publicly at any point in time . How

38:38.024 --> 38:40.080
would we know that you're giving the

38:40.080 --> 38:42.024
updates once it's complete ? We'll

38:42.024 --> 38:41.460
provide that to you . Is it ? This is

38:41.460 --> 38:43.682
the last day we're going to give on the

38:43.682 --> 38:45.793
numbers ? Well again we are in direct

38:45.793 --> 38:47.904
contact with people who are departing

38:47.904 --> 38:50.127
and evacuating from Afghanistan whether

38:50.127 --> 38:52.238
they are S . I . V . S . Whether they

38:52.238 --> 38:54.127
are eligible for other programs ,

38:54.127 --> 38:56.182
whether they are american citizens .

38:56.182 --> 38:58.238
Our objective is to provide uh to do

38:58.238 --> 39:00.404
that in a safe manner as possible with

39:00.404 --> 39:03.690
rising threats from ISIS K . So again D .

39:03.690 --> 39:05.523
O . D . Will provide operational

39:05.523 --> 39:07.523
updates as they did yesterday about

39:07.523 --> 39:09.690
moving military out , moving equipment

39:09.690 --> 39:11.857
out etcetera . And as we've noted that

39:11.857 --> 39:14.060
would be in advance of the 31st in

39:14.060 --> 39:16.480
terms of you know , equipment that

39:16.480 --> 39:19.360
would need to move out . But I don't I

39:19.360 --> 39:21.416
don't anticipate that we're going to

39:21.416 --> 39:23.630
give you an exact date or exact time

39:23.640 --> 39:25.940
for security reasons . After it happens

39:25.940 --> 39:28.051
though , you guys have been very good

39:28.051 --> 39:29.996
about giving a day to day on these

39:29.996 --> 39:32.107
numbers . Is there going to be one of

39:32.107 --> 39:34.329
those updates that will say And that is

39:34.329 --> 39:36.440
it ? That's the last evacuation . I'm

39:36.440 --> 39:38.551
sure we will make clear to all of you

39:38.551 --> 39:40.773
when it is the last flight . Absolutely

39:40.773 --> 39:43.440
good . I think NBC has announced it's

39:43.440 --> 39:45.496
doing an interview tomorrow with the

39:45.496 --> 39:48.160
officer capital Officers shot Ashley

39:48.720 --> 39:50.920
babbitt . That uh , do you have any

39:50.920 --> 39:53.940
concern for his safety having his name

39:53.950 --> 39:56.250
disclosed like that or any reaction to

39:56.250 --> 39:59.610
the announcement ? I had not seen that

39:59.610 --> 40:02.890
report of NBC's planned interview . So

40:02.890 --> 40:04.723
I don't really have an immediate

40:04.723 --> 40:07.040
reaction to it . Go ahead . What is the

40:07.050 --> 40:10.030
reaction of the administration to

40:10.040 --> 40:13.550
private contractors now selling seats

40:13.550 --> 40:15.930
for thousands of dollars on charter

40:15.930 --> 40:18.440
flights out of Kabul ? Well , we are

40:18.440 --> 40:21.690
evacuating people uh free of cost

40:21.700 --> 40:23.978
because that is the right step to take .

40:23.978 --> 40:26.200
And certainly we wouldn't be supportive

40:26.200 --> 40:28.144
of profiting off of people who are

40:28.144 --> 40:30.256
desperate to get out of the country .

40:30.256 --> 40:32.422
God thank you . Thank you jen I have a

40:32.422 --> 40:34.589
question on Afghanistan and then about

40:34.589 --> 40:34.220
a criminal justice matter ? Sure , on

40:34.220 --> 40:36.660
Afghanistan . One of the real villains

40:36.660 --> 40:38.882
of the Taliban takeover has been former

40:38.882 --> 40:40.771
Afghan President . Ashraf Ghani ,

40:40.771 --> 40:42.993
President biden has faulted him for not

40:42.993 --> 40:44.827
fostering national unity and not

40:44.827 --> 40:46.993
putting up much of a fight against the

40:46.993 --> 40:48.993
Taliban . There are reports that he

40:48.993 --> 40:50.882
fled the country with millions of

40:50.882 --> 40:53.104
dollars in cash and members of Congress

40:53.104 --> 40:52.400
are asking to buy the administration

40:52.410 --> 40:54.577
for answers and whether that is indeed

40:54.577 --> 40:56.720
true . Uh do does the U . S .

