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Hurricane Ida Aftermath; White House Press Briefing. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired August 30, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:02]

CYNTHIA LEE SHENG, PRESIDENT OF JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA: Our first responders, Sheriff Joseph Lopinto, our firefighters, Louisiana National Guard, some Coast Guard are there doing search and rescue.

They're having to get boats in and out. We are sheltering those people at Hart (ph) playground. And then I believe the state is going to coordinate, Governor, for a pickup and move them out to Alexandria, is my understanding.

And then, of course, our systems are down. We have no electricity, no communication. Our water systems are down. We're losing pressure. We had to do a boil water advisory. Our sewer system, as you know, is based on electricity, so we're going to start having backups there, so that's going to be a hygiene problem.

And we're encouraging residents who are out of the area to stay out because we do not have the modern amenities to bring them back home. And the people inside, we're going to have to take care of them. But some of the people in here who stayed during the storm and are OK, in the next couple days, they may want to get out. And it might be the best for them to get out, because it's going to be a difficult life for quite some time.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, Madam President.

SHENG: Thank you.

BIDEN: Cedric, what about the oil port?

CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Well, the governor or Parish President Sheng could talk about that.

The president's inquiring about the oil ports down in Port Fourchon and the effect and where we are there.

SHENG: I personally do not have eyes on that situation, so, actually, the only -- the visual I get is if I see something on the national...

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Alisyn Camerota, welcome to NEWSROOM.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell. Obviously had a bit of an audio problem there, but you have been

listening to the FEMA briefing on the response to what was Hurricane Ida -- Ida, as we know now, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S.

One official in Louisiana says it's the worst-case scenario that seems to have happened. We're starting to see -- look at this -- some of the severe damage. We know a fallen tree killed one man, but Louisiana's governor expects the death toll to rise, in his words, considerably.

And now, hundreds of search-and-rescue crews are out; 5, 200 National Guard troops have been deployed to help Louisiana and Texas and other states in the Southeast. Also, emergency officials are now on the watch for what will be -- what the storm surge will bring. We know Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday, 16 years to the day since Katrina hit.

CAMEROTA: OK, so, this is what 150-mile-per-hour winds sounded like in Port Fourchon. Well, Ida's strength was equivalent to an F-3 tornado.

But unlike a tornado that moves quickly, Ida hovered for hours. And now the entire city of New Orleans is without power. That's more than half-a-million people. AT&T says 40 percent of its wireless network is down across Louisiana.

Lafourche Parish says entry there will be blocked up to a week, maybe longer, since the roads are unpassable. And emergency officials in multiple parishes are directing people to let rescuers come to them because conditions are too dangerous right now for residents to venture out.

So here was President Biden moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We also know a lot of people lost their cell phone service. F their particular carrier tower is down or damaged.

So, this morning, the Federal Communications Commission has worked with the cellular providers to initiate their cooperative framework agreement. That agreement allows customers on one line -- with one provider to go to another provider if that provider is down.

So it allows customers to use roaming access carriers, to any of the carriers that are up and running. And that means you should be able to get a signal no matter who your carrier was or is.

The main thing I want to make clear to all of you is, we're providing any help we -- you -- that you're going to need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, let's go 30 miles West of New Orleans to LaPlace, where floodwaters have inundated that community, as it has many others. Search boats and helicopters are out there trying to rescue people trapped in their homes.

CAMEROTA: CNN's Ed Lavandera in LaPlace for us.

So, Ed, what are you seeing?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, we have been here on Highway 51 in LaPlace, Louisiana, for several hours this morning.

This spot has become a kind of a landing spot for people who have been plucked out of these neighborhoods around this area. You can see this is the boats that have been coming into these neighborhoods on my right and left side.

[14:05:01]

And over and over, what we have seen here this morning, Alisyn and Victor, is kind of a sense of people dazed, still beleaguered, still trying to process what a horrific night so many of them endured here through the worst of this storm, Hurricane Ida.

Many residents here tell us that they were completely stunned by the magnitude and the force of the sustained winds that Hurricane Ida still had surrounding this storm, even this far inland.

