Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Homeland Security Adviser Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:38 P.M. EDT
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Good afternoon, everyone.
Q Good afternoon.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. A couple of things at the top, and then we’ll get started.
So, today, the first lady is traveling to Mexico City to lead the U.S. presidential delegation for the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum. The visit will highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Mexico.
Our countries have a strong and productive partnership, and we look forward to building on the relationship under the new president of Mexico to advance our shared priorities.
As you heard from the president earlier today, we are focused on doing everything we can to deliver critical resources to communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.
To date, the president has approved requests for federal assistance for seven states, including three major disaster declaration requests from North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as Florida.
Over the last several days, we have read out consistent briefings that the president has received from his team, including FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and his Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Rand- — -Randall, who is here with us today, as you can see to my right.
The president also spoke with N- — North Carolina Governor Ray [Roy] Cooper and Georg- — Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, along with other state and local officials in the — in the impacted areas to offer further assistance as needed.
This afternoon, at 3:30, FEMA Administrator Criswell and Governor Cooper will hold a press conference on the latest operational updates out of North Carolina.
In the 4:00 p.m. hour, Criswell and Governor Cooper will brief President Biden, and then he will have an Oval sp- — spray to read out additional updates to the pool.
And later this afternoon, the vice president will receive an in-person briefing at FEMA later — later today, as you all know.
As the president said earlier today, the na- — the nation has your back, and the Biden-Harris administration will be with you as long as it takes.
With that, it’s my pleasure to welcome back L.S.R., as we call her here.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Thanks, Karine.
I’m going to move that a little bit, Karine.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Why don’t I do this?
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: This is so (inaudible).
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know — I know you have a lot to share today, so let me move that out of your way.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Thank you. I do.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Q Good afternoon.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: I’m here today to brief you on the federal response to Hurricane Helene. But, first, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the lives lost across the region impacted by the hurricane and those survivors whose lives will never be the same.
My heart goes out to those who’ve lost loved ones and those who are worrying about whether their loved ones are still alive. And our administration and our nation is standing with the people impacted by this hurricane.
To the disaster survivors across the region, the Biden-Harris administration is committed to supporting you every step of the way as you begin your recovery and you start to heal.
For survivors in Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina whose governors have requested major disaster declarations, the president approved them immediately over the weekend.
And we urge those citizens who are seeking FEMA assistance to sign up for that assistance as quickly as possible. You can do that either by calling 1-800-621-3362, registering on DisasterAssistance.gov, or by filling out an application on your mobile device through the FEMA app.
And that brings me to our response.
Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, we are providing urgent and extensive federal support for the ongoing response and recovery efforts to Hurricane Helene.
Over the weekend, at the president’s direction, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell traveled to Florida on Saturday, to Georgia on Sunday, and, today, she is in North Carolina accompanying Governor Cooper in surveying impacts to the affected communities in western North Carolina.
The president has asked Deanne Criswell to remain in Asheville, North Carolina, given how acute the situation is on the ground there, and he will receive an update from her this afternoon and from Governor Cooper, in addition to the press conference that the administrator and the governor will hold today.
Also, as the president said earlier today, he is committed to traveling to impacted arears — areas later this week, as soon as his presence will not disrupt vital emergency response operations.
So, I want to walk you through what happens as we’re facing a hurricane predicted w- — to have the kind of impacts that Helene has had.
First of all, what we do before a storm. As Helene was developing in the Gulf, the president directed FEMA to pre-position specialized capabilities across the region, including deploying Incident Management Assistance Teams to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. These teams support our state plan- — our state partners in planning, in logistics, and in conducting their emergency response operations.
This included pre-positioning a number of search and rescue teams — federal search and rescue teams, in addition to the state and local teams, temporary power teams, generators, and health and medical assessment teams.
These efforts focused on the Big Bend area of Florida, saved lives in the state, and they prepared us to respond elsewhere in the region.
Now, if we know anything about storms — and we’ve learned a lot in our years in service together — it’s that Mother Nature has a mind of her own. As good as our technologies are, as good as our National Hurricane Center is, it’s just a forecast. And when a storm hits, we have to adapt and respond in real time, just as the storm has the effects in real time that it is having, and then there are knock-on effects of that storm, such as flooding.
As we evaluated impacts from the storm, we shifted into the post-landfall phase of our process, and we began to surge capacity to where it was needed the most.
As of today, we have more than 3,500 federal response personnel deployed and supporting response efforts across the region, including more than 1,000 personnel from FEMA.
Search and rescue efforts by state, local, and federal partners are ongoing, and nearly 600 additional personnel will arrive in the region in the coming days, increasing the total number of urban search and rescue personnel to over 1,250.
And as search and rescue missions in other states wind down, these teams are focusing on the areas of greatest need, including North Carolina, where our federal teams continue to support state and local teams with rethcu- — rescues where the devastation is most acute.
Also at the par- — at the president’s direction, the Department of Defense has activated additional helicopters to aid in search and rescue operations and has provided dozens of high-water vehicles to get into areas that it’s difficult to access.
The National Guard, in their state capacity, is also supporting these efforts. National Guardsmen and women from eight additional states are supporting North Carolina under existing Emergency Mutual Assistance Compacts, known as EMACs, with more than 700 personnel, helicopters, a cargo plane, and rescue vehicles to help with road clearance, provision of commodities, transportation, and search and rescue.
This is the best of America. We have National Guard coming in as far as from Connecticut, Ohio, and New York, who are deploying to North Carolina to support their fellow citizens in need.
In addition, about 200 medical responders are also stationed in Flora, Al- — Florida, Alabama, and North Carolina, along with medical equipment and supplies to ensure the continued health care delivery that is required following the landfall of Hurricane Helene. And the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency for Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia, which gives health providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
In order for communities to begin functioning again, we all know it’s critical to have power restored, and I want to tell you about what we’re doing on this front, because that is truly the fundamental lifeline sector.
As of this morning, about 2 million people are still without power across the impacted states, at least 50,000 personnel from 31 states and D.C. and Canada are responding to power outages throughout the region via established mutual assistance agreements between utilities and working around the clock throughout parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to restore power to those communities that can receive it, where the infrastructure can take power on the lines.
FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are also making available generators of many different sizes that are ready to be deployed upon the request of any state. And as power is being restored throughout parts of Florida and Georgia, power crews are bo- — being moved into other states to assist with additional restoration efforts.