40:56.720 --> 40:58.942
Government know if Ghani pledged to buy

40:58.942 --> 41:01.164
with millions in cash and will there be

41:01.164 --> 41:03.498
efforts to bring him to justice ? If so .

41:03.498 --> 41:05.553
I don't have any more information on

41:05.553 --> 41:08.160
what who , what former president did

41:08.160 --> 41:10.220
when he fled the country . You don't

41:10.220 --> 41:12.220
know that answer . I don't have any

41:12.220 --> 41:15.000
information and little justice . You

41:15.000 --> 41:17.120
said in response to a stolen question

41:17.150 --> 41:19.090
recently that President Biden is

41:19.090 --> 41:21.610
exploring using clemency nonviolent

41:21.610 --> 41:23.570
drug offenders . It's rare for

41:23.570 --> 41:25.626
presidents to use clemency the first

41:25.626 --> 41:27.737
year in office . Should we expect any

41:27.737 --> 41:29.903
grants of clemency this year in 2021 ?

41:30.170 --> 41:32.281
And does that mean that the president

41:32.281 --> 41:34.114
is working towards honouring his

41:34.114 --> 41:36.114
campaign pledge to free everyone in

41:36.114 --> 41:38.226
prison for marijuana ? I don't have a

41:38.226 --> 41:40.337
timeline for you . I would just stand

41:40.337 --> 41:42.448
by what I said in response to zones ,

41:42.448 --> 41:42.060
question about how he's considering

41:42.060 --> 41:44.338
clemency for nonviolent drug offenders .

41:44.338 --> 41:48.300
Go ahead Children . Um earlier

41:48.300 --> 41:50.460
this summer had planned to take some

41:50.470 --> 41:52.303
downtime . This august and I was

41:52.303 --> 41:54.137
wondering if there was still any

41:54.137 --> 41:56.414
vacation time on the books or anything ?

41:56.414 --> 41:58.970
Not at this time ? Go ahead . I wanted

41:58.970 --> 42:01.137
to ask a follow up to something steven

42:01.137 --> 42:03.359
as sure is the expectation that they'll

42:03.359 --> 42:05.930
be able to be diplomatic consular

42:05.930 --> 42:09.170
embassy style services after The 31st

42:09.170 --> 42:11.337
withdrawal for for those who may still

42:11.337 --> 42:13.503
need it in Afghanistan and its so like

42:13.503 --> 42:15.392
how would that work ? I certainly

42:15.392 --> 42:17.614
understand the question and it's a good

42:17.614 --> 42:17.140
question and our secretary of state

42:17.150 --> 42:19.317
answered a version of this . This is a

42:19.317 --> 42:21.372
discussion we're having right now to

42:21.372 --> 42:23.920
ensure that uh we look ahead to

42:23.920 --> 42:26.680
capabilities and capacities to evacuate

42:26.680 --> 42:28.902
individuals who want to depart after we

42:28.902 --> 42:31.400
are military leaves then one other one

42:31.400 --> 42:33.289
on infrastructure . The President

42:33.289 --> 42:35.456
satisfied with the House holding off a

42:35.456 --> 42:37.678
vote until the end of september and the

42:37.678 --> 42:39.900
White House . The President play a role

42:39.900 --> 42:42.011
in sort of this agreement between the

42:42.011 --> 42:43.900
Speaker's office and the group of

42:43.900 --> 42:46.122
democrats that were threatening to hold

42:46.122 --> 42:48.122
up the larger reconciliation bill .

