LIVE: White House Briefing by Karine Jean-Pierre

Good afternoon, everyone. A few things at the top. So, as we announced yesterday, the President will travel to Rome, Italy, in early January to meet separately with His Holiness Pope Francis, President of Italy Sergio Martirella, and Prime Minister of Italy, Maloney, pardon me, Giorgia Maloney. The President will have an audience with the Pope to discuss efforts to advance peace around the world. And during his meetings with the Italian leaders, he will highlight the strength of the U.S.-Italy relationship, thank Prime Minister Maloney for her strong leadership of the G7 over the past year, and discuss important challenges facing the world. We will provide more information in the days to come. And next, earlier this week, as you all saw, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced a $1 billion financial initiative to support conservation of the Ecuadorian Amazon. That's the lowest levels in four and a half years. The Biden-Harris administration has implemented an effective and balanced approach to secure our border and make our immigration system more fair and just. With that, Colleen, what you got? Thanks, Green. So, I wondered if the President has spoken to any lawmakers personally about the potential for a shutdown? They're doing the bidding of their billionaire friends. That's what we're seeing at the expense of hardworking Americans. And just to quote you something that we saw today, and I'm sure you all saw from the Punchbowl news, which is, and I quote, This has been an absolute disastrous week for the Speaker, the President-elect Donald Trump, and Republicans on Capitol Hill. This is a mess that they created, and they need to fix this. On your question, the President, I can confirm, just moments ago, the President was able to connect with Leader Schumer and Leader Jeffries. And also just to add that the President does indeed get regular updates. He has been getting regular updates from his team. His team has been in touch with members, congressional members from both sides of the aisle, and certainly he will continue to stay updated. Has there been any communication between the President or the administration and the incoming administration on this? I think we have to be really clear here, and that is, this is a mess that Speaker Johnson created. It is his mess to fix. There was a deal on the table. A bipartisan deal. A bipartisan deal. In this day and age, they were able to come up with a bipartisan deal. And that agreement, Speaker Johnson needs to stick to. He needs to hold his commitment to that agreement. And so they have to fix this. This is their mess that they created, and they need to fix it. And let's not forget, when we talk about keeping the government open, we're talking about providing funds for disaster recovery efforts, to lower costs of prescription drugs. That's what we're talking about. And the impact of this would hurt our veterans and would hurt vulnerable Americans across the country. That's what we're talking about. And Republicans need to do their job, and they need to uphold their side of the deal here. Thanks, Karine. Why hasn't President Biden said anything in the public about this? Don't the American people deserve to know why millions of federal workers could enter this holiday period without a paycheck? Well, Americans need to know that Republicans are getting in the way here, and they are the ones who have created this mess. That's the reality. That's the fact. And the president – let me just take a step back. This is not the first time we've been here, and the president has had this approach before. He understands how Congress works. He's been around for some time. He understands what strategy works here to get this done. So this is not – this is not the first time that we're – I'm being asked this question about the president and his outreach. I just mentioned he made two calls. He was in touch. He was in touch with the leader – the Democratic leaders in both the House and the Senate, Schumer and Jeffries. So – and his team is continuing to have that conversation. But this is the mess that was created by Speaker Johnson. He needs to fix this. That's what the American people need to be very clear about, very clear. There was a bipartisan agreement, and he's not holding up his side of the bargain here. We hear that message from you, but why aren't we hearing that directly from the president? Why haven't we seen or heard from President Biden himself? This is something – this is a strategy that we have done many times before, not the first time. And this is for Republicans in Congress, in the House specifically, to fix. They created this mess. There was a bipartisan agreement. There was. There was a bipartisan agreement. You'll need to come in front of cameras and speak directly to the American people. There was a bipartisan agreement. There was a bipartisan agreement. And so what we want to do and what we want to – what the president wants to make sure we do is he stands to – ready to help get a bipartisan deal through. That's what he wants to see. And, you know, this is something that Republicans should own here. What they tried to jam at the 11th hour doesn't reflect what the deal – what that bipartisan deal that they came up with, obviously with Democrats. And, you know, they're showing – Republicans are showing a disregard for the American people. Just lastly, some leading Democrats are calling Elon Musk President Musk or Co-President