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White House Briefing As Biden Unveils More Executive Actions; Biden To Speak Today On Increasing Vaccinations Across U.S.; White House Briefing Amid Growing Concerns About New COVID Variants. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 26, 2021 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:00]

REPORTER: First, on the response to the pandemic, two matters there. First, can you provide us little more details to how much more of the vaccine is going to be distributed and how quickly to the states where we've heard governors sound the alarm that they are desperately and what they need?

And then can you talk about CDC considered, with the White House's support, a measure for testing for all passengers on U.S. domestic flights?

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Jonathan, on the first part of our effort is certainly to ensure we are more effectively and efficiently working with governors and local officials who have expressed some frustration in recent weeks about the lack of information and the lack of a federal plan.

We've only been here six days but we want to take steps as quickly as possible to address that. And part of that will be what the president updates us all on this afternoon. And I would be a very short-lived press secretary if I got ahead of the president, and we're having so much fun in here so you don't want that to happen.

On the second question on testing, we're constantly evaluating, of course, our medical and health experts, steps that need to be taken to keep the American people safe. We announced some travel restrictions, as you know, yesterday. I don't have any additional restrictions to preview or announce for all of you. I will remind you that tomorrow is the first day of our briefings that will be happening approximately three times a week that you can all tune in and learn more from our health experts on our plans.

REPORTER: And on another matter, on impeachment, the president yesterday in an interview said that he did not believe that former President Trump would be convicted and, therefore, removed from office, but said he felt like the trial had to go on, anyway. Could you please explain what he meant by that?

PSAKI: Sure. Well, let's put this in context of last night. So last night, the House impeachment managers delivered the articles of impeachment to the Senate with a dramatic walk over, as you all carried on television. And, you know, the president was referencing a fact that he referenced in his statement just a couple weeks ago when the House passed the articles of impeachment themselves, which is that now, of course, it will move on to the Senate.

As he also said at the time, he hopes, and I'll quote him here, the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of the nation. He still continues to feel that way.

So last night, they delivered the articles. The next step, as you all have reported and people watching at home know, is for the Senate to proceed with their trial. He is going to allow them to move forward at the pace and manner that the leaders in the Senate determine, and I can promise you that we will leave the vote counting to leaders in the Senate from now on.

REPORTER: Last (INAUDIBLE) on this. Why is the president so reluctant to express his personal opinion as to what happens? We understand he's not in the Senate anymore, but he is the leader of the Democratic Party. Why won't he say what he believes should happen?

PSAKI: The president believes the Senate has the constitutional duty to proceed as they see fit on holding the former president accountable. He spent 36 years in the Senate. He's no longer there. As a president of the United States, he feels his role is to deliver on what he promised for the American people. So that's what he's trying to do every day.

Go ahead, Peter.

REPORTER: Just a little housekeeping as it relates to what's going on in the Senate right now. When is the last time that President Biden spoke to Leader McConnell?

PSAKI: He has spoken with Leader McConnell, as he said, spoke with him a couple of times. But I'm not going to --

REPORTER: Since inauguration.

PSAKI: I'm not going to read out specific calls to all of you on the pace or number of their phone calls.

REPORTER: I guess the question is this is someone who always said, the president, that his strong suit is his ability to work with both sides of the aisle, and he criticized the previous administration for not bringing lawmakers here on COVID relief to sit down in the Oval Office.

So why not say the Democrats and Republicans come to the White House right now, let's hash this out and let's get it done?

PSAKI: Well, I know that would make for excellent television and quite a dramatic moment here at the White House, but he is in close touch, as our team is, members of our Senior Team. As you know, Brian Deese, a number of senior officials here at the White House speaking with different caucuses in Congress, Republicans, Democrats, people from different wings of different parties, about our plans and our commitment to getting the COVID package passed.

But our view is that a lot of those conversations should happen one- on-one, should happen in small groups, and that's the most productive way to move this bill forward.