42:48.122 --> 42:49.733
Well , I would say first the

42:49.733 --> 42:51.733
presidency's yesterday and the step

42:51.733 --> 42:53.844
forward yesterday as an enormous step

42:53.844 --> 42:56.011
forward for not only the legislation ,

42:56.011 --> 42:58.122
but for the american people . Because

42:58.122 --> 43:00.233
the piece of legislation , the pieces

43:00.233 --> 43:02.233
of legislation that move forward um

43:02.233 --> 43:04.289
include uh an extension of the child

43:04.289 --> 43:06.456
tax credit , more housing assistance ,

43:06.456 --> 43:09.250
a great deal of funding and support for

43:09.250 --> 43:11.610
addressing the climate crisis and a

43:11.620 --> 43:13.509
great deal of tax credits for the

43:13.509 --> 43:15.509
american people and components that

43:15.509 --> 43:17.676
will lower costs for people across the

43:17.676 --> 43:19.890
country . Uh , he supports the process

43:19.890 --> 43:21.834
that Speaker Pelosi has laid out ?

43:21.834 --> 43:23.946
Obviously there's a lot on the agenda

43:23.946 --> 43:25.834
and yesterday was a positive step

43:25.834 --> 43:28.057
forward in his view , go ahead . And uh

43:28.100 --> 43:29.989
uh , you mentioned how the United

43:29.989 --> 43:31.878
States has been in touch with the

43:31.878 --> 43:33.711
taliban because that's necessary

43:33.711 --> 43:35.989
because of the situation on the ground ?

43:35.989 --> 43:38.156
I'm wondering , has the administration

43:38.156 --> 43:40.400
been in touch with Ahmad Massoud or any

43:40.400 --> 43:42.344
of the other anti taliban fighters

43:42.344 --> 43:44.820
there on the ground ? You know , what

43:44.820 --> 43:47.520
is the President's view of this ? Does

43:47.520 --> 43:49.770
he expect that we will support some of

43:49.770 --> 43:52.890
these anti taliban fighters or As this

43:52.890 --> 43:55.710
20-year war does come to a close at

43:55.710 --> 43:57.766
this point . Are they on their own .

43:57.766 --> 43:59.821
It's a great question . I'll have to

43:59.821 --> 44:01.932
talk to our team on the ground to see

44:01.932 --> 44:03.988
if there's any more specifics we can

44:03.988 --> 44:06.154
provide . I know you don't want to get

44:06.154 --> 44:08.154
ahead of declassified report of the

44:08.154 --> 44:09.932
Covid origin . But is there any

44:09.932 --> 44:12.810
scenario where President biden would be

44:13.190 --> 44:15.730
satisfied with an inconclusive result

44:15.740 --> 44:18.030
about the origin pandemic that killed

44:18.030 --> 44:20.086
so many americans ? I can assure you

44:20.086 --> 44:21.974
the president wants to get to the

44:21.974 --> 44:24.910
bottom of the root causes of Covid 19

44:24.920 --> 44:26.976
that has , as you noted , has killed

44:26.976 --> 44:29.210
hundreds of thousands of americans and

44:29.210 --> 44:31.266
wishes that there had been more done

44:31.266 --> 44:33.377
earlier on to get to the bottom of it

44:33.377 --> 44:36.210
and to of course save more lives . But

44:36.890 --> 44:38.946
and that's just wonderful lipinski's

44:38.946 --> 44:41.440
questions about the for profit effort .

44:41.450 --> 44:43.790
Yeah . What is the administration doing

44:43.790 --> 44:46.050
to protect people from exploitation ?

