On Thursday, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been invited to the White House and whether President Biden is concerned about working with him.
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00:00 Colleen, good to see you.
00:01 >> The Press: Has the new Speaker been invited
00:04 to the White House?
00:06 And is the President concerned about working with the new
00:09 Speaker given his track record on gun control,
00:16 on abortion, on the switch to an election?
00:19 >> Ambassador Rice: So, a couple of things.
00:22 So, upon the Speaker's election, we invited him today --
00:28 it's actually happening right now --
00:30 to a bipartisan briefing with leadership
00:32 and relevant committee chairs and ranking members,
00:35 and on the President's supplemental national security,
00:40 obviously, package.
00:42 And so, that's happening right now, I think.
00:43 It's still happening. And so, the Speaker is here,
00:46 and he did join that briefing.
00:48 And, oh, and the other questions.
00:51 So, the President was asked yesterday about 2020,
00:54 and the President, I think,
00:55 answered it pretty straightforward.
00:57 You heard him say that when it came to the 2020 election,
01:01 we had more than 60 judges who basically threw those cases
01:07 out of the court or proved it to not be true, right,
01:11 when it came to the accusations
01:16 that the elections were not, I guess, real, whatever.
01:22 However, they said it in 2020.
01:24 But also, a Trump administration said the 2020 election
01:29 was the safest election that we've ever had, right?
01:34 And you heard that from the Trump administration.
01:36 And the President also said that,
01:37 you know, he understands the Constitution.
01:39 So, the President answered that question.
01:40 Look, more broadly, as it relates to the Speaker,
01:43 the President has said that once Congress,
01:47 the House conference, was able to get their affairs in order
01:51 after spending 22 days to pick a Speaker in their chaos
01:56 that we have seen them do the last 22 days,
01:58 once they figure that out, he would be willing to work
02:00 with them in good faith to get things done
02:03 on behalf of the American people.
02:04 As we've -- and we've been able to do really big things
02:07 in a bipartisan way, whether it's the Chips
02:09 and Science Act, whether it's the infrastructure law.
02:12 We've been able to do that to deliver for the American people,
02:15 and the President wants to do that.
02:16 He wants to continue that progress.
02:19 And let's not forget, in the midterms,
02:21 the American people were very clear.
02:22 They want to continue to see --
02:24 to see that type of bipartisanship.
02:26 They want us to continue to grow the economy.
02:29 And so, that's the President's focus.
02:31 He's willing to do that.
02:32 He's willing to take up the Speaker's words on working --
02:37 now is working on common ground to make that happen.
02:40 >> The Press: Is the President confident the House,
02:44 since it's in order again,
02:45 can get the supplemental taken care of
02:48 to avoid that impact?
02:49 >> Secretary Napolitano So, a couple of things there.
02:52 As we know, we've heard from many --
02:55 from many Republicans, even, on the supplemental,
03:00 especially the national security supplemental,
03:03 and how they have -- we've seen bipartisan support.
03:05 And so, that's really important.
03:07 And I have a couple of folks
03:08 that I want to actually read out.
03:10 Leader McConnell said our national security priorities,
03:12 from Russia to Hamas to China, are all connected,
03:16 and this requires a worldwide approach.
03:18 Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Roger Wicker
03:20 said he absolutely supports linking Ukraine and Israel aid,
03:24 and that a solid majority in the House and Senate could, too.
03:27 Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Susan Collins
03:30 said each of these four elements are critical.
03:32 So, we have seen a bipartisan support --
03:34 strong bipartisan support
03:35 for the national security supplemental.
03:37 That, obviously, that includes Ukraine and Israel.
03:41 And so, there is no reason we should not be able
03:43 to move forward to get that done.
03:45 Thanks.