Musk. What is the White House's and President Biden's reaction to this labeling of Elon Musk and whether or not House Republicans are listening more to this billionaire than the president-elect? What I can say is congressional Republicans at the direction – and you all know this, you all reported this – of President Trump and Elon Musk are, you know, trying to pave the way. What they're doing is trying to pave the way for $5 trillion to our national debt. That's what this decision does. I mean, you're talking about the cuts for billionaires, slashing Social Security, slashing Medicare, slashing Head Start. Congressional Republicans did what they did because of what the president-elect said and what Elon Musk said. That's the reality. You guys all reported this. That's why we are where we are today. So this is for Speaker Johnson to fix. This is the mess that he created. He needs to fix this. Again, a bipartisan agreement. There is a bipartisan agreement. Ms. Green, would the president support a four-bill strategy that we've seen discussed today, which would separate a clean CR from a Farm Bill extension, disaster aid, and debt limiting? I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. What I can say is there is a – I'm going to get very repetitive here because it is true and it needs to be said. There is a bipartisan agreement. There's a deal that was agreed upon, and that's what they need to move forward with. And when I mean they, I mean the Republicans in Congress. They need to move forward with that deal. That's what they said. The deal that was agreed upon, that's what they said they would move forward with. The Speaker said that, and he's not holding up his side of the bargain. He's not. His side of the deal he is not holding up. And in response to President-elect Trump's statements this morning that this is a Biden problem, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will, I imagine, repeat some of what you just said. But in response to that, congressional Republicans made their decision because of what the president-elect said at their direction, the direction of the president-elect, and the right direction of Elon Musk. There was a bipartisan deal on the table. They were moving forward. The Speaker agreed to do this, to move forward the bipartisan deal. And they stopped that because of what the president-elect said and what Elon Musk said. They wanted to clear a way for their billionaire friends, a tax cut, $5 trillion to the national debt with tax cuts to billionaires, for billionaires. So that's the reality. You've all reported this. We've seen this. We saw what was being stated, what was being put out there by the president-elect and Elon Musk. There's no hiding from that. That's the reality. And so we're talking about – this is not politics here. We're talking about the American people who need these programs, who need it. And so Political Playbook said – had to say what they had to say about this. Trump picked the fight. He picked the fight, and it was Trump. Well, with him and Elon Musk, who sank the bipartisan deal. That's what you all are reporting. You can't twist the facts or change history here. Based on the White House's assessment of where things stand right now on Capitol Hill, should Americans be prepared for the government to shut down tonight? There's still time. We believe there's still time for that to not happen, for Republicans to do the right thing, to hold up their part of the deal and move forward with the bipartisan agreement. There's still time. And our focus is keeping the government open. That's what we want to see. And we hope Republicans want to do that. Republicans in Congress want to do that as well. And there's still time. And we've talked a little bit here about how the president really has not been a player at all in these negotiations. I know you said he spoke with Schumer and Jeffries today. But what exactly is the strategy behind that? Is there a sense that perhaps having him involved at this moment would do more harm than good? I just – I kind of took this question – I got some formulation of that question moments ago. The president knows how to deal with Congress. He's been around for some time, as you all know. And this is not the first time that we've had this strategy where we have said it is Congress's – one of their number one jobs is to keep the government open. In this particular instance, you saw what Republicans did, with Speaker Johnson obviously leading us to this mess, to where we are right now. And they need to fix it, period. It is their mess to fix. It is. There was a deal, a bipartisan deal. There was, just days ago. And they created this mess. Speaker Johnson needs to fix this. Republicans in Congress needs to fix this. It is their mess to fix. And they allowed this bipartisan deal to be scuttled by the president-elect. And if the government shuts down for an extended period of time, would President Biden commit to remaining here in Washington and not going through with his holiday plans? I don't have anything – I can't get into hypotheticals. I don't have anything to share on this. We believe, as I just said moments ago, there's still time to get to a deal here or move forward. I shouldn't say get to a deal. Move forward with a bipartisan agreement. They can't avoid a shutdown. They can. They were on their way to doing that. And it was scuttled by the president-elect and Elon Musk. This is why we're here today. That's why we're here today. Karine, you said