We see power outage numbers improving where restoration teams are able to gain access to communities and the debris is cleared.
Once we get power restored, we can then get a lot of other things working again. Utilities; water utilities, in particular; communication systems; medical and health care facilities are those capabilities that depend, of course, on a source of power supply to function.
We’re also very focused on restoring communications capabilities. FEMA, the FCC, and private telecommunications providers are working together to help restore temporary communications as quickly as possible by establishing temporary cell sites and allowing for roaming where possible, where a resident can connect to any network available, even if they aren’t subscribed to that network.
Today, FEMA will install 30 Starlink receivers in western North Carolina to provide immediate connectivity for those in greatest need.
We’re also very focused on how we reach survivors at their point of need. This has been a lesson we have learned from the beginning of President Biden’s presidency — that those who most need the help have the hardest time accessing that help, and he has directed us to work to evolve FEMA practices so we can really get to those who need us the most.
In states that have requested and have received major disaster declarations, FEMA is expediting the delivery of its Serious Needs Assistance, which is an immediate $750 direct payment to eligible households to allow them to pay for essential items like food, baby formula, water, medications, and other emergency supplies.
This is not the full extent of FEMA’s assistance to individuals, but it’s the first element of it that becomes immediately available with a major disaster declaration, and it gets people cash when they’re absolutely desperate for it.
In addition, survivors who register for the FEMA Individual Assistance Program will be eligible to receive assistance to help repair their homes, cars, and other personal property in conjunction with their own insurance policies.
FEMA is working, as it always does, to open Disaster Recovery Centers in impacted communities. What’s important about these centers is they aggregate federal support in one place. It used to be the case that survivors had to go to multiple different departments and agencies to find out what kind of help they could get access to. What we do is we put everyone together, either in a standing building that survived the natural disaster or in a trailer, if that’s necessary.
For example, we’ve opened three Disaster Recovery Centers today in Manatee County, Sarasota County, and Hillsborough County, Florida.
If survivors cannot get to such a facility — and we think that will likely be the place in a place like Asheville and its surrounding areas — we send people door to door. FEMA literally goes knocking with an iPad in hand so they can help people register for the assistance they need, because they may not have power, their cell phone may has — have run out, and they need someone to help them get registered quickly.
In North Carolina, we’re focused right now on clearing roads and removing debris, restoring communications and power, and ensuring access to health care and the continued flow of commodities and food — commodities like food and water to where they’re most needed.
Today, we’ve heard they’ve reopened 220 roads, which will help enable responders and critical commodities to begin moving via ground transportation.
While FEMA has been at the forefront of the response, and it’s very meaningful to have them on the ground, they serve as the coordinator of the orchestra of a wide-ranging federal response, and that’s something a lot of people don’t understand.
What FEMA does is it mission assigns — that’s the term of art, quote, “mission assigns” — roles and responsibilities across our government in the wake of a disaster. And so, what they do is coordinate the identification of and delivery of those resources when they’re needed and where they’re needed.
I want to go through some of what other departments and agencies are doing so you can hear the full scope of the federal response, which gives more clarity than just saying, “FEMA is doing this.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deployed power restoration teams, including in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where Asheville is — Asheville is located, for temporary emergency power, debris removal, and infrastructure assessment, including for dams throughout the region.
The Department of Defense has mobilized 22 helicopters in support to response in western North Carolina. Staged at Fort Liberty in North Carolina, there are multiple helicopters available to support air bridge operations to move personnel and necessary supplies and equipment into the disaster area.
Four helicopters from DOD are actively supporting the urgent search and rescue operations that are ongoing in western North Carolina. The other 18 are helping to move response personnel and deliver critical commodities and support into remote and isolated communities that are not accessible right — by road right now.
DOD has also made available, as I mentioned, 30 high-water vehicles available for search and rescue and has set up five Incident Support Bases across the region to continue providing support to those who need it in the surrounding areas.
The U.S. Coast Guard has thousands of personnel working on response efforts and is conducting post-storm assessments to support the rapid reopening of impacted ports in Florida.
The U.S. Department of Energy has responders deployed across the region, primarily in the State Emergency Operations Centers.
While I noted that power restoration numbers are trending in the right direction, it’s important to remember that these will be complex, multiday efforts in many locations due to the extent of damage and the ongoing access issues.
Utilities are facing widespread flooding and debris that is impeding access to damaged infrastructure, and one of the things we’ve learned in prior incidents like this is it’s really important to set public expectations about when they can anticipate that power will return so that they take the necessary steps to be safe and to secure additional support — for example, moving into a shelter — if power isn’t going to come on for some time where they live.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, a very important player in this space in — in rural areas, has deployed personnel to the impacted region to extend much-needed emergency credit to farmers and agriculture producers who lost crops and livestock across all the impacted states, but in particular, in the Big Bend region of Florida and in southern Georgia.
The Environmental Protection Agency has personnel on the ground who are offering technical assistance and guidance on water systems, which have been significantly damaged in a number of locations, on debris management, and on maintaining critical public health and environmental protections as storm impacts are assessed.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has also deployed more than 50 personnel to support survivors and small businesses as they recover from the hurricane.
So, that’s a sense for you of the range of capabilities that surge when we say we’re doing everything we can to help impacted communities, and more will follow as we know more about the impacts. We honestly don’t know the full extent of the damage; it probably will take several more days as communities begin to be opened up by the debris clearance on the roads and we can get in and really understand what’s happened to them.
Unfortunately, we know that the first information we receive is often wrong in the wake of a disaster, and that the early days are brutally hard for the people who are in the most heavily impacted communities. Since 2021, we have seen this play out across the nation, from Florida to California to Maui, from Kentucky to New York.
As the president has directed, we will do everything we can, first, to save lives, alleviate suffering, and help communities to recover and eventually rebuild. And we will focus especially on survivors who have the hardest time accessing the help we can provide, as I noted, because as Americans, we are all in this together.
Thank you for giving me a chance to lay that down for you, and I’m glad to take a few questions.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. And L.S.R. has to go see the POTUS pretty soon.
Go ahead. Go ahead, Jeff.
Q Thanks very much. Liz, a couple different topics. One, you talked about people’s inability to communicate because of lack of power, et cetera. Can you give us any sense of how — you know, whether you’re working with mobile phone companies or the private sector at all to help boost the ability to communicate?
And secondly, do you have any sense — do you have any sense now of where the death toll is going and what the cost of rebuilding will be?