REPORTER: Let me ask you if I can. There seems to be a little bit of disagreement terms of the way both Dr. Fauci and President Biden viewed herd immunity and when we get out of this pandemic right now. We heard the president yesterday say if you're confident that by summer, we're going to be well underway towards to herd immunity. Dr. Fauci said, that he thought this would likely occur where we are closer to being back to normal by this fall.

Just so it's clear for Americans what the administration is promising or telling them, when should we expect that takes place?

PSAKI: Well, the president is certainly pushing his team every day to deliver results as quickly as possible. So as part of his comments yesterday, he also talked about his desire to ensure there is greater availability in the spring.

[13:05:04]

And, certainly, his hope that every American will -- that more Americans will have access as quickly as possible.

But he has also said many times it will take months and months for a broad swath of the population to be vaccinated, and, as always, he's guided, as we all are, by scientists and medical experts, and certainly Dr. Fauci's guidelines of when we can expect for a broad swath of the population to be vaccinated.

REPORTER: For specificity on the vaccine stockpile yesterday, you don't have specific number. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky didn't as well. What is the stockpile right now? Where do we stand at this moment?

PSAKI: Well, the president is going to have more of an update later this afternoon, as I previewed earlier --

REPORTER: Do we have our hands around that now?

PSAKI: Well, certainly. There is a -- we monitor updates on a daily basis through Tiberius and multiple systems over that have available information on vaccine numbers that are distributed to states, what states have received, what they have distributed. And we have been connecting all the dots to ensure we have our best understanding of where the hold-ups are.

And we, of course, have that assessment, but we're continuing to dig in every day on where the -- what the issues are. Why isn't the vaccine getting out to states? What is the hold-up with vaccinators? Why aren't there more vaccines sites that are getting the supply they need? But later this afternoon, he'll have more of an update on additional vaccine supply that we'll make available to states.

REPORTER: Thanks Jen.

PSAKI: Peter (INAUDIBLE).

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).

PSAKI: So the jokes could go on. Go ahead.

REPORTER: Thank you. Yes, let's do that.

So there are some reports that FEMA is now planning to reroute up to $10 billion in money that could be used to combat COVID-19 right now, to preemptively combat climate change by building seawalls and elevating flood-prone homes. And I'm curious if there has been any thought given to waiting until a COVID is behind us to do that.

PSAKI: Peter, I had not actually seen that report before we came out here. As you know, and I'll just repeat, the president's first priority is getting the pandemic under control and doing everything needed, putting all of the necessary resources behind that, but I'm happy to circle back with our team on that specific report.

REPORTER: And another question, the president says that he hopes that the Senate leadership can continue -- can do the Senate impeachment trial while working on the people's business. What if they can't?

PSAKI: Well, as president, you always have to be hopeful, of course. That's that's your role as a leader, to push leaders, to push Democrats and Republicans to make more progress. But, you know, I think what the president will continue to do privately in his conversations with members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans and publicly, is make the case for the cause of an action.

And I think he doesn't feel that there -- that Democrats and Republicans in Congress have the space and time to wait, that there is an urgency, that the American people are going to continue to push members who are representing him on. And so I don't think he feels they're an alternative other than to move forward with urgency.

REPORTER: And just one more, the riots in Portland and the violence in Portland recently, there was some discussion earlier about the January 6th rioters being reviewed by the DNI as domestic violent extremists. Are the rioters in Portland also being viewed through the same lens or is that something different as the White House sees it?

PSAKI: I think you and I talked about this yesterday and conveyed that all violence happening around the country will be reviewed as a part of the tasking that was done by that national security team. But I don't have anything to preview on it.

Cecilia (ph), go ahead.

REPORTER: On COVID relief, we've heard Republicans come out in opposition in broad brush strokes at this point. But in terms of the conversations that Brian Deese is having or the president for that matter or anyone on your team, has any Republican come forward to give you an alternative? What is happening with these negotiations? What are they telling you that they want to go, to stay? What's the none -- with you negotiating from here, what alternatives are they giving you?