And many residents, one resident in particular described the roof collapsing in her home as she was inside her home on the second floor with her 84- and 85-year-old parents, horrific scenes.

One gentleman we spoke with talked about retreating to his attic as the floodwaters started rushing into his home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: But you ended up in your attic?

GAVIN GOINES JR., HURRICANE SURVIVOR: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. The water was just coming in so fast that I -- you know, it got to about knee level so quick, I didn't know if it was going to stay there or rise. So, I just went up to the attic. And it didn't get too much higher than that. But it was scary.

And it came in all at once.

LAVANDERA: Were you worried that you were going to be stuck and trapped in your attic?

GOINES: Yes, I was, because, I mean, you hear stories. You hear people that seven, eight, nine feet. And I just -- I don't know what I would have done if it was that. I guess I would have just had to fight my way out and swim.

My dad taught me how to swim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: So, helicopters still swarming around many of these neighborhoods and these subdivisions that have high water still in many parts.

The water in a lot of places has started to recede, and receded rather quickly. Where we're standing was actually underwater for much of the overnight hours and into early this morning. But there is still a significant amount of water and we're told by many of the residents, as you go deeper into these subdivisions about waist-high.

So it's still very treacherous for some of these people to be able to escape and to get out and that sort of thing. And that's why you're still seeing law enforcement agencies that have their boats out here, helicopters flying overhead, trying to assess and figure out exactly how many people still want to be brought out of these neighborhoods.

And that work is continuing here in afternoon -- Alisyn and victor.

CAMEROTA: And so, Ed, are those helicopters doing rescues or are they just trying to spot people on their roofs?

LAVANDERA: Well, I think it's a little -- a combination of both. I think it's a lot of just trying to identify where they need to be.

We did see one Coast Guard chopper fly over and one of the crew members descended by the rope down into a neighborhood, and then they pulled the rope back up, so perhaps someone needed some more immediate attention.

But a lot of the work it seems to be doing is just identifying who needs to go where, and then you see boats launching into these neighborhoods. And we're told that not everybody necessarily wants to come out of their homes.

Some people do want to get brought out, and then they're taken a little bit further into town, so relatives or friends can pick them up from there. But, you know, again, the overwhelming sense that you get from everybody that comes out of these neighborhoods is just this like beleaguered sense of dismay as to what they have endured for the last 12 hours.

BLACKWELL: Ed, there are plenty of chemical plants often referred to as Cancer Alley close to LaPlace there. I know that was a concern, if there would be any vulnerabilities from those facilities. Any reports of anything along that route?

LAVANDERA: Yes, that's obviously a big concern going into this storm, especially considering how strong Hurricane Ida remained even this far inland.

I have not -- our cell phone coverage and reception has been incredibly spotty for much of the morning, so I have not seen any specific updates on or any urgent notices that have gone out because of that. If I don't have that right, just understand that that's why. But, obviously, that is something that remains of huge concern here in

this area, given that that is one of the most prominent industries here in this part of Louisiana.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you're not alone, Ed. There's so much technology and communications that are down right now across the state.

Thank you very much for the reporting. We will check back with you.

So, another town that's been battered by Ida is Houma. That's a community about an hour southeast -- sorry -- southwest of New Orleans.

Ferocious winds, heavy rain all caused extensive damage to homes and businesses there.

BLACKWELL: Jason Carroll is there for us.

What are you seeing?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, we moved away from downtown Houma, where we saw so much destruction there, to some of the surrounding neighborhoods.

And we're finding even more here in this house, a house that used to stand, and now gone. (AUDIO GAP) was that mattress right there that helped them survive because they stood behind this wall, put the mattress up when Ida descended upon them, and used the mattress to protect them as the house basically disintegrated around them.

So they used that in order to survive, and this is where we're finding, Victor and Alisyn, through much of this neighborhood -- I'm going to hop down here and try and show you a little more in terms of what it looks like as we take a look up the street here, more destruction.

[14:10:14]

And I know you have been talking to some of our folks in and around New Orleans, and they talk about the water damage there. But out here, it was really a wind event. I know you guys were talking about this before, but this is what happens when a hurricane, Category 4, descends upon an area and then just sits there with 120-mile-per-hour winds just descending on it and staying there.