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: So, on the effort to get communications restored, we work with — I, not personally — but FEMA works with — and — with the FCC and with private-sector companies. All of the major providers participate in this. And as you heard me say, if you’re not — let’s imagine — a customer of AT&T, but Verizon is able to get some coverage in your region, you’ll get free roaming in order to get access.
We’re also moving in Starlink receivers, as I said, because we need more capability where we think it will be a while before any of those cell towers that we would normally be dependent upon will be working again.
So, we have a multipronged effort when we need to get communications capabilities and involving a variety of technologies. Some of them are more novel solutions. Some of them are more traditional.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: On —
Q Hold on. I have a —
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: I’ll just say, on the death count you asked about.
Q And —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, sorry.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: So, we really —
Q — and cost.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: — we — the current data we have is that it looks like there could be as many as 600 lost lives, but we don’t have any confirmation of that. We know there are 600 who are either lost or unaccounted for. And so, that work is ongoing.
I’ll caution you, because we’ve seen this before, those numbers vary widely. There’s a lot of reporting that doesn’t add up about the numbers. And so, while we may see the numbers go up as we get to more locations that have not yet been fully developed, in terms of disaster immediate emergency response operations, we may see more people who unfortunately perished, but we may also not see the numbers skyrocket as people have predicted they might. So, I would just urge you to wait until we have the facts, and we’ll report them to you as we have them.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Zeke.
Q Thanks, Liz. You mentioned that the run-up to the storm, the — the focus of the preparations was on the Big Bend area of Florida and then it moved as the storm moved inland. Were you surprised by the impacts on the flooding side? Was there something wrong in the forecast that you should have pre-positioned assets differently to prepare for this sort of situation?
You know, I know that there’ll be time for an after-action report later, but are you now at the point where you — where now you’re kicking yourself that you didn’t do something, you know, Thursday or Friday?
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: So, we can never know exactly where a storm will go. Of course, we will do, with our colleagues who do the weather predictions, an analysis of what we knew and what we didn’t know and how that evolved. We were very concerned about a major hit on a city like Tallahassee, which could have catastrophic impacts.
When the storms make landfall, as you know, they’re — they’re at their highest velocity. The force of a — of a hurricane when it makes land is very powerful. It usually reduces in strength as it moves overland. So, that initial landfall place in the Big Bend was a major concern for us.
But we were also worried about the storm moving into other areas and having significant wind effects and flooding effects, and that’s what we briefed to the president, as we saw the storm moving in our direction — in the direction of the Southeastern United States, and we kept him apprised as we saw the evolution moving north through a variety of states.
We can’t know everything in advance. And what — one of the reasons we surge capabilities into the region is then to be able to get them closer. They can’t be in the spot the hurricane is going to hit in advance. They have to be in a location in which they wouldn’t be affected and then move in. So having the resources in the Southeast already was very beneficial for all the states in the region.
Q And you mentioned the importance of setting expectations right. So, for the folks who are the affected areas who are able to consume this now — hopefully, to the extent that they can — what — how long should they be expecting to wait now to access, you know, their base needs — you know, power, water, food, shelter — until the federal government can provide that for them?
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Well, we are moving now to get food and water, medical supplies, and other essential survival needs into the most devastated areas in North Carolina. That’s what I described about using DOD helicopters, for example, to move into areas which are not accessible by ground.
I was referencing the point that I think — we all experience this: When the power goes out, you want to know how fast it’s going to come back on. In a situation like this with this much devastation, it could be a long time. So, you can’t just wait it out. You may need — and this is really for people listening, you may need to make alternative arrangements to get to a shelter where you can be safe and get access to electricity to power your phone; where you could get pharmaceuticals if you need them, if you lost everything; where you can begin to work toward the rebuilding of the basics of your life while your community is — is addressing the consequences of these devastating storms.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I have to wrap it up, sadly. Go ahead.
Q Yeah. Thank you, Liz, for providing all this information and reminding us that the numbers could change. I just want to fact-check two things with you —
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Yeah.
Q — if I could, given that you oversee homeland security broadly. First of all, did the president speak with Georgia Governor Kemp yesterday?
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Yes, yes.
Q Have they spoken again today?
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: President Kemp has said so in public. He spoke —
Q Governor. Governor Kemp.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: I’m sorry, Governor Kemp has said so yesterday. Thank you for correcting me.
The president spoke to Governor Kemp yesterday. Governor Kemp has stated today that he spoke to the president and appreciated the offer of all the help. The president has offered, “Anything you need.” So, if the governor would like to speak to the president again, of course the president will take his call. If the governor wants to submit a major da- — disaster declaration, we’ll move that very quickly through our system.
And we’re working very closely with every state in the impacted region. And we extend a hand. We work with the state emergency operations managers, the whole team in place, in every location. And that’s work that we’ve been doing not just in the wake of a hurricane, but we do it all the time to build those relationships, strengthen our capabilities, plan for and prepare for disasters.
Q And given that homeland security is your portfolio and the Secret Service falls under homeland security, let me ask you one other sort of fact-check here. Donald Trump alleges on social media, quote, “The Democrats are interfering with my Campaign by not giving us the proper number of people within Secret Service that are necessary for Security… They’re using them for themselves, even though they don’t need them.” Is that true?
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: The president has directed the Secret Service to provide every necessary resource and capability that is required to ensure the safety of the former president of the United States.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. April, you have the last one.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Thank you. I have to go.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, sorry.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Okay, one more. April. Okay.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, April. Go ahead. Quickly.
Q Two questions.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: I’ve got one minute exactly.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, because she has to go to see POTUS.
Q Okay. Two questions, and you can answer them fast if you can.
In the short term — you talk about the immediate short term, but what about the long term with this devastation? Number one, housing for those who do not have shelter. What are you thinking? I mean, there have been lessons learned since Katrina as to how — how to house people.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: We work — we work on immediate sheltering capabilities with the Red Cross and others. We provide funding for people to get access to hotels and to — and potentially to move into longer-term accommodations if they need them. That’s part of the FEMA process.
Q And what about insurance? Because that has been a big thing when these kind of situations happen.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: If — if people have insurance, that’s, of course, very important for rebuilding. If they do not have insurance, they have access to federal assistance.
But it’s a long road to recovery for people because there’s so much work to be done. We have to acknowledge that.