that House Speaker Mike Johnson needs to fix this. Has President Biden spoken to the House Speaker, or does he have any plans to? I've answered this in so many ways, and I'm going to answer it now. We've got to be really clear. Speaker Johnson created this mess, and he needs to fix it. I don't have anything else to add beyond that. He knows – the Speaker knows how to fix this. They got to a bipartisan deal. He said he was going to move forward with it. They stopped it because of the direction that they were given by the president-elect and Elon Musk. And right now we need to focus and we need to continue to focus on the American people. We're talking about shutting down the government that will impact veterans programs, services that Americans truly need. They know how to fix this. Republicans actually know how to fix this. That's why they were able to get a bipartisan agreement on the table. They know in order to move forward with this, you need a bipartisan agreement. And there was one, and they did not move forward with it because of what they were told by president-elect Trump and also Elon Musk. Hi, Karine. I'll go at the question another way. In this moment, is the president leading? The president is the president of the United States, and he is leading. And to be very clear, as it relates to this, I've said this many times before, moments ago, and I'll say it again. We have done the strategy before. This is not new. Where we have said Congress needs to deal with this, this is their number one job is to keep the government open. And there was an agreement on the table, not just an agreement, a bipartisan agreement. Speaker Johnson created this mess. He needs to fix it. Period. Period. To be clear, the strategy is he is leading by staying in the background. The strategy is Congress, Republicans in particular, need to do their jobs and get out of their own way and focus on the American people, not their billionaire friends. That is what needs to happen, and that's what the president wants to see. Does the president believe that the U.S. debt ceiling should be eliminated? You all know where the president stands on this. His focus right now is keeping the government open. That's what he's going to focus on. The vice president canceled her trip to California. Can you say why? You would have to speak to her office. I don't have – I can't speak to that. And then finally on Syria, really quickly, the DOD said yesterday that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. That's double what the administration has said beforehand. Why the discrepancy? So I would have to refer you to the Department of Defense to speak to troop numbers. That is their purview. That is something that we have always been pretty consistent on, that they have to speak to. I know that they said yesterday that the additional forces are considered temporary, that they are deployed to meet shifting mission requirements. But I have to leave it to the Department of Defense, to the Pentagon, to speak to troops. Last question, Karine, and I know you have tried to answer it several times. Shouldn't Americans hear from the president of the United States just hours from a shutdown? What Americans need to know is that you have Republicans in Congress, in the House, who got in the way, who stopped a bipartisan agreement. They got in the way. They created this mess. And I said this earlier when I said – and you all know this or you report this – it is not easy to get to a bipartisan agreement here in this town, and there was one. Both sides sat down. They came to an agreement, which is a good thing for the American people. We thought we were moving in that direction. And they decided to – Republicans decided to instead listen and give space to their billionaire friends and not put the American people first. That is what is happening. That is what we are seeing. Go ahead, Michael. Thanks, Karine. I just wondered if you could give us an update on Nippon Steel's purchase of U.S. Steel. Excuse me. The panel that is reviewing that transaction is expected to issue its recommendations soon, so I'm just wondering if you have any update on the timing. And also, is the president prepared to accept those recommendations regardless of what they are, or does he plan to walk this through? I'm not going to get ahead of the president. I don't have any announcement to make, and so I'm just going to leave it there. I just don't have anything to share, don't have an announcement to make at this time, and certainly not going to get ahead of the president at the podium. Even the timing? I don't – you know, CFIUS – that's the CFIUS review. They are independent. We leave it to them to make that decision on the timing. I just don't have anything to share on this. Okay, Karine. Could you talk a little bit more about the president's trip next month to Italy? In your statement last night, you said that he had accepted the invitation of the pope to visit next month. How did that come about? Did that just happen on the phone call yesterday? Did the president express interest to the Vatican that he wanted to make this trip? It's pretty late in a term to be traveling so soon, you know, close to the end like that. So I don't have any information for you. I would have to talk to the team about the timeline. Look, the president is looking forward to going back to Italy, as you all know. He's been there a couple of times in this – in his first term, in this term. And so he's going to – and he's met, obviously, a