PSAKI: Well, Cecilia (ph), you have the benefit of having covered Congress for quite some time. You know none of them are quiet about what they like and don't like, and they often say it publicly. So the president and members of our team are hearing many of the same, you know, expressions of support and sometimes expressions of questions about whether the package needs to be the same size, whether it's targeted, whether it should be targeted in this way. Those are the same questions that they are hearing privately.

And -- but what the president is also hearing privately and what members of our team are also hearing privately is that they expect him to be focused on this package. And they will be as well. And they hear and understand the urgency.

And as you know from covering this for quite some time yourself, oftentimes, things come together right before there's a vote, right?

[13:10:06]

The president kind of alluded to this yesterday, but we feel democracy is working how it should. He laid out his package, his big vision of what it should look like and people are giving their feedback and he's happy to have those discussions and fully expects it's not going to look the same on the other end.

REPORTER: And on the stockpile assessment, I want to flip the answer that you've been giving, saying that it's five days or six days, give us some time to catch up with this. I understand that. On the inverse, it's six days. Why don't we know exactly what is in this stockpile? How -- what have been the hurdles, the biggest hurdles in getting that answers? Slaoui, you probably heard this yesterday, defended the program, Operation Warp Speed, saying that this is -- the results were exceptional. So why is it taking so long?

PSAKI: Six days in. Well, six days in, the president is also giving an update on steps we're going to take to provide more vaccine supply to states across the country. In response to their concern, there has not been a federal plan in place and that they haven't received the coordination, cooperation and information they desired. So in my view that's a pretty rapid response to states' concerns.

We do have an assessment. As I referenced Tiberius, which is quite a website name, I will say, it sounds like a magical creature, a little bit to me, but it provides vaccine information publicly available information on vaccine supply that's gone to states and what's been used. It doesn't mean it's perfect.

Oftentimes it isn't. But our concerns and our focus is not just on the supply, that's part of the issue. It is also about ensuring that states have the number of vaccinators they need, so that means people who are literally taking the shots and qualified to put them in the arms of Americans.

And some states in some communities don't have people who are able to do that and vaccine centers and places where people can go and receive the vaccine. So there's multiple steps in this process, and our focus is on ensuring not just the supply is at the rate it needs to be and that states have more advanced notice, this is one of the things governors will tell you and have told us, that it is very difficult for them when they find out a day before, a couple days before, that they're going to run out of a supply or when the next supply shipment is coming. They want more time. That's something we're also working on.

So those are all pieces that are part of this herculean operational task that our team has undertaken.

Go ahead, Mario.

REPORTER: Thanks, Jen. Senator Schumer last night said that he wants President Biden to consider declaring climate change a national emergency, to give him power similar to what his predecessor, President Trump, did with the wall. Is that something that the president is considering?

PSAKI: Well, the president has long said it is one of the four crises that he believes are central to the presidency and central to his time as the commander-in-chief and the president of the United States, addressing the threat of climate. So he has not only taking actions, executive orders, taking actions that fall under the purview of the president, but also he has pushed to find ways to work with Congress on taking additional steps moving forward too.

There will be more we have to share on our efforts of climate in the days ahead, but I don't think Leader Schumer has any doubt about the president's commitment to this. And certainly, the fact that he has called it a crisis, he said it is central to the issues he wants to take on in his presidency speaks to his commitment to the issue.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: So, two more questions, to bring it back just to COVID response for a second. So, first, one of the questions that's come up is how much money is needed exactly to respond to the emergency that we're in, is it $1.9 trillion or some other figure? Do you have an assessment just of how much money is left from Congress as the last a allocation towards these issues and how much is left to spend?

PSAKI: Well, as Brian Deese, and you see Director Brian Deese said last week, the problem with focusing on the $900 billion package is the answer to our current problem now, is that was -- is catching up for what had not been done for the prior six months. So what we're really focused on now is what is needed for immediately now, of course, but also in the months ahead. And as I was alluding to a little bit earlier, the way the president thinks about this is what the cost of an action is.

So if you look ahead, it's critical, and I talked about this a little bit yesterday, that we don't get anywhere near the March cliff, which would mean the end of eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, the end of $300 additional U.I. assistance, the end of PPP loan applications for small businesses. And as you all know, from covering what's happening in the country, you know, people need security. And what we're trying to do now is provide that.