I just want to clarify one thing. When I said there could be up to 600 people lost, my point was there are 600 people unaccounted for. That’s the number we’re tracking right now and that we can essentially validate from multiple sources, but we don’t know. And as the president said this morning, we’re very hopeful that some of those people just don’t have cell phones working and actually are alive.
We experienced that in Maui, when the numbers were extremely high in the beginning and they came way down. Ultimately, tragically, 101 people lost their lives, but it was not in the thousands, as we were initially concerned it might be.
Thank you all.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you so much, Liz.
Q Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right.
DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Thanks, Karine.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No problem. Thank you.
Sorry, she didn’t have a lot of time.
Q Well, she spent 14 minutes reading her statement.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, it was 14 minutes of laying down for the American people — not just for all of you — of how this works. We have people who are indeed suffering and waiting and wanting to hear not just from the local government and the state government but also from the federal government: What are we doing — right? — what are we doing to help them and how we’re working together.
And I think what you just heard from Liz is how we’re working in tandem together with local, state, and federal government to help the people in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. And I think that matters. I think that matters. And I think it’s important from them — for them to hear from the people who are actually doing the work.
And she gave a laydown, and I’m sure — I know I did — I learned how this all works and how the communication works amongst — amongst all of us. And what is available, also, is incredibly important.
I do want to read a quote, because this is really important to Ed’s question. Governor Kemp — this is what Liz was saying — said in his press conference earlier today: “So, I just spoke to” — yesterday — “I just spoke to the president. He just called me. He just called me yesterday afternoon.” So, he said this this morning. “I missed him and called him right back. And he just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him, ‘You know, we got what we need. We’ll work through the federal process.’ He offered and if there’s other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.” That was a quote directly from Governor Kemp.
So, this is to continue the fact-checking that Ed asked us to do.
All right. Go ahead, Zeke.
Q Thanks, Karine. Turning overseas.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q What is the level of knowledge that the U.S. has about Israel’s intentions on its nor- — northern border? Has the U.S. been briefed on specific operational plans to launch some sort of ground incursion into Lebanon?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m not going to get into private diplomatic conversations from here. Certainly would refer to the IDF to speak to their own military operations and their plans, as we normally do. But we do understand that the strategic purpose of this is to make sure that Hezbollah cannot maintain the capacity to attack Israeli communities from the immediate opposite side of the border. And so, that is our understanding. But I’m not going to go into specifics of — of our diplomatic conversations here.
Q And is that a — a goal that the president and this administration is supportive of?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, what we will say and what I will say to you — and we say this all the time; this is nothing new — that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hezbollah, against Iran-backed groups. We’re talking about Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis. And so, we are in constant discussion with the Israelis on the best way to move forward. And we would certainly refer you to any, as I said moments ago, seconds ago — to the Israelis on their own ground operation.
Of course — of course we want to see a ceasefire. That — that would give us the space, as we have been saying, of diplomacy and enable citizens — right? — to go back to their homes on both sides. And, ultimately, a diplomatic resolution is what we want to see and what we want to make sure is — is — that — that is in place, and we’re going to certainly continue to have those conversations with Israelis and others on how to make that happen.
Q And then, just briefly, the president this morning said he was anticipating needing a supplemental for disaster relief. (Inaudible.) When will he send that to the Hill? And does he have a dollar figure in mind yet?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And so, look, you know that we provided a robust emergency supplemental to — to — for the CR — right? — for the — for the CR that — that didn’t go through, that didn’t make it. And so, we’re going to continue to have those conversation. We are disappointed that that didn’t go through. We’re going to continue to have those conversation. As the president said, we’re in constant communications with members — members in Congress, and we want to make sure that they move quickly on this — they move quickly on this.
I don’t have details or specifics, but we did — we did provide a robust — a robust request on more additional funding for these types of emergencies to continue that, and it didn’t go through. And we were certainly disappointed to see that.
Go ahead. Right behind Zeke.
Q Yeah, if he does decide to ask for a supplemental, will he have to call Congress back, or is there another way to do it?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He was — the was the president was asked about that and —
Q Yeah, but (inaudible) —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He just said it’s something that certainly he — he is considering. I just don’t have anything. I’m not going to get too much into hypotheticals.
Q And — and given —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — the urgency of this, when would we expect to know if he was going to ask everyone, how much it is, and if he’s calling them back?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I don’t have anything to add on — on if he’s going to call them back, how much it is, which is very similar to the question that I got from Zeke.
We did provide a robust supplemental component to — to get more funding in the CR. It didn’t make it through. It did not — was not included. But what we’re doing right now, and I think it’s important — and you heard that from Liz, you’ve heard that from the administrator — let’s not forget the FEMA administrator was here in this room on Thursday because we wanted to make sure that people understood what was happening and what was coming.
But we’re going to do everything that we can to make sure that they — Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, the impacted areas — have the — have the resources that they need to deal with the devastation and the aftermath of this.
Go ahead.
Q Karine, the president said this morning that, quote, “I’m comfortable with them stopping,” with regards to the Israeli potential incursion into Lebanon. What did he mean by that? And does that mean he’s uncomfortable with them continuing?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I answered that question, which is we believe that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah and Iran-backed groups. We have said that. We’ve also have said that Israel is in a — in a tough neighborhood. You’ve heard us say that. They really are. And so, we believe they have the right to defend itself.
What we also want to see is a diplomatic resolution here. We do want to see a ceasefire. Ultimately, that’s what we need to see in order to get to a place where we can get to a ceasefire — right? — where we — where we can see citizens going back to their homes on both sides.
So, that still remains to be true. And — but do we want to see — ultimately, want to see — get to a place where we get to a diplomatic resolution? Yes, that’s what we want to see. For sure.
Q So, he’s uncomfortable with them continuing?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No. What I — we have said is — consistently — Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah. We are not shedding tears over a terrorist that was killed. That terrorist has American blood on their hands. And so, we’re certainly not going to shed a tear over that.
We have been very clear Israel has right to defend itself. We’ve been very clear that the security of Israel — when it comes to its security, our support is ironclad. That has not changed. That has not changed.
Q And, Karine, switching —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — to the hurricane. Our reporting teams on the ground say that there are many residents there who are frustrated that more aid has not been distributed, and some of them haven’t seen the federal government th- — there for days. What would you say to those folks?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I will say is: Certainly, our hearts go out to them. Obviously, this is a tough, difficult time. And what I will also say is we have their back, and we can understand that. We can understand how things are incredibly confusing right now, incredibly difficult right now. Some people don’t even know if their loved ones are alive or not.