44:46.050 --> 44:48.050
Given the desperation there reports

44:48.050 --> 44:50.272
that the defense contractor eric Prince

44:50.590 --> 44:53.590
is offering seats on a plane evacuation

44:53.590 --> 44:56.910
plane out for $6500 and some people in

44:56.910 --> 44:58.910
desperation taking that not knowing

44:58.910 --> 45:01.720
there might be an NGO option and our

45:02.090 --> 45:04.810
Yeah , I mean essentially this

45:04.810 --> 45:06.950
exploitation . What is the

45:06.950 --> 45:09.117
administration doing to protect people

45:09.117 --> 45:11.320
when they are so desperate ? We're

45:11.320 --> 45:13.500
evacuating tens of thousands of people

45:13.500 --> 45:15.500
every day for free . And that's the

45:15.500 --> 45:17.611
focus that our military on the ground

45:17.611 --> 45:19.722
or diplomats have on the ground . And

45:19.722 --> 45:21.889
if you're asking me about consequences

45:21.889 --> 45:23.944
or additional steps , I will have to

45:23.944 --> 45:26.167
check and see if there's any additional

45:26.167 --> 45:28.056
steps . Your comment specifically

45:28.056 --> 45:30.278
though on Erik Prince . I mean , he has

45:30.278 --> 45:32.278
already made so much money from the

45:32.278 --> 45:34.389
Afghan conflict and now in these sort

45:34.389 --> 45:36.389
of final winning days is once again

45:36.389 --> 45:39.920
essentially exploiting people in order

45:39.920 --> 45:42.040
to make profit . I mean , what is the

45:42.050 --> 45:44.050
position of the administration that

45:44.050 --> 45:45.840
this is taking place as you are

45:45.840 --> 45:48.600
offering flex free of charge ? I don't

45:48.600 --> 45:51.310
think any human being who has a heart

45:51.310 --> 45:53.510
and soul would support efforts to

45:53.510 --> 45:55.660
profit off of people's agony and pain

45:55.660 --> 45:57.771
as they're trying to depart a country

45:57.771 --> 45:59.938
and fearing for their lives . Go ahead

46:00.180 --> 46:02.180
jim Just to follow up on the rental

46:02.180 --> 46:04.347
assistance . Sure . What is the , what

46:04.347 --> 46:06.236
is the White House or what is the

46:06.236 --> 46:08.402
administration's understanding for the

46:08.402 --> 46:10.458
delay of the billions of dollars not

46:10.458 --> 46:12.458
getting up ? Is it at the state and

46:12.458 --> 46:14.569
local level ? Or is there red tape at

46:14.569 --> 46:16.180
the federal level or is it a

46:16.180 --> 46:18.402
combination ? Well , a great deal of it

46:18.402 --> 46:20.569
is at the state and local level . Uh ,

46:20.569 --> 46:22.740
it is though . Um , uh , one , I think

46:22.740 --> 46:24.462
a couple of things that may be

46:24.462 --> 46:26.629
misunderstood , maybe not by you , but

46:26.629 --> 46:28.740
about the program , which is that the

46:28.740 --> 46:28.610
program is designed to be distributed

46:28.610 --> 46:30.777
over the course of three years . So we

46:30.777 --> 46:32.666
didn't anticipate that all of the

46:32.666 --> 46:34.777
funding would be out in the course of

46:34.777 --> 46:36.999
nine months . It's not , we still think

46:36.999 --> 46:39.054
it should be faster . We also have a

46:39.054 --> 46:40.832
responsibility from the federal

46:40.832 --> 46:42.721
government of course to make this

46:42.721 --> 46:44.943
easier . There is not a system that has

46:44.943 --> 46:47.110
been set up to distribute this type of

46:47.110 --> 46:49.166
funding on a federal level . So even

46:49.166 --> 46:51.520
very well meaning uh leaders in states

46:51.520 --> 46:53.960
and localities are figuring out how to

46:53.970 --> 46:56.081
break through the bureaucracy and get

46:56.081 --> 46:58.303
this money out . Some states need to do

46:58.303 --> 47:00.526
a better job of that . I will note that

47:00.526 --> 47:02.637
in the data that was released today ,

47:02.637 --> 47:04.748
there are some interesting statistics

47:04.748 --> 47:04.490
and this just shows you state state

47:04.490 --> 47:06.657
where the differences are . Right ? So

47:06.657 --> 47:08.657
in Kentucky , the program has shown

47:08.657 --> 47:10.434
consistent growth most recently

47:10.434 --> 47:12.546
assisting 65% more households in july

47:12.546 --> 47:14.380
than in june . That's a dramatic

47:14.380 --> 47:16.491
improvement of course , in that state

47:16.491 --> 47:18.547
and program administrators attribute

47:18.547 --> 47:20.713
the recent growth to Treasury guidance

47:20.713 --> 47:22.936
that allows for self at the station for

47:22.936 --> 47:22.890
the application process . So we're

47:22.890 --> 47:25.140
going to continue to try to cut red

47:25.140 --> 47:27.362
tape from here to if it makes it easier

47:27.362 --> 47:29.362
for states texas attributes they're

47:29.362 --> 47:31.529
leveling off to having fully addressed

47:31.529 --> 47:33.751
existing application backlogs . They've

47:33.751 --> 47:35.807
done a very good job of getting this

47:35.807 --> 47:35.640
money out to people who need it and

47:35.640 --> 47:37.696
north Carolina , which is a state to

47:37.696 --> 47:39.862
slower slower to distribute assistance

47:39.862 --> 47:42.029
environments on notable increases this

47:42.029 --> 47:44.140
month as the investments they made in

47:44.140 --> 47:43.300
the developing the programs

47:43.310 --> 47:45.532
infrastructure paid off . So point is ,

47:45.532 --> 47:47.699
it's really different state to state .