Again, you can just take a look up this one street here and you can just see there's more destruction, downed power lines, roofs that are now no longer on homes, homes partially or completely destroyed.

So, as we begin our tour moving further out, further south, away from Houma, continuing to find more and more destruction -- guys, back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jason Carroll for us there in Houma.

We talked about how these winds are similar to tornadoes, but, unlike tornadoes, I mean, tornadoes are pockets of concentrated damage. This is far more broad across the...

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Yes, but it's interesting, when you look at the aftermath and the devastation, some houses are standing and some right next to it are destroyed, the way you see in a tornado.

So, somehow the hurricane did hit people even on the same street in really different ways.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and stayed for hours.

CAMEROTA: So, in St. James Parish, its Web site says the majority of roadways there are impassable, with dangerous electrical lines or trees down.

Peter Dufresne is the parish president.

So, President Dufresne, what's the situation at this hour there?

PETE DUFRESNE, PRESIDENT OF ST. JAMES PARISH, LOUISIANA: The situation is still a lot like it was when we woke up this morning.

We have our operations crews and 911 personnel deployed, cutting and pushing debris from the roadways to try and clear our area, our infrastructure, so our residents can return home.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

We have heard from one of our reporters in LaPlace reports of people going up to their attic to escape the water. Are you getting those reports, that there are people who had to go to their attics, go to the roof to avoid the floodwaters?

DUFRESNE: No, sir, not in St. James Parish. We have not had that.

To our good fortune, the storm track took a significant jog to the right, and the eye of the storm passed through our neighboring St. John Parish, instead of the projected path it was supposed to pass here in St. James.

It's very unfortunate for the folks in St. John and St. Charles parishes. And our thoughts and prayers are just extended beyond not just our residents, but to all those folks as well. It's terrible. It's devastation.

CAMEROTA: Yes. It is devastating.

DUFRESNE: Total devastation.

CAMEROTA: And so, to be clear, you don't think the people in your parish are trapped right now?

DUFRESNE: No, we do have several families who need to be relocated because of extensive home damaging, but no one is trapped right now.

And, to the best of my knowledge, I have no reports of any deaths or any bodily injury to anyone in St. James Parish.

BLACKWELL: There are power lines down across this entire swathe of the state, more than a million customers without power.

Last time I read the local reports where you are, that the power companies were headed out to try to take the power from the lines, essentially, so that people aren't shocked or electrocuted in the water. And you are asking people to stay in.

Are people heeding that and staying away from the roads, staying off the roads, so power companies can get to them?

DUFRESNE: For the most part, people are heeding the warnings, but, you know, you always have folks that's going to get out and about to assess the area.

We are asking people to -- we're asking our residents to stay home as much as possible, to survey your properties. We're trying the best we can to identify as many water leaks as we possibly can.

From the amount of uprooted trees that we have had, it damaged a lot of water mains, and our water distribution system right now is currently operating at maybe about 25 percent. So, my most urgent concern right now is to get our water distribution system back up to par.

BLACKWELL: All right, Peter Dufresne, St. James Parish president, thank you so much.

We're now going to go to the White House.

This is Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: ... and his homeland security team continue to monitor the impacts of Hurricane Ida, something that he was monitoring through the course of the weekend.

This was an extremely large and powerful hurricane, and, as expected, early reports suggest catastrophic damage in a number of areas along the Gulf Coast. And while Ida has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, it is going to continue to inflict damage as it moves across the state of Mississippi today and into the Tennessee Valley tomorrow.

This will be a lengthy whole-of-government and whole-of-community response and recovery effort. And we are closely coordinating with state and local officials at every step of the way.

[14:15:01]

Today, as damage assessments and response efforts begin in the Gulf Coast where conditions allow on the ground, we understand that responders are focused on the following immediate priorities, search- and-rescue operations and medical evacuations for those in distress, accelerating efforts to restore electrical power in Louisiana and Mississippi, where latest counts suggest that more than one million customers are without electricity, restoring communications where they are down, and providing emergency food, water, and shelter to those in need.

