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Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, November 19, 2021
Q Jen, thank you. Can you explain the timing of the physical today? What was behind it? Did the fact that the President is turning 79 years old tomorrow have anything to do with the timing? Did he want to have that before his birthday?
MS. PSAKI: The President is well aware that his birthday is a matter of public record, as the President of the United States. I can confirm that.
I will say, Kristen, we knew that we were going to do - he wanted to do and committed to do a physical before the end of the year, so this is obviously - meets that timeline. And obviously, we work through scheduling availability and requirements in order to do that because any President is typically at Walter Reed for a couple of hours.
Q And not to harp on this point - but, you know, I think there was an expectation there would be a press conference tomorrow. He obviously had a very -
MS. PSAKI: Tomorrow?
Q I'm sorry. Yesterday.
MS. PSAKI: Oh.
Q He obviously - it was a late night for all of us here in Washington.
MS. PSAKI: Yeah, it's okay.
Q He obviously had a very full day yesterday. Was there any last minuteness to the decision of his going in today?
MS. PSAKI: In - I'm sorry, I don't really understand your question.
Q For the physical.
MS. PSAKI: To do it or not - I'm not -
Q To do it. To do the physical.
MS. PSAKI: I'm not sure I'm understanding your question. Did we schedule it yesterday?
Q Was this planned in the - days in advance?
MS. PSAKI: We had planned to do the physical, yes. But I would -
Q Days in advance?
MS. PSAKI: Right. But what's the root of your question, just to make sure I answer it?
Q Just when was it planned? When did he first schedule the physical? We - just because he had such a full day yesterday.
MS. PSAKI: Sure.
Q And he had a colonoscopy today. A lot of people that know -
MS. PSAKI: That is - that is the nature of being President. And as you - and as I would note, in the pool report - and this may be why you're asking - the co- - the meetings yesterday didn't end until after eight o'clock last night. Obviously, the President was closely watching the vote last night, as we all were - maybe not through the totality of the eight-and-a-half-hour missives, but he was watching closely last night as well.
Q Is there any discussion about having a doctor brief us, given that he is the oldest sitting Commander-in-Chief?
MS. PSAKI: We will be releasing a comprehensive summary - a written summary - that will have details from the doctor and other experts who were consulted - medical experts who were consulted - that you'll receive later today. So that, I think, is what our intention is.
Q I also just want to ask you on a different topic, broadly speaking. The country is sort of waiting for, anticipating a jury verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse case. What is the President's direct message to people who want to protest, express their opinions after the verdict? And might we hear from the President after there is a verdict?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I certainly - I just want to preface: I'm not going to prejudge a verdict on an ongoing deliberation over a case. And clearly, once it's concluded, I'm sure there will be something we have to say from the White House.
But - and we have been in close touch with officials on the ground through law enforcement channels to ensure we are supporting any effort toward peaceful protests. That's certainly what we will continue to encourage as anyone looks to have their voice heard, regardless of the outcome.
Go ahead.
Q There was one conspicuous thing missing from the week ahead that Bloomberg is particularly interested in, which is the Fed chair, of course.
MS. PSAKI: "What's the President's favorite Thanksgiving meal?" No, okay. (Laughter.)
Q Yeah. On what - is it accurate to say that it'll happen on Monday or Tuesday, since that's the time that the President is going to be in?
MS. PSAKI: The President intends to make a decision. And I expect we'll have more to share in advance of his departure. So, by process of elimination, expect they'll more - there'll be more to report early next week.
Q Okay. Government funding runs out December 3rd. I'm wondering if the White House right now is looking for a CR to get, you know, towards New Year's or if you'd like a longer government funding.
MS. PSAKI: It's a great question. I - just given the pure volume of legislative work this week, I have not had a conversation with the legislative team about this.
Obviously, we would typically work closely with leadership on determining what that might look like. Let me see if there's more we can report on that to you.
Q And then, yesterday, you got a bunch of questions about the EV tax credit in Build Back Better. The Canadians are obviously upset about it. It would make sense that because Senator Manchin has said that he doesn't support it, that the President's message to the Prime Minister is that it's probably going to drop out of the final version of the bill. Is that sort of an accurate representation of what their conversation was? Or how would you characterize what his message for the Canadians was yesterday?