47:47.699 --> 47:49.921
Uh certainly as we've said , states and

47:49.921 --> 47:52.143
localities should not hesitate , Should

47:52.143 --> 47:54.143
not delay in getting this money out

47:54.143 --> 47:56.032
because this is how they can keep

47:56.032 --> 47:58.199
people in their homes . But we're also

47:58.199 --> 47:57.750
going to work from a federal level to

47:57.750 --> 48:00.290
cut red tape wherever we can go ahead .

48:00.770 --> 48:02.937
All right . Going to be the one out of

48:02.937 --> 48:05.070
left field today . Okay . The vice

48:05.070 --> 48:07.126
president is going to be campaigning

48:07.126 --> 48:09.126
for Governor Newsom on our way back

48:09.126 --> 48:11.070
from Asia . Previously , President

48:11.070 --> 48:13.126
biden expressed at least interest in

48:13.126 --> 48:15.126
campaigning for him with everything

48:15.126 --> 48:17.070
going on . I'm wondering if that's

48:17.070 --> 48:19.070
still on the table . And secondly ,

48:19.070 --> 48:21.270
whether you all feel any sense that

48:21.280 --> 48:23.330
this recall is in some ways a

48:23.330 --> 48:25.219
referendum on democratic policies

48:25.219 --> 48:27.540
including handling of coronavirus and

48:27.550 --> 48:30.330
this delta start . Uh , well , I would

48:30.330 --> 48:32.552
say first , I can confirm the president

48:32.552 --> 48:34.719
does still plan to go and campaign for

48:34.719 --> 48:36.941
Governor Newsom in California . I don't

48:36.941 --> 48:38.997
have a date for you at this point in

48:38.997 --> 48:41.163
time , but that is still certainly his

48:41.163 --> 48:43.274
plan and I will leave the analysis on

48:43.274 --> 48:45.552
the roots of the recall to others . Uh ,

48:45.552 --> 48:47.774
go ahead quite Shelby . Thanks . I have

48:47.774 --> 48:49.441
one question and then a quick

48:49.441 --> 48:51.386
clarification on , okay , so first

48:51.670 --> 48:54.170
Lincoln was really specific in giving

48:54.170 --> 48:57.330
numbers for americans that actively

48:57.340 --> 48:59.920
want to get out of Afghanistan . The

48:59.920 --> 49:02.230
State Department made direct contact

49:02.240 --> 49:04.050
and confirmed with all american

49:04.050 --> 49:06.290
citizens that they want to sit that

49:06.290 --> 49:08.457
they might want to stay in Afghanistan

49:08.457 --> 49:10.568
or is the opposite assumption that if

49:10.568 --> 49:12.679
they haven't contacted the embassy or

49:12.679 --> 49:14.901
the State Department that they must not

49:15.370 --> 49:17.592
Well , I would say first we've sent out

49:17.592 --> 49:20.240
as secretary Blinken noted 19 messages

49:20.250 --> 49:22.472
to American citizens over the course of

49:22.472 --> 49:24.694
the last few months , we've also done a

49:24.694 --> 49:26.861
great deal of outreach and advertising

49:27.270 --> 49:29.326
providing information for anyone who

49:29.326 --> 49:31.548
wants to leave , including the offering

49:31.548 --> 49:34.070
of financial assistance in recent weeks

49:34.080 --> 49:35.691
for people who want to leave

49:35.691 --> 49:37.691
Afghanistan . But what I also would

49:37.691 --> 49:39.913
know that this is an important caveat .