And so, what I can say and what the president has said and I think what Liz has iterated as well is that we want to make sure that they have — the folks who are in the impacted areas have everything that they need, the resources.
We have the FEMA administrator, who’s on the ground today. She’s going to be holding a press conference with the North governor — North Carolina, pardon me, governor in about 30 minutes or so and going to talk about what they see and what the federal government, what FEMA is going to continue to do, working with the state and local governments as well.
We are on the ground. We are on the ground.
And as you know, there was a reason why the F- — the FEMA administrator was here on Thursday to lay out what we were doing ahead of time, how we were pre-positioned on the ground, and warning people — and warning people, because we understood that that is also part of our job. But, you know, we’re going to do everything that we can. We’re going to do everything that we can.
Q Following up on a previous question —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — quickly. You — you said — you mentioned pre-positioning.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q And she did mention that assets and resources were pre-positioned in Big Bend. I know that question was asked before, but bluntly, should more resources have been pre-positioned in and around North Carolina?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I th- — I think Liz kind of talked about that — about when she was asked a question on our prediction of the storm and how bad it was. And so, certainly I’ll — I’ll let the experts speak to this. But again, pre-positioned — we had generators, food, water, along with re- — search and rescue and power restoration.
And right now, we have U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They’re moving generators into — into impacted areas.
We have — 3,600 personnel from across the federal workforce are deployed in support ca- — supporting Hurricane Helene. This includes 24 federal urban research [search] and rescue task force, over 1,300 personnel working to rescue people who may be s- — who may be stranded. To date, they have rescued about and supported over 1,400 people across the impacted areas. These are — if you think about the f- — the — the federal employees who are part of these agencies — right? — FEMA and others — this is what they do. This is what they do. This is what they’re trained to do. This is what they’re ready to do.
And it doesn’t matter where — which state it is, right? It doesn’t matter if it’s a red state or a blue state. This is their job: to get food there, to get generators there, to save some lives, to rescue people.
And so, we are very proud of the work that they’ve done, and we understand that people are very much suffering on the — on the ground and trying to figure out what is going on.
And we have our folks there, and we’re going to do the best that we can.
Go ahead, Peter.
Q Thank you, Karine. Thirteen thousand people who have been convicted of murder crossed the border illegally and are living among us. So, how much danger are U.S. communities in right now —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So —
Q — because of this?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — I’m assuming you’re talking about the ICE data?
Q Yes.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, just a couple of things, and I think it’s important to — to correct the record here.
First of all, the false — the — the false representation of the data ICE shared — so, that was what we are seeing: false representation. I got to call that out. We got to call that out. And it’s been fact-checked by some of your colleagues here, by multiple — multiple — multiple outlets. That has been debunked on what has been falsely misrepresenta- — or mis- — misrepresented here. So, we have to call that out.
And so, look, this is —
Q Can you clarify what the misrepresentation is?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The numbers that is being put out about how many people are out is been falsely rep- — represented here. If you look at the total returns and removal of the past year, that has been higher than every year under the previous administrations since — since 2010. If you look at it.
And if we’re going to report something — a data that’s out there — we got to do it in a way that is not — not confusing the American people and certainly not lying. And so, there has been — this has been fact-checked — been fact-checked.
And so, this is — the way that is being fals- — falsely represented here is just not okay. And though — got to be really clear about that.
Q On Helene. People in western North Carolina were drowning in their houses this weekend. Others were losing everything. President Biden was at his beach house, and Vice President Harris was hosting political fundraisers on the West Coast. Is there a reason that they could not be here?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The president did exactly what a president in this moment needs to do, which is directing his team to take action. One of the reasons that the FEMA administrator was here in this room on Thursday is the president wanted to make sure that we were sending a message out to folks who were going to be impacted by the hurricane and also wanted her to share how we were pre-positioning on the ground.
Remember, these are folks who do this type of stuff. When you think about FEMA, you think about the Red Cross, you think about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this is what they do. This is what they do.
And so, the president was on the phone — he said this when he was asked a question by one of your colleagues — for more than two hours yesterday with governors and local elected officials making sure that they have what they — they needed.
You heard me talk about Governor Kemp and what he said to the president himself. He said this and shared this in a press conference — that the president has provided and said, “What else do you need?” And he actually said to the president, “We have what we need.” So — and that’s a — as you know, a Republican governor.
And look — and I talked about how the vice president also did her calls. She’s going to be going to the FEMA — FEMA agency in a — in — the center — the center to — to get her briefing later this afternoon. The president is continuing — continuing to have these conversations with folks on the ground, elected officials on the ground, to make sure that they have what they need and directing his team —
Q And —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — to keep pushing.
Q — one more. How worried are folks at the White House that a port strike that could make things like fruits and vegetables more expensive could make it a lot harder for Vice President Harris to win the election?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to talk about an election from here. That’s not what we’re going to do. That is — when it comes to making sure that workers are — are paid and wages and the economy is working and that we’re lowering costs for the American people, that is just the right thing to do. And that’s what this president focuses on every day, day in and day out: How do we have an economy that works for all?
When it comes to this particular question that you’re asking me, we’ve said this many times, nothing has changed. We support collective bartering [bargaining]. It is the best way for American workers and employers to come to a fair agreement. We encourage all parties to come to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.
Senior officials from the White House, Labor Department, and Transportation Department are in touch with the parties to urge them to return to the table and negotiate in good faith towards the — an agreement that benefits all sides, and do it fairly and quickly. And this is something that we have said, and we’re going to continue to push forward on.
Q Is the vice president involved in these negotiations?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say — I just named the secretaries that are involved — Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Secretary Ju- — Julie Su, and the director of National Economic Council, Lael Brainard.
What I can say is the president and the vice president are being regularly updated about the situation. And I know there’s a question about the Taft-Hartley. We — we never — we have never invoked the Taft-Hartley to break a strike and are not considering to doing so now. But this is a president that has been called a “pro-union president” by labor — by the labor unions, because of how much he believes that the union built the middle class.
And so, that’s what you’re going to continue to see from this president. He’ll stay regularly updated.
Q Okay. Thanks.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Selina.