couple times in this administration alone with His Holiness Pope Francis. And, obviously, he looks forward to that. As you know, he is a proud Catholic, and so that is something that he certainly was looking forward to that. And having a conversation about peace around the world, we know that is an issue that His Holiness cares about. I don't have specifics or behind-the-scenes private conversations on how this landed and the timing of this. What we can share is that it's happening. The president looks forward to it. And we certainly will have more to share as we get closer, like we normally do when an Acona trip happens. Should we expect domestic travel for the president in January? Is he going to be out there doing any farewell speeches on policy issues in other parts of the country? So I would say stay tuned. We'll certainly have more to share about what January will look like for the president. I don't have anything specifically to announce right now. I'm just going to try to ask this a different way. The president is still in office. You're going to get the same answer. I'm just going to try. He's still in office for a month. Feel free. The American people really haven't heard from him on whether or not the government is going to shut down. Wouldn't the message hit differently if the president were out there countering the message that we're hearing from the president-elect and Elon Musk? Why isn't he speaking on this? The Republicans are breaking their word. They are breaking their word to support a bipartisan agreement. We would not be in this position if Republicans in the House did not break their word. That's where we are. And we're talking about what the agreement, when you look about, when you think about what the agreement would do, it would lower prescription drugs costs and make it harder, make it harder to offshore jobs to China. We're talking about veterans who need these services. And they, instead, what they want to do is they put forth a bill that would pave the way for tax break for billionaires. That's what they did. Instead of going with a bipartisan agreement, they put forth something that would pave the way for their billionaire friends. That's not about the American people. That is just not about the American people. And we have been here before when we're trying to make sure that there's not a government shutdown. The president has had the same, kind of the same strategy. He knows how to work with Congress. And so in this instance, the Republicans blew this deal up. They did. They blew it up. And they need to fix it. This is not for the president to fix. This is not for us to fix. This is for Republicans in Congress to fix the mess that they created. But has he expressed any thoughts or feelings on the president-elect and Elon Musk? You're hearing what I'm saying, right? I speak for the president of the United States. So when I speak for the president of the United States, I am speaking directly for him. So you are hearing where he feels about this, what his thoughts are about this. And we believe, and the American people should know this, that Republicans need to fix the mess that they caused. The speaker knows how to get this right. To get this right is to move forward with a bipartisan agreement. The bipartisan agreement that they had come to not too long ago. We thought we were going to move forward with that agreement. And they blew it up. They blew it up. You're good? Okay. That's great. Has agencies, has the government started informing employees who might be furloughed? Those specific folks, especially heading into the holiday season, are they being informed that they might not get their paycheck? So, look, we believe that there's still time for Congress to prevent a partial shutdown. We believe that. But in the interest of prudent planning, we want to be prudent here. Agencies did start notifying their employees of their potential furlough today at noon. And so, on that specific, as it relates to furloughs, I would certainly refer you to OMB on those specifics. And given the high stakes of this shutdown, again, during the holiday season, affecting people like veterans, police officers, et cetera, will the President speak to the American people if there is a shutdown so that they can hear from him directly? I am not going to get into hypotheticals because we believe, as I just at the beginning of answering your last questions, that there's still time to prevent a partial shutdown. We believe that Congress, Republicans in Congress, could get to a place where they prevent this. When is the next time that people will hear from the President? I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. It is very easy. I hear your question, but it is very easy to fix this, the mess that Republicans created. It is very easy for them to fix this. Bipartisan deal agreement. Move forward. Keep your word, Republicans in Congress. Keep your word. Go ahead. Thank you, Karine. I have a question on China. In the final month of this administration, we continue to see high-level talks between U.S. and China, including last week. Is President Biden making his final effort to strengthen his China relationship ahead of Trump administration? And are you concerned those mechanisms you've established with China might be abandoned next year? I'm just going to repeat what the President has said, what the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, has said from this podium about the U.S. relationship with China. And what the President remains doing and is incredibly focused on is managing the most consequential relationship. You've heard both of them say that. It is the most consequential relationship. And it is because of the work of this administration that we are handing off the U.S.