White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki wilted under pressure during Tuesday’s press conference as reporters repeatedly pressed the administration for answers about President Joe Biden’s border crisis.
One of the most notable exchanges came when a reporter asked Psaki if newly reported-on statistics about the border crisis were accurate. Psaki responded by claiming that the reporter should ask the Department of Homeland Security about the numbers because “it’s not our program.” The Department of Homeland Security is run by the Biden administration and Biden’s nominee to lead the department, Alejandro Mayorkas, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and he now runs the department.
“I would encourage you to go back to them and ask them again. We’re not going to confirm them from the White House. It’s not our program,” Psaki claimed. “It’s the Department of Homeland Security.”
WATCH:
Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki on DHS' refusal to confirm border crisis numbers: “talk to them…it’s not our program”https://t.co/Mmh4r6dKdY pic.twitter.com/10yZbWH3m2
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 9, 2021
During another exchange, Psaki was pressed about whether the administration would admit that there was a crisis going on on the southern border.
“Look, I don’t think we need to sit here and put new labels on what we have already conveyed is challenging, what we have conveyed is a top priority for the president, what our policy teams are working on every single day,” Psaki said. “They obviously, there was a trip to the border this weekend. They are working over the course of every day since then on putting in place policies that can help address what we’re seeing and help ensure that we are keeping these kids safe and moving them as quickly as possible from border patrol facilities to shelters where they can have access to educational resources, health resources, mental health resources, legal aid, et cetera.”
When asked if there’s a border crisis, Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki says “I don’t think we need…labels” https://t.co/yhUbzHTI27 pic.twitter.com/jUOI0ZCd5w
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 9, 2021
Several minutes later, another reporter pressed Psaki again on the border crisis, asking, “why has this administration been so reluctant to call it a crisis?”
“With the huge uptick in the number of migrants being detained, including thousands of children, if that doesn’t qualify as a crisis, what does?” the reporter continued.
“Well, because we think that it’s most important to explain the substantive policy of what’s happening, what the root causes are of why these kids are coming, and what we’re doing to try to solve what is a very challenging circumstance at the border,” Psaki said. ”
Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki confronted on border crisis: “if that doesn’t qualify as a crisis, what does?”https://t.co/Zh7gQQIGxa pic.twitter.com/8Z8BYVGL2H
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 9, 2021