Q Thanks, Karine. Former President Donald Trump is in Georgia in a region that’s been hard hit. Now, given all the security that’s needed to accommodate him, is his visit putting a strain on resources there or impacting relief efforts?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here’s what I can say, and you’ve heard this from this president earlier today in his remarks, where he said he will visit the impacted communities this week and is taking caution — he is taking caution to avoid using critical resources that is needed right now on the road that — on the ground that people need. And so, that should be everyone’s top consideration right now. That’s what we should be doing. That’s what we should be focusing. And I’ll leave it there.
Q So, were there any requests for Trump to delay his visit?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I’m not getting into any more than what I just stated.
The president has been really clear about how he sees his presence on the ground. As you know, when the president travel, it’s a big footprint. In this particular moment, he wants to make sure that he’s not taking away resou- — resources. He wants to make sure that it is not taking away from the emergency resources that are on the ground. And, as I just stated, he believes everybody should adhere — adhere to that.
Q And in terms of the dockworkers that are set to go on strike, at what point would the president be willing to intervene? How long would he allow that to go on and at what cost to the American economy?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. I’m not. Not from here.
Q Would the president consider walking the picket line?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into hypotheticals.
We believe that collective bargaining is i- — is important here. We’ve always said that. We believe that both sides should come to the table in good faith and get to an agreement, a fair agreement.
Q Has there been any progress in those conversations?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I just don’t have anything else to share here.
Go ahead, Jeff. Yeah.
Q On a separate top- —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.
Q — a different topic. The incoming prime minister of Japan has said — he’s called out or proposed the idea of a “Asia NATO.” I’m wondering if that’s something that the president would consider.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I haven’t spoken to the president about that. As you know, there’s one NATO. The NATO has grow- — grown by two countries, which is because of the president’s leadership.
Let’s not forget, when Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought that NATO was going to be weaker, and that did not happen. The president certainly was able to make NATO stronger because of his leadership. And that’s going to be what we’re going to focus on.
Q I think he is suggesting a separate alliance that would involve Asia countries.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No — no, I hear — I heard your —
Q He also said the idea of putting Japanese troops on Guam. I don’t know if that’s something the president would consider.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just — not something that I’ve spoken directly to the president about.
What I can say is what the president has done with the current NATO and making it stronger. And it has been important, if you think about Ukraine, if you think about what Ukraine has been trying to do over the almost three years, which is, certainly, fight for their sovereignty and fight for their democracy, which is something that we’re going to continue to support, Ukraine and those — those NATO — NATO countries as well, which is much stronger — stronger than Putin ever thought they would be in this time.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Karine. First on the Middle East. Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to convene his War Cabinet this evening to chart next steps. What has President Biden communicated that the U.S. would hope they decide
to do?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m not going to comment or get into hypotheticals about decisions that Israeli government are making or IDF is making. Certainly — certainly would let them speak for themselves.
We have been very clear: Israel has the right to defend itself, especially against these Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. We will continue to have those direct conversations with them. But IDF, Israel government can certainly speak to that.
And, also, have conversations — continue our diplomatic conversations on the right — on the right way forward — or the path forward. I just don’t have anything else to share.
Q A lot of those diplomatic conversations happened over the weekend as Israel was conducting these raids in Lebanon. Is the outcome one that those diplomatic conversations were — were discussing? Were U.S. officials offering their support for the
way that Israel proceeded?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say is that — I’m not going to speak — again, not going to speak to private diplomatic conversation. What I said moments ago, which is we understand the strategic purpose of this is to make sure that Hezbollah cannot maintain the capacity to attack Israeli communities from the immediate opposite side of the border. That’s what we understand.
I’m just not going to get into — get into specifics or into diplo- — diplomatic conversations from here.
Q It’s now been five days, though, since the U.S. and Western allies publicized the discussions over this 21-day ceasefire proposal. Is there still any hope that that
gets put together?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you know, this is a president that’s hopeful and optimistic, and you hear him say that —
Q But realistically, given the conversations that are happening.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I — well, you — you asked me if that is hopeful, right? So, look, we believe the way to get to a ceasefire is to have this diplomatic resolution, to get us some space to have a dipl- — diplomatic solution. That’s ultimately the way to get there.
And so, we nee- — we understand that we need a ceasefire in Lebanon to provide that — that space for diplomacy. That’s what we’re going to continue to have discussions — those discussions continue with Israel. So, that is what we’re going to focus on.
And what we want to see is a de-escalation. That’s what we’ve been saying. We want to see a de-escalation.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Karine. You mentioned that the vice president is going to be coming back and having a briefing at FEMA later today about Helene —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, 4- — about 4 o’clock, I think. Yeah.
Q Could you give us a sense for what she has been doing so far in response to this hurricane? Is she in briefings with the president? Is she getting briefed separately? And what is her role going to be going forward?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say is that she has — certainly has been kept briefed on the situation in the — certainly, the affected areas, the aftermath. She’s going to get a briefing directly at FE- — at FEMA — at the FEMA center when she gets back.
She — she didn’t continue with some of her campaign activities today because she wanted to make sure to get back and — and go to the FEMA center. Anything else — and I know she’s had conversations with elected officials on the ground in those impacted areas. I would have to refer you to her team to get more specifics on — on what else.
Q And then a question about one of the policies that the vice president rolled out on Friday about immigration. She said that she would go further than what the president has done with executive action to limit asylum access at the border.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q Do you have any response to that? Is that the position of the White House that the administration should be going further than what you’ve done so far?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I think, look, when we — when it comes to — I got to be careful — campaign policy announced. So, going to certainly let the campaign speak specifically about what they’re announcing and what they’re looking to do on their side of — their side of things.
But we’ve always said, and we’ve al- — whether it’s the economy, whether it’s the border that, you know, the vice president was going to build upon what we’ve been able to do. That is — you know, the — the good work that we’ve been able to do together, whether it’s the economy, health care, getting some of these historic pieces of legislation passed that’s going to help Americans for generations to come.
We also understand and see and what she’s been able to do is build on the success. And so, I think that’s what you’re seeing from the vice president. And the pr- — this is a vice president that has been a critical partner to this — to this president over the last three and a half years. And so, we — you know, we look forward to see what she’s going to be doing down the road.
Go ahead, April.
Q Thank you, Karine.
Q Karine, hi.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I did not ca- — I’ll call you afterwards.
Go ahead, April.
Q The issue of Angola. Why Angola for President Biden now, specifically, as other presidents have gone to other countries, and Angola is, like, something totally new since the Clinton administration for a U.S. president?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. So, he’s going to be holding a bilateral and multilateral meetings to discuss increased collaboration of shared pa- — priorities, including a signature project of G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, PGI, Africa’s first transcontinental open-access rail network that starts — that starts in Lobito and ultimately will connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. I think that’s a pretty important reason why to go to Angola.