-China relationship in a stronger, competitive position. Remember, in the beginning of this administration, we would talk about how it is about competition. That's how we wanted to kind of see that relationship as well, about competition. So that's what the President and this administration is leaving the incoming relationship under. President Biden, we have made America stronger and positioned us to out-compete China through significant investments in the United States, develop closer relationship with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, increase our deterrent capabilities, and diminish China's ability to exploit our most sensitive technologies. At the same time, we are carefully managing and we have carefully managed this relationship through skilled diplomacy to prevent competition from varying into conflict. Remember, that's what we want. We want competition, not conflict. So we're going to continue to manage this relationship. I'm not going to get into hypotheticals of what the next administration may or may not do. But what I can lay out, as I just did, is how the President has focused on this consequential relationship with China, the U.S.-China relationship. Thank you. Just following up on Karen's question on the trip to Italy and what would be the second meeting with the Pope, we all know that for the President, his face is very important, but this isn't a trip he's taking as a private citizen. This is a trip he's taking as head of state. So what's the broader message here? Why this choice for what might be his final international trip? So we're going to have more information, as we normally do. We do background calls, press calls with all of you as we head into Anaconis. We're going to do the same. Nothing has changed. And we will lay out the goals, the reasons, what we expect to get out of this trip. But I tried to give you a little bit of what the President, the logistics of who the President is going to meet and the discussions that he's hoping to have. Let's not forget, the Prime Minister, she's the leader of the G7 right now and has shown strong leadership. So that's important, too, for him to have that diplomatic conversations with her as well. And so certainly we will have more to share as we get closer to the travel. Thanks, Corrine. There are some Republican lawmakers who are actually advocating for a government shutdown. One example is Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia. She says shut it down. Can you explain the repercussions of what a partial government shutdown would be for specific groups, for seniors, for veterans, for those that depend on government services? Can you explain what this possibility would mean for those individuals? And it is sad that I have to explain that, really. They are congressional members. One of their duties is to keep the government open because, as you just stated, we're talking about veterans. We're talking about vulnerable Americans who need services that the federal government provides in order just to make it through the day. And it is sad that what we're seeing from Republicans is picking their billionaire friends. That's what they're doing. Not the American people. Not our veterans. And we're talking about basic services that are needed. OMB certainly could dive in and lay out the different programs that will be impacted, that will impact Americans if this indeed happens. But, you know, John, we can avoid this. They can avoid this. This does not have to end this way. We do not have to end with a government shutdown and really put a negative impact on American families, a negative impact on our veterans. This could be avoided. Republicans in Congress don't have to go this route. They don't. There was a whole different route that they were going, which would have actually been done in a bipartisan way. We believe, this president believes, that it is important as we move policies, as we move forward on behalf of the American people, we do it in a bipartisan way. And they had that deal. Do you happen to know if there would be a delay of any kind for Social Security recipients from receiving their checks or members of the military from receiving their pay? You're laying out everything that we're concerned about. Those are the things that we are concerned about. Yes, those are concerns. But there's a way out of this. There is. Republicans need to fix this. They need to fix this mess that they created. It's very easy to do. You do an excellent job advocating on behalf of the president, but do you think the president would do a better job if he was out there making those same ideas present to the public in terms of what a shutdown would mean for all of those vulnerable Americans? What I will say is Republicans need to do their job. I would not be taking, fielding these questions from you all if Republicans didn't lead us here. They did. They created this mess. The only reason we're having this back and forth is because the Republicans created this mess in Congress, in the House specifically. They created this mess. And they can fix it. They were on their way to fixing this with this bipartisan agreement. So I think the onus is on them to get this right. Does the administration