So this package was designed not with a number in mind, we weren't trying to get a shock value, sticker value.

[13:15:00]

The president relied on the advice of economists, of health experts and others who recommended this is the size and the components that are needed now, not just to distribute the vaccine but to provide certainty and a bridge to the American people to get to the other side. So --

REPORTER: Do you have a number right now for how much is for vaccine distribution alone, how much you have to spend as compared to what you've asked for?

PSAKI: I'm happy to check with our team on that, but I will say that what we're looking ahead to is where are we in a couple of weeks and where are we in two months. And no one wants to be having a conversation in May about why our schools aren't open and why millions of people have been kicked off unemployment insurance. So part of our role here is to look ahead, and that's exactly what we're trying to do with this package.

REPORTER: One other issue, President Trump signed an executive order restricting exports of vaccines that are manufactured within the United States. That order is still in effect. First of all, what is your assessment of exactly whether drug manufacturers are able to send these vaccines overseas? Can they do that under current law? And, two, will you take any action to reverse that executive order?

PSAKI: That's a great question, and we've talked about, obviously, rejoining the World Health Organization and ensuring we are a partner to the global community on this effort only makes us safer and the American people safer, but I would have to check on the specific expert question for you.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: Jen, the national COVID strategy the administration released a couple days ago says, that quote, the United States will accelerate the pace of vaccinations by encouraging states and localities to move through priority groups more quickly. What is more quickly? How should governors interpret that? And will you provide more detail or guidance for state public health officials on how they should be going through these priorities?

PSAKI: Well, the answer is yes. And part of our effort as I mention there was a call with governors this afternoon to provide an update on vaccine supply and steps we're taking from the federal government to ensure they have all the information they need and also access to supply they need. And in terms of the pace, the guide will be, of course, publicized by the CDC. They have their first briefing tomorrow. We'll see if they have an update on that.

But, really, what they're trying to -- what we're all trying to endeavor to do is ensure that we have not just more supply but more vaccinators, as I noted, more people in communities who can vaccinate, more centers and locations that can provide these vaccinations, so all of those components will lead to expediting. We're not asking states to do this on their own. In fact, we're asking -- we are trying to reset and be partners here in a more effective way than we've seen over the last ten months.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) seem to be recommending double masking. Is that something that the White House would like to see?

PSAKI: I've seen some of those reports. I haven't seen that come officially from the CDC. But, again, I encourage you to ask them that question tomorrow and I'd refer to them for any new guidance on that front.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: Hi. Regarding the Defense Production Act, what is the timeline for ramping up production of supplies, specifically specialized syringes? And has the administration been in talks with any specific companies or manufacturers?

PSAKI: It's already been invoked and underway, so those discussions and efforts to ramp up production are already underway. They started as of less than 24 hours after the president signed that executive order and made that announcement last week.

I don't have any specific companies, I don't think, to kind of preview or readout for you, but I'm sure we can follow up and see if there're more specifics to provide on the specific companies.

REPORTER: Is the Department of Defense considering plans to deploy military National Guard to help with the vaccinations, be those vaccinators in communities that are underserved?

PSAKI: Well, certainly, the government -- across the government, everyone is going to play a role in COVID and addressing COVID and, again, the pandemic under control. But in terms of their specific plans, I would send you to the Department of Defense.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)?

PSAKI: Sure.

REPORTER: The administration -- this is for a reporter who can't be in the room. What are the administration's plans for Guantanamo and restarting military trials for detainees, one case announced last week?

PSAKI: I don't have anything new on that. I'm happy to follow up on that for you as well.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: I just wanted to circle back to Peter's question. So Dr. Fauci on Fox today went back to quoting that 100 million doses in 100 days number. So did the president misspeak when he said the new goal is 150 million shots in a hundred days yesterday or was he operating on something new update to do that?

PSAKI: The president didn't actually say, the new goal is. The president said, I hope we can do even more than that.