MS. PSAKI: I think his message was exactly what I conveyed publicly, which is that there's a long history of using tax credits here to incentivize choices. That's true. They'll lower the cost here of electric vehicles by twenty- - $12,500 for a middle-class family. That's something we want to incentivize in the United States. And we feel it's an industry that will help move towards a more clean energy future - something that will help address the climate crisis that we share an interest with with the Canadians.
Certainly, as the Canadian leaders read out, this was an issue they raised. I'll leave that to them to characterize further.
And the President said, of course, we're happy to continue having a conversation. However, this is something the President is deeply committed to because he believes good-paying union jobs that will help us move toward a clean energy indus- - help us support clean energy industries is in our economic and national security and national interest.
Q One last one to just - on the conversation you had with Peter. The CBO estimated that this - the tax enforcement would bring in a little over $200 billion. You guys are obviously saying $400 billion. I'm wondering if you can - I don't think they're just throwing darts. I also take the point that you guys think that they're not experienced at, sort of, figuring out how much this enforcement will bring in. But "twice as much" is a big discrepancy. And so, I'm wondering why you disagree so, so dramatically with the CBO on this?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I wouldn't characterize it exactly in that - those terms. I would, again, point to - and just another person I haven't introduced here - but Doug Elmendorf, who you all are familiar with, who directed the CBO from 2009 to 2015, said estimating the returns on additional IRS enforcement was challenging because large funding infusions to the agency had little precedent and it was difficult to quantify the "indirect effects" of more auditors.
So, I would note that we also technically, I guess, have disagreements with economic experts who are projecting it would have even larger savings. I mean not - not bad disagreements, but our projections are not exactly the same as Larry Summers, who said that the proposal could result in almost $800 billion in revenue and has a Washington Post op-ed about it where he talks about that; and others who have projected it would have even larger savings.
So, I think it's just an indication of the difficulty, but what we're pointing to and what we think is an important indication for the American people and for many members of Congress who are concerned, as the President is, about deficit reduction - and this bill will save money in the deficit over the course of 10 years - is that this is something where it will have that impact. It has a larger impact than even we are projecting. And that's what we felt was important to point to.
Go ahead.
Q In an effort to flesh out the historical record of the day, is there anything you can tell us about the 85 minutes that Kamala Harris served as Acting President?
MS. PSAKI: I will leave that to the Vice President and her team to characterize. You know, I would note that - and you didn't ask me exactly this, but I know other people have been talking about this and, as a woman myself, I will note that, you know, the President, when he selected her to be his running mate, obviously he knew he was making history - was making history that was long overdue, in our view. And part of that was selecting someone who could serve by your side, as your partner, but also step in if you were - if there was a reason to. And that includes the application of the 25th Amendment, as was done this morning.
He also, of course - we also know we make history every time they're working together, every time she's out there speaking on behalf of the government as the Vice President of the United States. But certainly, today was another chapter in that history, I think, that will be noted for many women, young girls across the country.
Q You have disclosed that the President received a colonoscopy today. Are you in a position right now to talk about any other procedures or tests he might be undergoing as we speak?
MS. PSAKI: We will disclose all of that, but I'm going to leave it to the medical experts to do that, and they will do that later this afternoon in a written summary.
Go ahead.
Q Yeah, thanks, Jen. In his statement yesterday, when he talked about the U.S. purchasing Pfizer's COVID-19 pill, the President mentioned that he wanted to make that pill free for the public. Can you lay just, sort of, how that would work, ensuring that that pill might be free?
MS. PSAKI: Well, as you know, vaccines around the country are largely free, so that is - there is a precedent for that, you know, across the country and something he wants to ensure it's available and accessible to people to protect them from COVID.
And I think this falls into the category - falls into the - falls into our expansive effort to fight the pandemic, get it under control, and get on the other side of it. So, in terms of how it would work like with contracts? Or -
Q Yeah. Does it require negotiations with insurance companies or pharmacies or -
MS. PSAKI: It's a great question. Let me talk to our COVID team and see what else it would require.
Q Okay. And then, on Ethiopia, the situation there seems to continue to be deteriorating. What advice does the White House have for Americans that are still in the country, especially given that the FAA sort of warned there could be inadvertent risks to commercial flights in the area?