In parts of Louisiana, including New Orleans, energy companies have reported catastrophic damage to their transmission systems and we don't yet know how long this will take for the local utilities to repair, but, clearly, that's a big priority for everyone involved.

It could be weeks to get everything fully back up and running. Administration officials are also engaged directly with electricity sector leadership to help ensure all available resources are being brought to bear to restore power as quickly as possible.

As you all saw, the president just spoke with governors and mayors from impacted communities, and he was at FEMA's National Response Coordination Center yesterday to receive the latest updates on the response operations and to thank the hardworking staff who are working around the clock to support state and local response efforts.

The president also approved, you may have seen this, but, last night, an emergency major declaration for Louisiana, which allows individuals in the impacted areas to apply for assistance. He also approved a pre- disaster emergency declaration from Mississippi to authorize emergency preparation and protective measures and direct federal assistance.

I just want to give you a quick overview, too, of the federal resources that are supporting state and local efforts as of now, and many of which were prepositioned before the storm.

FEMA is working with its federal, state, and local partners as well as nongovernmental agencies to support needs of areas affected by Ida. The agency positioned supplies such as meals, water, and generators to assist states with impacts from the storm.

More than 3, 600 FEMA employees are deployed to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and are ready to provide additional support as needed. FEMA has staged more than 3.4 million meals, millions of liters of water, more than 35, 700 tarps and roughly 200 generators.

Hundreds of additional ambulances and air ambulances have also been moved into the area. Seven FEMA incident management assistance teams, IMATs, and 17 urban search-and-rescue teams have been activated, along with debris subject matter experts.

The Department of Health and Human Services is deploying a 250-bed federal medical shelter to Alexandria, Louisiana, and the U.S. Coast Guard has 27 rotary or fixed-wing aircraft. And the Department of Defense has 60 high-water vehicles and 14 rotary wing aircraft prepositioned to assist with rescue efforts.

Shelters are open in affected areas throughout the Gulf Coast across the impacted states, and they are implementing steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The National Guard has also activated more than 5, 200 personnel in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama to support response efforts.

And, finally, the Army Corps of Engineers has activated planning and response teams for debris, temporary roofing, and temporary housing. Again, we are working closely with state and local officials. Even though the storm has been downgraded to a tropical storm, damaging wind gusts continue to be a threat, which will likely result in additional downed trees and power outages as the storms move to -- moves northeast.

And Ida will continue to produce heavy rainfall, life-threatening flash and urban flooding. And tornadoes remain a threat.

Finally, our secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel to Baton Rouge on Tuesday morning and will meet with the governor to survey damage.

The FEMA administrator will travel to Jackson, Mississippi, that evening and, on Wednesday, she will meet with the governor and tour the damage.

The last update I wanted to provide to all of you is that, as part of our all-across-government-effort approach to preventing evictions, today, Attorney General Merrick Garland is calling on the entire legal community to take immediate action to help prevent unnecessary evictions during this public health emergency.

The attorney general's call to action asks major law firms, law school students and individual lawyers to work with courts, legal service providers, and nonprofits through pro bono services to ensure access to justice for vulnerable tenants.

So far, over 40 major law school deans, including from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Howard, UCLA and more, have already committed their students and law clinics to help prevent evictions.

And presidents of several major legal organizations, including the Legal Services Corporation, the American Bar Association, and the National Housing Law Project, have joined the commitment to immediate action.

And, on Thursday, we will join a nationwide Emergency Rental Assistance Program training held by the Association of Pro Bono Counsel and law firm Anti-Racism Alliance.

With that, Darlene, why don't you kick us off?

QUESTION: Thanks, Jen.

Switching to Afghanistan, as of yesterday, there were about 300 U.S. citizens who were still there who wanted to get out by the deadline. Do you have an update on that number? Are we still looking at 300 waiting to get out? Is it down to 150? Is it down to zero?

(CROSSTALK)

[14:20:10]

PSAKI: Absolutely.

Well, I know my State Department colleagues will have a more specific up-to-date number, but let me give you an update of where things stand at this point.

Of those who self-identified as Americans in Afghanistan considering leaving the country since August 14, we have thus far received confirmation that about 6,000 have been evacuated or otherwise departed. This number will likely continue to grow as our outreach and arrivals continue.