This will be the first visit of a president to — to Angola. That’s also, I think, important to note as well. And so, we’re going to celebrate the evolution of the U.S.-Angola relationship, underscore the United States’ continued commitment to African partners, and demonstrate how those type of collaborative partnerships can solve shared challenges that both countries have.
Q So, anything on oil, by any chance, since Angola is oil rich? And also — and also —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — what about the considerations about some of the other countries, like Nigeria or South Africa? Those have been — Ghana, Uganda —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — those have been some places that presidents — Rwanda — some —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I hear you.
Q — of the presidents — yeah.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, he’s going to be abroad from the 10th to the 15th of October. We’re going to go to Berlin, Germany, and then we’re going to stop over at Angola. I just laid out the PGI, the important connection there that Angola has to an initiative that the president created. And I think that is — right there, that — that connection with the Atlantic Ocean to the India O- — the Indian Ocean, that Angola is going to play a big role is — is important. It’s going to make a difference in that region. And this is also, again, part of the president’s initiative that he created.
And no other president has been there. No other president has been to Angola.
Q I know.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I think that’s important to note as well.
Q Does this have something to do with the grain situation that was held up because of the Russia-Ukraine war, trying to help get grains to African nations? Because President Zelenskyy did express that to —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — I understand, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, as well as Greg Meeks, who sits on Foreign Affairs Committee in the House. Is this some of that too?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I will say is the president has said that he was going to go to the continent. He has said that he was going to do that. He wanted to keep his promise.
Angola makes a lot of sense, especially for an initiative like PGI, an initiative that the president started. There’s a connection there. There’s a thruway that makes a lot of sense. No other president has visited the country. And so, it made sense for the president to go there, because there are important initiatives not just to the co- — African continent but also for us here and other of our partners and allies. And so, it made the most sense to make that — to make that trip.
Q Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And you’ll see us next month doing that.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you. So, the president didn’t seem comfortable this morning with a ground operation in Lebanon. He said he was “comfortable with them stopping.” Now it seems imminent. Did the president take any action to try to prevent a ground operation in Lebanon?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, say that one — say that one more time.
Q So, this morning, President Biden said —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — that he was comfortable with them stopping, about Israel. And so, did he take any action to try to prevent such an operation in Lebanon?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m not going to get into diplomatic conversations from here. What I’ve been saying multiple times is Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah, against Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah, like Hamas, and also the Houthis. They are in a — in a difficult neighborhood — right? — if — to say the least. And they have to have the ability to defend themselves.
And so, that’s what we support. That’s what we believe. That’s what we have said. We’re going to have conversations with the Israeli government about the best way forward, the best way to move forward. But I’m not going to get into diplomatic conversations.
But I have been very clear: We believe that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah.
Q Lebanon is very small, so when Israel, for instance, attacked Beirut — south Beirut, many people who have no link with Hezbollah are being hit. It will be the same if they do a ground operation in Lebanon. It won’t be only the Hezbollah who’s going to be targeted. So, does the White House still support this ground operation in Lebanon?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, are you talking — so, say that one more time.
Q Does — you — you say that, basically, the goal is to target Hezbollah, but if there is a ground operation it’s going to —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not — I’m not speaking for the goals of the IDF or the Israeli government. What we have said is: Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah, against Iran-backed group. We’ve been very clear about that.
I’m not going to stand here and speak to Israel’s operations. That is not something that I can do. It’s something that I would have to refer you to IDF, and that’s what we’ve been very clear about.
Go ahead. Go ahead, Anita.
Q Thank you so much, Karine. During this — these frantic diplomatic discussions over the situation in the Middle East, did the president communicate any sort of consequences for this continued behavior, in addition to his wish for a ceasefire? Did he, for example, say that maybe certain weapons would no longer be provided to Israel or teased to that in his discussions?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Our policy has not changed. It just hasn’t. It — it has not changed. And, again, Israel has a right to defend itself — we’ve been very clear — against Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah, like Hamas, the Houthis.
I’m not going to get into diplomatic conversation, but our policy has not changed.
Q Okay. On Taiwan, yesterday, the president announced the largest-ever military drawdown for Taiwan. What — what is kind of the — what was the purpose of this? What was his thinking? And is this intended to — I mean, what was the message he was sending with that decision? And is it meant to kind of hold Taiwan over in case there is, for example, a change of leadership in the United States? Or, you know, what — what’s the point of this?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, our overreaching goal remains the same — right? — and we have said that — maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. That is our goal, and we’ve always been very clear about that, and that’s what we want to see. So —
Q I guess I’m asking specifically about the timing of this. This comes at the end of his presidency, and this is the largest-ever military drawdown. What — what does that communicate?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I think, if you think about the drawdown, it is pretty much consistent with our longstanding One China policy. So, want to make that clear. It has not changed, and it remains the guide by the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Joint Communiqués, and Six Assurances. Again, our overreaching goal is to continue to maintain the peace and stability across — across the Taiwan Strait, and that is something that we have been focused on over the last three and a half years, and we’re continuing to do this.
And so — but the administration use of the PDA for Taiwan is one — one example of our continued commitment to help Taiwan maintain a sufficient self- — self-defense capability. And so, that’s what is — what we’ve been continuing and trying to do. And so, that’s how I would look at the Taiwan PDA.
Q (Inaudible)? Have they communicated how they feel about this?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would — I would refer you to them.
Q Thanks.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.
Q I know that the president said that he would not — he would not intervene in the dockworkers strike, and he cited his concern that he doesn’t believe in Taft-Hartley. But we have seen him intervene in — in other ways in previous situations like this. With when — with the rails situation, he asked Congress to intervene and stop that potential strike. When he said no yesterday, was he also saying that asking Congress to intervene and stop a potential strike was off the table?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, Congress does what Congress is going to do regardless of what the president says.
What I will say is the message of the president has been very clear. Our message has been very clear. We support collective bargaining. That’s what we’ve been clear about.
I’ve mentioned Secretary Buttigieg, [Acting] Secretary Lu [Su]. We have our NAC — NEC director who has been in touch with — with both parties. And what we have been encouraging to do — and this is something that we’ve been pretty consistent — what I’m saying here we’ve said before, which is we believe both parties should — should come to the table in good faith, and so — to come to a fair agreement. This is something that we’ve also been consistent about.