have any updates on the whereabouts of Austin Tice compared to last week? Yeah, I don't have any updates to share. Obviously, it is a priority for this president to get Austin home. That is something that certainly we want to see. I will speak to Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf and Ambassador Roger Karsten's travel to Damascus, Syria, to engage with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, and other Syrians, about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them. They also met with representatives of the interim authorities to discuss transition principles shared by the United States and regional partners in their meetings. To your question, they stressed the immense importance of finding missing U.S. citizens, including Austin Tice, and bringing them home. So that continues to be a priority. Any specifics about that meeting, I would refer you to the State Department. I know at 12.30 the two State Department officials held an on-the-record press conference, so I would refer you to that press conference that they had. It might still be going, but they certainly were able to talk in more details and take questions about this. Again, they touched on Austin Tice and this, and more broadly, obviously bringing U.S. citizens home. Do you have, say, three top priorities for things he still wants to accomplish in the next 31 days here in office? Well, one of the things that I can say is keeping the government open, right? We want to make sure that that happens. Congress had a bipartisan agreement. They should move forward. Republicans should not get in the way, should choose the American people first, not Republican or their billionaire friends. And so that is something that we have said many times from here, that that was a priority for this president. Certainly we want to continue to implement, excel the implementation of key priorities that the president has had, meaning the bipartisan infrastructure legislation, the Chips and Signs Act. We want to make sure that those investments, that continues, and we want to excel on that. And we've talked about continuing to lower costs as it relates to prescription drugs, but lowering costs more broadly certainly for the American people. And so that's our focus. That's what we've been doing, and we're going to continue certainly to do that. And we can expect more announcements on at least some of those fronts in the next few weeks? Look, I would say stay tuned. We are trying to truly, truly run through the tape here and get as much done as we can for the American people. And we know that the American people want us to continue to work on behalf, on their behalf, and that's what the press is going to be focused on. Real briefly, since you mentioned the shutdown, different angle on that question. The potential shutdown, I should say. Should the American people be confident that in the event of a shutdown, there would still be a smooth transition and inauguration process? That has been the president's commitment, and that you've heard directly from him. We want to make sure that there is a responsible, committed to a responsible transition. And as you know, his team, he and his team have certainly been working towards that. The team has been preparing for months to make sure that happens. I will say, though, if there is a shutdown, and I don't want to get too much into hypotheticals, but this is the reality, transition activities will be restricted, and with limited exceptions, obviously, but such as prevent imminent threats to the safety of human life or the protection of property. Those are the things that we would have to be concerned about. And so we're doing everything to ensure a smooth transition, but the choice to allow a transition to move forward is in the hands of Republicans in Congress. We can continue to have this smooth transition of power if they stop threatening a shutdown. And they have an opportunity, Republicans in Congress have an opportunity to keep the government open so that we can continue what the president's commitment has been for months now, is to make sure that there is a smooth transition of power. Two clarifications, I guess. The first one, is this trip to Rome the last foreign trip that the president will take? What I can say is the president's going to Italy and is going to go on a CONUS trip in January. I'm always very careful. Anything could happen. But what I can say for sure is that the president's certainly going to be going to Italy. We announced that. We'll have more to share. I don't have anything else to share. And then secondly, related to the CR, given what you said about the president's views on debt limit increases or eliminating the debt limit, does that mean that that would be something that would be vetoed by the president if it reached his desk? I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. I'm just not. I think what is important here is there is a path forward. There has been a path forward. There is a bipartisan agreement that Republicans tanked because of what they were directed to do by Elon Musk and President-elect Trump. That's what happened. That is the reality that we're in now. And this is not the direction that we thought we were going just a couple of days ago. And so Republicans blew up this deal. They can fix it. It is their mess to fix. And they have to choose the American people. They have to do their basic job. It's choosing the American people and delivering for them. Thanks, everybody.