And we have been providing, as you know, regular updates to all of you on evacuations. The initial assessment, if we go back to August 14, was that there were fewer than 6,000 Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to get out.

So, as we conveyed at the time, we knew that there could be an option, one, that people who had registered had already departed or that people who had registered had not de-registered or that there would be additional people who came forward.

And we believe there are still a small number. I understand you're asking for the exact number who remain. We're trying to determine exactly how many and we're going through manifests and calling and texting through our lists. And we will have more of a concrete number for you as soon as possible.

Part of the challenge with fixing a precise number is that there are longtime residents of Afghanistan, as we have talked about in here, with American passports, dual citizens, the vast majority who are still trying to determine if they want to leave or not or have been over the last couple of days.

In some instances, in many instances, that's because they have many family members there, but they have a range of reasons. And we have been working with them to assess that.

QUESTION: And then one other question on Afghanistan.

The deadline is tomorrow, obviously. What can you tell us about what the president will do tomorrow? How will he mark this moment? Should the public expect to hear from him tomorrow at some point after this is all wrapped up?

PSAKI: Absolutely, Darlene.

Well, without getting into specific operational details, I know you're not asking me for that, but just to preface, I think you all can expect and the American public can expect to hear from the president in the coming days.

I don't have anything to outline for you in terms of the specific date or time for that at this point in time.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thanks, Jen.

On August 10, President Biden told me -- quote -- "I do not regret my decision to withdraw from Afghanistan." After watching the heart- wrenching (OFF-MIKE) transfer yesterday, is that still his position? Does he not regret the manner in which this withdrawal was conducted?

PSAKI: Well, first, I would say that the men and women who gave their lives, and the president attended, as you noted yesterday, to honor their service, honor their sacrifice, and had time -- had the opportunity to meet a number of the family members yesterday.

We can't -- that doesn't take the place of all of the progress we've -- all of the work that has been done to evacuate people. But I will tell you something that has been said time and time again by the brave men and women of the military who are leading this effort.

These 13 individuals sacrificed their lives to save tens of thousands of people. And that is something that is -- should be honored, should be valued, and we will continue to look for ways to do that.

QUESTION: So, after meeting with the families of the fallen service members, he still sticks by -- he doesn't regret at all how this has played out in the last couple of weeks?

PSAKI: Well, of course, for any president, as I said last week, a day or a week where you lose 13 service members is the worst day or the worst week of your presidency. And that is -- remains the case.

And, yesterday -- and I have seen him since he, of course, went to Dover yesterday. He has -- of course, was deeply impacted. He knows firsthand that there's nothing you can say to a family member, there's nothing you can say to someone who loses a child that is going to fill the black hole. That remains the case.

But I will say, if you just take a step back, beyond yesterday, the president stands by his decision to bring our men and women home from Afghanistan, because, if he had not, he has view and the view of many experts and military out there, is we would have sent tens of thousands, potentially, or thousands at least more troops back into harm's way, risking more lives and more people to fight a war the Afghans were not willing to fight themselves.

Nothing has changed in that regard.

QUESTION: One more question.

How was that interaction between the president and those families yesterday?

PSAKI: I'm obviously not going to speak to private conversations between the president and the parents of service members who lost their lives saving others.

He was grateful to be there with the families yesterday and to honor both the heroic service and the incredible sacrifice of their sons and daughters. And while his son did not lose his life directly in combat, as they did, or directly at the hands of a terrorist -- as these -- terrorists -- as these families did, that they're mourning, he knows, as I just said, firsthand that there's nothing you can say, nothing you can convey to ease the pain and to ease what all of these families are going through.

[14:25:00]

But he was honored to be there yesterday and to be able to spend some time with the families.

Go ahead.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Two quick technical questions and one other question.

You said 6,000 had been deactivated or otherwise departed.

PSAKI: Yes.

MATTINGLY: Is that apples to apples to the 5, 400 that have been evacuated?

Are we now including people who had registered, but forgot to -- or did not register on their way out? I'm just trying to understand.

PSAKI: Sure.