MS. PSAKI: Well, as things have deteriorated there, we have taken strong measures to encourage Americans to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible while they can do so safely via commercial travel, which is still ongoing, because things can change in an instant and flight options could disappear.
Go Back
MS. PSAKI: The President is well aware that his birthday is a matter of public record, as the President of the United States. I can confirm that.
I will say, Kristen, we knew that we were going to do - he wanted to do and committed to do a physical before the end of the year, so this is obviously - meets that timeline. And obviously, we work through scheduling availability and requirements in order to do that because any President is typically at Walter Reed for a couple of hours.
Q And not to harp on this point - but, you know, I think there was an expectation there would be a press conference tomorrow. He obviously had a very -
MS. PSAKI: Tomorrow?
Q I'm sorry. Yesterday.
MS. PSAKI: Oh.
Q He obviously - it was a late night for all of us here in Washington.
MS. PSAKI: Yeah, it's okay.
Q He obviously had a very full day yesterday. Was there any last minuteness to the decision of his going in today?
MS. PSAKI: In - I'm sorry, I don't really understand your question.
Q For the physical.
MS. PSAKI: To do it or not - I'm not -
Q To do it. To do the physical.
MS. PSAKI: I'm not sure I'm understanding your question. Did we schedule it yesterday?
Q Was this planned in the - days in advance?
MS. PSAKI: We had planned to do the physical, yes. But I would -
Q Days in advance?
MS. PSAKI: Right. But what's the root of your question, just to make sure I answer it?
Q Just when was it planned? When did he first schedule the physical? We - just because he had such a full day yesterday.
MS. PSAKI: Sure.
Q And he had a colonoscopy today. A lot of people that know -
MS. PSAKI: That is - that is the nature of being President. And as you - and as I would note, in the pool report - and this may be why you're asking - the co- - the meetings yesterday didn't end until after eight o'clock last night. Obviously, the President was closely watching the vote last night, as we all were - maybe not through the totality of the eight-and-a-half-hour missives, but he was watching closely last night as well.
Q Is there any discussion about having a doctor brief us, given that he is the oldest sitting Commander-in-Chief?
MS. PSAKI: We will be releasing a comprehensive summary - a written summary - that will have details from the doctor and other experts who were consulted - medical experts who were consulted - that you'll receive later today. So that, I think, is what our intention is.
Q I also just want to ask you on a different topic, broadly speaking. The country is sort of waiting for, anticipating a jury verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse case. What is the President's direct message to people who want to protest, express their opinions after the verdict? And might we hear from the President after there is a verdict?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I certainly - I just want to preface: I'm not going to prejudge a verdict on an ongoing deliberation over a case. And clearly, once it's concluded, I'm sure there will be something we have to say from the White House.
But - and we have been in close touch with officials on the ground through law enforcement channels to ensure we are supporting any effort toward peaceful protests. That's certainly what we will continue to encourage as anyone looks to have their voice heard, regardless of the outcome.
Go ahead.
Q There was one conspicuous thing missing from the week ahead that Bloomberg is particularly interested in, which is the Fed chair, of course.
MS. PSAKI: "What's the President's favorite Thanksgiving meal?" No, okay. (Laughter.)
Q Yeah. On what - is it accurate to say that it'll happen on Monday or Tuesday, since that's the time that the President is going to be in?
MS. PSAKI: The President intends to make a decision. And I expect we'll have more to share in advance of his departure. So, by process of elimination, expect they'll more - there'll be more to report early next week.
Q Okay. Government funding runs out December 3rd. I'm wondering if the White House right now is looking for a CR to get, you know, towards New Year's or if you'd like a longer government funding.
MS. PSAKI: It's a great question. I - just given the pure volume of legislative work this week, I have not had a conversation with the legislative team about this.
Obviously, we would typically work closely with leadership on determining what that might look like. Let me see if there's more we can report on that to you.
Q And then, yesterday, you got a bunch of questions about the EV tax credit in Build Back Better. The Canadians are obviously upset about it. It would make sense that because Senator Manchin has said that he doesn't support it, that the President's message to the Prime Minister is that it's probably going to drop out of the final version of the bill. Is that sort of an accurate representation of what their conversation was? Or how would you characterize what his message for the Canadians was yesterday?