[13:20:00]

And that is certainly, of course, his hope. He is continuing to push our team to get as many Americans vaccinated as quickly as possible. That's why we set the bold goal of 100 million shots in the arms of Americans in 100 days to begin with.

I would just remind everyone, this is literally never been done before, and as what he has asked the team to do and what the team is focused on doing is also planning for contingencies. I mean, we're at war with the virus, so in a wartime theme here, there are a lot of things you plan for, including trucks breaking down, freezers breaking, needing to plan for that, you know, not having vaccinators in a location to be able to put the syringes in people's arms.

REPORTER: So would the 100 million number though would be a more accurate number to be --

PSAKI: That's the number we've set, based on the recommendation of health and medical experts, continues to be our goal. But does he want to do -- beat that goal? Of course, he does. Of course, he does. But, again, it is a goal that was set with contingencies we need to plan for in mind, and he's going to continue to push the team to meet that goal and go beyond it.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: I wanted to ask the ambassador but I didn't get a chance to, which in terms of the racial equity goal, does the White House support overturning small business administration language that prohibits people with records from accessing PPP relief? It's something that on the Hill (INAUDIBLE).

PSAKI: I know I had talked a little bit with our economic team bout this issue earlier, but I'll have to circle back with you on it, it's a good question. We'll bring Ambassador Rice but we'll circle back with you on this today.

Yamiche, go ahead in the back.

REPORTER: All right. I have two questions. First is David Kessler said that most Americans would not be vaccinated until the third or fourth quarter of this year. He said that last week. President Biden spoke and said that he -- we could possibly have herd immunity as early as this summer. That's the difference of a couple months. I wonder if you could reconcile the difference there and talk a little bit about herd immunity and most Americans will be able to be vaccinated.

PSAKI: Well, it's sort of similar to what Peter ask a little bit earlier, but, you know, what the president -- president is, of course, pushing his team to deliver results, and his goal is to ensure there is a greater availability in the spring and that it continues to improve in the summer. Everybody won't be eligible this spring, as you all know, even with -- even as the CDC continues to provide updated guidance.

But he would certainly defer to medical health and medical experts and, obviously, the guidance of Dr. Fauci on when we may be at the pace of reaching herd immunity. But, you know, we will continue to update as more progress is made what the goals look like.

REPORTER: Following up on that, in terms of data collection, it's my understanding that something like 50 percent of the vaccinations are coming in without racial data. Is that accurate or is there something else there? I'm wondering how you'll measure success in vaccinating people of color in vulnerable communities if you don't have the data on who is getting vaccinated. And will we see kind of mobile outlooks, mobile kind of outreach to those communities in terms of vaccines, when could see that?

PSAKI: Yes, absolutely, that will be part of it. But also part of it will be working with pharmacies and working with health centers in communities so that communities across the country, rural communities, communities of color have easier access to know where they can go and get a vaccine.

But this is going to be hard. And we are not trying to sugarcoat that. And it will be very challenging. This is why everyone who comes and speaks about COVID, talks about -- are the challenge of vaccine hesitancy and how we're going to overcome that.

And it won't just be just about having centers, it will also be about overcoming a lot of these contingencies I have mentioned that we have to plan for about more effectively communicating with people, about the safety of the vaccine really being thoughtful about who we're using to communicate. So it is going to take a multi-faceted approach and we are open-eyed about the challenge.

REPORTER: Another part of that question. Is it accurate that there is very little racial data, at least less than 50 percent of racial data coming out on vaccinations?

PSAKI: I would refer you to the CDC, and I know they'll have their have first briefing tomorrow, and that sounds like a great question to ask them.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) so I'll have to ask you the same -- the question that I was going to ask her, which is, we've seen that after January 6th there is obviously this issue of white supremacy and racism coursing to our country. What's the biggest challenge do you think of equity in this country and how do you measure success for something like that, especially when we think of all the different ways that our country is dealing with it.

I know these E.O.s are about housing and about criminal justice, but can you talk a little bit about how you're going to measure success in what the federal government's role is on something so big as in inequality and racism?