Well, as we're assessing, there are people, as we -- as the State Department goes through and calls or e-mails, who say, I have departed or I have left.

That doesn't change the total number of evacuees that we have obviously provided to all of you every day on planes and transport. But, right now, we're, of course, at the point where we are trying to assess and get a final number.

MATTINGLY: OK.

And then, from a chain of command perspective, the president has been very clear his commanders on the ground have the leeway to do what they think is necessary on the ground.

For a defensive strike like we saw last night, is that something that he signs off on? Does he give the green light to that, or was that commanders on the ground who make that decision?

PSAKI: Well, I can tell you that the president has made clear to his commanders that they should stop at nothing to make ISIS pay for the deaths of those American service members at the Kabul Airport.

They have the authorities necessary. It is self-defense. Obviously, there are -- these are ISIS terrorists who killed U.S. service members, and the president is regularly briefed, but he has directed them to go after and to kill these ISIS terrorists who have taken the lives of the men and women serving our country.

MATTINGLY: OK, and one more kind of dealing with dual very high- stakes issues right now inside the White House (OFF-MIKE)

(OFF-MIKE) transfer yesterday, the most dangerous part of the mission right now, the Category 4 hurricane slamming the Gulf Coast. Can you talk about what the White House has been like over the course of the last 48 hours, given these very, very high-stakes moments that are transpiring?

PSAKI: Well, I would say that addressing crises is what government is supposed to do.

It's what any president is supposed to do, what any vice president is supposed to do, and what the senior members of a president's team are supposed to do. And so, when you have moments like this, where you are facing, as you said, multiple crises, I would add, of course, that we're continuing to fight a pandemic that has -- continues to take the lives of thousands of people every week.

You have to rely on strong and capable team members, and you have to be nimble enough to adapt quickly. But I think we would argue this is actually government working to do our best to function as best as we can. Is it tough? Yes. Are the days long? Yes.

Is it always going to be perfect? No. But this is exactly what government is supposed to be doing.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, Jen.

Back on the hurricane, is the White House seeing reports or have any data about fuel shortages with some of the refineries impacted and rail lines suspended?

PSAKI: It is something we're monitoring closely, Jeff (ph). We have not seen to date that as an issue. But we will closely monitor that and we will continue to over the coming days.

QUESTION: And is the White House, along the same lines, considering or see the need for Jones Act waivers to deal with (OFF-MIKE)

PSAKI: Well, as you noted, the Jones Act, which we talked quite a bit about just a few weeks ago, there are a range of tools at our disposal that the federal government has to address fuel supply shortages during natural disasters by issuing emergency waivers of certain fuel standards in an affected area.

And, obviously, if warranted by circumstances, EPA's temporary waivers can help ensure that adequate supply of fuel is available. EPA, as well as several components of the government, are in touch with our state partners in Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as operators of refineries, pipelines, tanks and other infrastructure to assess the situation on the ground and what needs exist to ensure the supply of transportation fuel. We have not made that assessment at this point in time, but we do have

those authorities should they be needed.

QUESTION: Last follow-up on Afghanistan, the meeting with the family yesterday. Did the president -- does the president plan to continue to stay in touch with those families?

PSAKI: Absolutely.

And he's going to continue to look for ways of honoring them and the lives that were lost last week as well.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you.

Just a few others on the ongoing evacuation, with the caveat that things are changing, winding down, numbers, as they get reported here, vs. situations on the ground.

PSAKI: Sure.

QUESTION: We heard through the weekend of Americans who were told to get to the airport and then unable to do so because of the danger on the ground.

If, for some reason, and we don't have a specific example just yet, but there very well may be depending on when the final flights out are, what would be your message to those Americans who may get left behind who were trying to get out?

PSAKI: Well, as you noted, and I appreciate the caveat, we are continuing -- we remain in touch with American citizens, as I noted at the top, to Darlene's question, and we are continuing to work to evacuate American citizens.

What our message directly would be that -- is that our commitment is enduring, and our commitment does not waver, even as we bring our men and women from the military home.

And let me just outline for you a couple of the steps that are ongoing that I expect we will give you updates on as details are finalized.