Look, we’re going to continue to send that message and — and urge them to come to a fair agreement.
Q But is he prepared to ask Congress to intervene? Or is that —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m — I’m just —
Q — off the table?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to going to into hypotheticals from here.
What we — we’ve been — we have made our message very clear — very clear: We col- — we support collective bargaining. We believe both sides should come together in a — to get to a fair agreement in good faith — in good faith, and we have been consistent throughout this administration about that.
Q I want to ask you about the immigration — the border restrictions that this administration extended today as well.
The immigration advocacy organizations have come out. Tahirih Justice said this was death a thousand cuts for migrants. You know, I’ve heard criticism as well from immigration advocates saying that this is ignoring the asylum statute. So, I guess just a response to those comments.
But then secondly, just the timing for this. I mean, the administration clearly is benefiting from this executive action and obviously likes it if it’s extending it, so why not do it sooner?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But I don’t th- — I know you follow this very closely. You know that we’ve taken multiple executive actions throughout the last three and a half years. You know that we’ve tried to do this in a legislative fashion — right? — to make this — to get it to a — a policy, a legislation that actually — we do it in a bipartisan way that actually deals with a broken immigration system. And we have been stopped over and over again by Republicans.
Q Sure. And it was clear that that Senate bill was going to get stopped earlier this year —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q — you know, January and March. This extension we have not seen until now, and then we didn’t see the executive action until —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: June.
Q — just a couple months ago, right?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, June. No, you’re right.
Q In the summer. In the summer. So, now —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wait —
Q — with this extension, this is going to carry this out beyond the election. So, if the administration stance is that this should continue for the months ahead, basically, effectively, curtailing asylum in ways we have not seen, why not take this action sooner?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q And then just also a response to the criticism, too.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. We have tried to do this in a way where there was legislative action, right? To do this in a way — by having bipartisan conversation, working with senators, and doing this in a way that will benefit Americans, and do it in a way, obviously, that we — we put it into law. And we’re trying to begin the process of fixing a broken immigrat- — that’s the way the president actually wants to do it. He did. That’s the way he wants to do it. And we took time to do that, and we believe it was going to move forward.
This is Senate. We’re working with Republican senators here to get that done. And they voted against — to your point, against their own bill twice — twice, because of the former president saying, “This was going to” — I get part of your com- — question to me — “it was going to help Joe Biden. It’s going to help Democrats.” That’s what the former president said.
When it comes to this — to this announcement that you just — that we just had about the final rule. It was a two-month process. Let’s not forget when the president made the announcement in June, DHS and DOJ had a two-month process — right? — to get — to get feedback, to get responses on — on the rule. And now we have — now we have a — now we secured that final rule. And so, that’s the action that you saw from DOJ and DHS.
But we actually want to do this a different way. We do. We want to do it in a bipartisan legislative way.
You know this president. He believes reaching across the aisle is an important thing to do. We — we’ve been able to get bipartisan legislation done. They got in the way.
They negotiated with us — meaning “they,” the senators — Republican senators negotiated with us. We came up with a bipartisan solution. If the president had signed — was able to sign that solution that — pardon me, that legislation — it would have been the toughest and fairest — fairest immigration law that we have seen in some time, and it would have started the process of fixing a broken immigration system that has been broken for decades — for decades.
Does the — that’s the p- — that is the way the president actually wants to do this. And, as you know, majority of Americans want us to fix the border. They do. And we tried. And this is the path that we’re — we went down because Republicans in Congress didn’t want to work with us.
Go ahead, Karen.
Q Student loan borrowers have had a grace period over the past year where they weren’t going to face delinquency if they didn’t pay their loans. But tomorrow is October 1st, so that ends tomorrow. Is the administration expecting or concerned about a potential wave of delinquencies for borrowers who haven’t been paying their loans over the last year?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you know, this has been — when it comes to student loan and giving borrowers a little bit of breathing room, this is something that the president had been wanting to do for sa- — some time. We were blocked. The president took additional actions, took historic action to provide that student loan relief and to support borrowers facing financial hardship.
In the wake of a one-in-a-century pandemic, the Department of Education paused loan payments as the economy recovered. And so, as you just stated, it has expired. It’s been 12 months.
And so, for those who — to your question, for those who still facing challenges returning to repayment, the department has implemented an aggressive strategy to — to support borrowers, including creating the Fresh Start program that allowed borrowers in default to become current on their payments, launching an information campaign to engage borrowers at a risk — a high risk of delinquency, and helping borrowers enroll in IDR pr- — plans and the lowest monthly payments as well.
So, there’s plans out there. There’s ways to support some of these borrowers who — who feel like they could be delinquent here. And so, we certainly want to help them get to a point where they can start repaying their loans. And so, the Department of Education has certainly made that a priority as well.
All right. I know we have to wrap it up. Go ahead.
Q One — one last try on — on Lebanon.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q Just to be clear, you know, on the one hand, the president is calling for a ceasefire. On the other hand, you’re saying that Israel has a right to defend itself by targeting Hezbollah. So, how does it work? Sa- — who do you negotiate a ceasefire with when, at the same time, the Israelis have just informed the United States that they are indeed launching limited ground operations?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. And both things can be true. And this is what’s happening right now in the region. And I’ve said this multiple time: Israel is living and is — is in a really tough neighborhood, and they have to be able to defend themselves against Hezbollah, against the Houthis, against Hamas. And that is the reality. That is the reality that they are living in.
And that’s what we have been very clear about, making sure that our secur- — that we — support for Israel’s security is ironclad. And that’s what you’ll continue to see from this administration.
At the same time, we do want to de-escalate. At the same time, we want to see that. And ultimately, we believe in — a way to get to a ceasefire, to de-escalate is to create a space — is to get to a ceasefire so we can create a space for dim- — diplomatic conversations. And, in this case, that’s what you’re seeing.
We’re — and we’re still talking to Israel. We’re still having those conversations. That has not stopped. And so, that’s what you’re going to continue to hear from us.
All right. I think I have to wrap it up. Go ahead.
Q This is a light — more light question. But tomorrow is Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday. I think the president sent around a note on the weekend, but should we expect anything in terms of a phone call or anything?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Stay tuned. Stay tuned. I’m not going to get ahead of the president.
All right, everybody. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you.
3:45 P.M. EDT