[13:25:00]

PSAKI: Well, I think what Ambassador Rice was conveying to all of you and obviously what the president will sign later this afternoon is an executive order that makes racial equity and addressing racial equity a priority across the government.

And what the president -- how the president talks about this is that far too often we think of racial issues that are in the racial equity bucket, shall we say, are only related to a couple of categories, and that's just not accurate.

We need to address racial equity in terms of health disparity. We need to address it in terms of access to lending and to loans. We need to address it in terms of biases and discrimination as it relates to housing.

And so what this executive order will do will make it a priority and infuse expertise and personnel to ensure we are addressing issues that impact communities of color across the country every day, and not just every few months when it's an issue that comes up and prompts questioning.

Go ahead in the back.

REPORTER: Thank you, Jen, and thank you for making sure that everybody gets the opportunity to ask questions. I really appreciate that.

I have got one on housekeeping real quick and then I have got a domestic and foreign policy question.

So you've got some beautiful screens behind you. Your predecessors have rejected multiple requests to bring back the sky scene to the daily briefing for the benefit of reporters who are trying to stay safe given the pandemic by working remotely. Would you consider bringing back the Skype seat?

PSAKI: We would. I will say, people don't usually realize this but there's normally about 60 people in this room. I think that's the right number. That's certainly something we would be happy to have in this room, and I think all of you would, too, because you're asking questions on behalf of your colleagues. But we also -- we rely on the advice of our health and medical experts on what's safe, not just for us but for all of you, and having everybody sit seat by seat wouldn't be safe.

I know that's not what you're asking, but we would certainly be open to taking questions via Skype. I took some questions on Twitter the other day. We're going to try to take some questions by the American people that they ask on YouTube.

And so we'll continue to look for ways to not just bring back the daily briefing but to take questions from more reporters and people.

REPORTER: Okay. During the campaign -- this is the foreign policy question. During the campaign, Mr. Biden had said he would give benefits to the Palestinians but he didn't specify anything that he would ask any concession. So the question is, is it belief of this administration that the Palestinians don't have to make concessions to get funding or a consulate?

PSAKI: Well, I think I have talked about this particular issue enough in my old days at the state department to know I'm going to defer to our national security team and the state department and Jake Sullivan on any more specifics. Obviously, the president's view continues to be that a two-state solution is the only path forward and that, you know, that continues to be the position of his White House and administration.

REPORTER: Finally, this on behalf of a colleague who's not able to be here today due to social distancing. Does the president believe he can attain unity with the 74 million Trump voters while urging his allies in the Senate to hold an impeachment trial after his predecessor already left office?

PSAKI: Well, the president's belief is that he was elected by 81 million Americans in part because they believed he was somebody who could help bring the country together, unify the country around addressing the crises that we face. And when he talks every day, nearly, about getting the pandemic under control, putting people back to work, he's not just speaking to people who voted for him.

He's speaking to all of the American people, including the 74 million who didn't vote for him, and certainly addressing the pandemic, making -- ensuring that people don't worry about the health and safety of their grandparents, of their sisters and brothers, getting kids back to school, that's not a partisan position. That's a leadership position and one he's taking because he wants to make sure he's delivering for all the American people.

Go ahead all the way back.

REPORTER: Thank you, Jen. I'm (INAUDIBLE) from Polish Radio (ph). The president spoke with Chancellor Merkel yesterday. But the readout from the phone call doesn't mention Nord Stream 2, the pipeline from Russia to Germany. Have they discussed this particular project and what's President Biden position on Nord Stream 2? Is he determine to used all the tools he has, like sanctions, to stop the project?

PSAKI: Well, I don't have any more for you on the particular readout, but I can convey that we continue to believe -- the president believes that Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal for Europe, where that the previous administration imposed new restriction on activities related to the pipeline under the National Defense Authorization Act. And we will be reviewing those measures.

And so he looks forward to continuing to consult with our European partners on this issue. And if there's more to share from his conversation with Chancellor Merkel on it, we will certainly circle back with you more directly.

[13:30:06] Let me just get everybody. Go ahead.

REPORTER: Thank you Jen.