MS. PSAKI: I think his message was exactly what I conveyed publicly, which is that there's a long history of using tax credits here to incentivize choices. That's true. They'll lower the cost here of electric vehicles by twenty- - $12,500 for a middle-class family. That's something we want to incentivize in the United States. And we feel it's an industry that will help move towards a more clean energy future - something that will help address the climate crisis that we share an interest with with the Canadians.
Certainly, as the Canadian leaders read out, this was an issue they raised. I'll leave that to them to characterize further.
And the President said, of course, we're happy to continue having a conversation. However, this is something the President is deeply committed to because he believes good-paying union jobs that will help us move toward a clean energy indus- - help us support clean energy industries is in our economic and national security and national interest.
Q One last one to just - on the conversation you had with Peter. The CBO estimated that this - the tax enforcement would bring in a little over $200 billion. You guys are obviously saying $400 billion. I'm wondering if you can - I don't think they're just throwing darts. I also take the point that you guys think that they're not experienced at, sort of, figuring out how much this enforcement will bring in. But "twice as much" is a big discrepancy. And so, I'm wondering why you disagree so, so dramatically with the CBO on this?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I wouldn't characterize it exactly in that - those terms. I would, again, point to - and just another person I haven't introduced here - but Doug Elmendorf, who you all are familiar with, who directed the CBO from 2009 to 2015, said estimating the returns on additional IRS enforcement was challenging because large funding infusions to the agency had little precedent and it was difficult to quantify the "indirect effects" of more auditors.
So, I would note that we also technically, I guess, have disagreements with economic experts who are projecting it would have even larger savings. I mean not - not bad disagreements, but our projections are not exactly the same as Larry Summers, who said that the proposal could result in almost $800 billion in revenue and has a Washington Post op-ed about it where he talks about that; and others who have projected it would have even larger savings.
So, I think it's just an indication of the difficulty, but what we're pointing to and what we think is an important indication for the American people and for many members of Congress who are concerned, as the President is, about deficit reduction - and this bill will save money in the deficit over the course of 10 years - is that this is something where it will have that impact. It has a larger impact than even we are projecting. And that's what we felt was important to point to.
Go ahead.
Q In an effort to flesh out the historical record of the day, is there anything you can tell us about the 85 minutes that Kamala Harris served as Acting President?
MS. PSAKI: I will leave that to the Vice President and her team to characterize. You know, I would note that - and you didn't ask me exactly this, but I know other people have been talking about this and, as a woman myself, I will note that, you know, the President, when he selected her to be his running mate, obviously he knew he was making history - was making history that was long overdue, in our view. And part of that was selecting someone who could serve by your side, as your partner, but also step in if you were - if there was a reason to. And that includes the application of the 25th Amendment, as was done this morning.
He also, of course - we also know we make history every time they're working together, every time she's out there speaking on behalf of the government as the Vice President of the United States. But certainly, today was another chapter in that history, I think, that will be noted for many women, young girls across the country.
Q You have disclosed that the President received a colonoscopy today. Are you in a position right now to talk about any other procedures or tests he might be undergoing as we speak?
MS. PSAKI: We will disclose all of that, but I'm going to leave it to the medical experts to do that, and they will do that later this afternoon in a written summary.
Go ahead.
Q Yeah, thanks, Jen. In his statement yesterday, when he talked about the U.S. purchasing Pfizer's COVID-19 pill, the President mentioned that he wanted to make that pill free for the public. Can you lay just, sort of, how that would work, ensuring that that pill might be free?
MS. PSAKI: Well, as you know, vaccines around the country are largely free, so that is - there is a precedent for that, you know, across the country and something he wants to ensure it's available and accessible to people to protect them from COVID.
And I think this falls into the category - falls into the - falls into our expansive effort to fight the pandemic, get it under control, and get on the other side of it. So, in terms of how it would work like with contracts? Or -
Q Yeah. Does it require negotiations with insurance companies or pharmacies or -
MS. PSAKI: It's a great question. Let me talk to our COVID team and see what else it would require.
Q Okay. And then, on Ethiopia, the situation there seems to continue to be deteriorating. What advice does the White House have for Americans that are still in the country, especially given that the FAA sort of warned there could be inadvertent risks to commercial flights in the area?
MS. PSAKI: Well, as things have deteriorated there, we have taken strong measures to encourage Americans to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible while they can do so safely via commercial travel, which is still ongoing, because things can change in an instant and flight options could disappear.
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