49:39.913 --> 49:42.136
It is possible there could be americans

49:42.136 --> 49:44.302
who have not yet contacted , contacted

49:44.302 --> 49:46.524
us , who we don't know about And that's

49:46.524 --> 49:46.340
why we want to leave optionality

49:46.340 --> 49:48.451
because of our responsibility to help

49:48.451 --> 49:50.562
these americans department . And then

49:50.562 --> 49:52.673
this is sort of my clarification . So

49:53.370 --> 49:54.814
Earlier you said that the

49:54.814 --> 49:57.037
administration is looking at a range of

49:57.037 --> 49:59.203
options to get Americans out after the

49:59.203 --> 50:01.426
31st . And then I believe you said that

50:01.426 --> 50:03.092
the president did receive the

50:03.092 --> 50:05.203
contingencies he had asked for . So I

50:05.203 --> 50:07.037
would put those in two different

50:07.037 --> 50:09.259
categories because the contingency plan

50:09.259 --> 50:11.092
to requested would be should for

50:11.092 --> 50:13.092
optionality to stay longer than the

50:13.092 --> 50:15.370
31st . That was something he asked for .

50:15.370 --> 50:17.259
I'm talking about beyond when the

50:17.259 --> 50:19.148
military leaves for the option of

50:19.148 --> 50:21.960
allowing Americans to depart or others

50:21.960 --> 50:24.127
who who are eligible for programs . So

50:24.127 --> 50:26.690
is there currently set contingency

50:26.690 --> 50:29.880
specifically for Americans left in the

50:29.880 --> 50:32.370
country after August 31 or is that

50:32.370 --> 50:35.110
still being worked out . Okay . So I

50:35.120 --> 50:37.120
want to make sure I'm not confusing

50:37.120 --> 50:39.342
anyone . So , the contingency plans the

50:39.342 --> 50:41.287
president requested uh was to have

50:41.287 --> 50:43.509
maximum optionality given their a range

50:43.509 --> 50:45.731
of factors including the threat of ISIS

50:45.731 --> 50:47.898
K which is very much on his mind and a

50:47.898 --> 50:50.064
threat to our US men and women who are

50:50.064 --> 50:52.009
serving including the need for the

50:52.009 --> 50:54.176
taliban to continue to coordinate that

50:54.176 --> 50:56.398
is about staying longer than the 31st .

50:56.398 --> 50:58.564
Those are the contingency plans I also

50:58.564 --> 51:00.564
spoke to and Secretary Blinken also

51:00.564 --> 51:02.676
spoke to the fact that we were we are

51:02.676 --> 51:04.980
also looking for options post the

51:04.980 --> 51:08.080
departure of our military presence to

51:08.080 --> 51:10.247
allow for americans and others who are

51:10.247 --> 51:12.340
eligible for programs to evacuate .

51:12.350 --> 51:14.572
That is something we're working through

51:14.572 --> 51:16.683
and having discussions about . And as

51:16.683 --> 51:18.517
we have more to update , we will

51:18.517 --> 51:20.683
provide that to you . But I would look

51:20.683 --> 51:22.683
at them as two separate things . Go

51:22.683 --> 51:24.683
ahead . Just going on coronavirus .

51:24.683 --> 51:26.850
Sure , the Eu Eu excuse me , is voting

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tomorrow to re impose sanctions on

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incoming U . S . Citizens . Is the

51:31.270 --> 51:32.937
president in contact with his

51:32.937 --> 51:34.992
contemporaries about that decision .

51:34.992 --> 51:36.992
And what does this mean for our own

51:36.992 --> 51:38.548
timeline For lifting travel

51:38.548 --> 51:41.280
restrictions on imposing sanctions ,

51:41.590 --> 51:44.440
imposing coronavirus travel . That's

51:44.440 --> 51:47.830
concerning cases per

51:47.840 --> 51:50.310
100,000 over their threshold for

51:50.310 --> 51:53.100
barring travel . But I would say we are

51:53.100 --> 51:55.100
in touch through working groups and

51:55.100 --> 51:57.044
through a range of channels at the

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diplomatic level and there are health

51:59.156 --> 52:01.211
team with Europeans and others about

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travel restrictions on the timeline . I

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don't have any updates on the timeline .

52:05.711 --> 52:07.933
Okay . Thanks . Everyone . Have a great

52:07.933 --> 52:07.680
day .