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Oval Office

12:15 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Here’s what we’re going to do.  We’re going to get a briefing from the governor and the mayor and FEMA, and then we’re going to lay out where we go from here.  Okay?

Ready?  Get set.  Go.

AIDE:  Ready.

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Vice President Harris and I are about to receive a briefing from Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass and the FEMA Director Criswell.  So, both of them are on the ground leading the fight against this god-awful wildfire in Calif- — the worst in California history. 

And there has been some progress in the last 24 hours, so I want to give an update to where we think things are at the moment.

First, overnight, local, state, and federal firefighters were able to partially prevent some of the largest fires from spreading to new areas: 3 percent in Pasadena has been kept from spreading, 8 percent in the Pacific Palisades, 35 percent in Ventura, and 37 percent in Sylmar.  And — and I — but this time yesterday, these fires were mostly spreading out of control.

We — we’ve still got a long way to go, as we’re about to hear from the governor and others.  And while the winds have died down for the time, we expect they’ll remain a threat until early next week.  So, we’re going to keep working 24/7 to support state and local officials to fully stop these fires as soon as possible. 

Next, we’re going to make sure California has every possible resource to fight these fires and help survivors.  As soon as the fire started, I approved the — the Fire Management Assistance Grants, which is a fancy phrase for saying the grants to cover the cost of firefighting federally and the gear, equipment, and capabilities like search and rescue.

Then, I immediately approved the governor’s request of major disaster declaration, which will pay for things like debris removal, temporary lodging, and first responder overtime pay.  Both of these — the grants and the declaration — usually cover 75 percent of the state’s costs.  But yesterday, I directed the federal government to cover 100 percent of state costs for 180 days.

I also announced FEMA has — is go- — has turned on its Critical Needs Assistance program.  This program gives a one-time payment of $750 to survivors so they can quickly purchase critical items, like water, formula, gasoline, and prescription drugs.  And survivors should go to DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362.  We can’t help you if we don’t know you need the help, so call.  DisasterAssistance.gov — I mean, co- — contact or call 1-800-621-3362.

And I want to be clear: This is not the only aid that survivors can request from FEMA.  More programs are going to be available through the — that disaster declaration, but this is assistance that survivors can get now and get it fast.

We’re also helping the state and local law enforcement personnel keep people safe.  I’ve offered Governor Newsom additional support on — on that front too.  For example, the Defense Department — military personnel can help direct traffic, evacuate people where traffic lights have been destroyed. 

Finally, I want to thank all the first responders.  And I often say, “God made man, then he made a few firefighters.”  And these are men and women.  The firefighters of Los Angeles are proof of that.

The scope, the scale, and the erratic movements of these fires is truly unprecedented.  I mean, it’s truly unprecedented.  And — but day after day, these firefighters have been pulling 24-hour shifts, rushing the flames with har- — hurricane-force winds as well, to rescue people, to evacuate neighborhoods, and put these fires out.

Now, I speak for the American people when I say we owe you, we’re with you, and we’re going to make sure you get every resource you need. 

Now I want to turn it over to the vice president.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Mr. President.  As you’ve said, what we have been witnessing is truly mass devastation.  And whether we are talking about Sylmar to the Palisades to Altadena, it’s important to know that we’re talking about neighborhoods of people who, in many cases — I think about Altadena — these are — these homes have been in these families for generations.  And in many of these homes, it is a multigenerational family that lives there.

Also understand that, in a lot of these neighborhoods, the folks who live there also work in that neighborhood, which means they’ve lost their home and their livelihood.  So, the devastation that we are looking at is multigenerational and is going to linger for quite some time.

And the work, under the president’s leadership, that we are doing through the federal government to provide aid in every way to the governor, to the mayor, to local police and fire is critically important, and we are doing it with a sense of urgency.

I also would mention that not only are firefighters out there working around the clock, some of whom — sadly, more than a few who have lost their own homes in the fire — but so too with LAPD police officers who are working around the clock, and there are at least a dozen who have also lost their own homes to the fire.

So, there is a real human story that is associated with the mass devastation that we are seeing, and everything that we can do to support, we will do.  Also understanding there are moments where we should find optimism in the heroism of people who are taking in strangers, taking in friends, providing shelter to evacuees — people looking out for each other.  Regardless of where they come from or who they voted for, they’re looking out for each other and showing the best of the American spirit in a moment of crisis.

THE PRESIDENT:  In addition to that, I want to point out that — that this is not going to be over even when all the fires are out. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s just going to be the beginning.  And the change in insurance policy in California for these modest homes —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yep.

THE PRESIDENT:  — as well as these really expensive homes and businesses.  So, the — we — we’re going to be around a long while, Gov, to help, the federal government. 

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  And the mayor as well.

So — but why don’t I yield to you, Governor, for any comments you have to make.  Bring us up to date.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  I — I appreciate it, Mr. President and Madam Vice President.  Let me just pick up, in the spirit of y- — of your comments.  But first, with just deep gratitude to both of you for being so solicitous, so supportive, hand in glove in this operation.  There’s simply not an ask that hasn’t been met.

The major disaster declaration, Mr. President, was a game changer.  In fact, you were able to do that within 36 hours.  I don’t know that there’s another precedent in American history for disaster that was in the making, was unfolding and for you to be there in real time and prescient as well.  It turns out that we’re going to need all of that support.  And the fact that you were able to provide 100 percent is just tremendous relief on the (inaudible) side and other disaster relief side. 

And I think the — the big focus now, to your point — and appreciate the recognition of some progress last night.  The winds were favorable.  We were able to address some of the perimeter issues.  Again, it’s been focus about life, property, and perimeter.  But the perimeter progress was real because we were able to get fixed-wing and helicopters up.

Last night, we had a new fire start.  Five fires that we’re actively battling as we speak.  The two large ones you’ve highlighted, the 8 and 3 percent contained.  But we’re able to — these guys just did an amazing job.  We had this fire, the Kenneth fire, that could have been one of the bigger headlines today, and these guys were able to knock that down. 

It was heroic.  I flew around it to see the dozers, the hand crews, Rattlesnake crews in the National Guard, the mutual aid system.

Mr. President, 175 engines from across this country, from New Mexico and Oregon and Washington State, Utah, Idaho — men and women coming out here, regardless of their differences, in the spirit of what the vice president said, working together in the spirit that defines the best of all of us.  And so, just with deep gratitude to you, your team. 

We had the National Guard out last night.  We had 43 key posts that they were — they were working — 855 National Guard men and women.  We’re stationing additional National Guard men and women to the extent we need it. 

We’ve searched all the assets and we drew down from all over the state and, obviously, now increasing across the country. 

I want to also highlight, because I think it’s incredibly important: We have 150,000 people still under mandatory evacuation orders.  These fires are not out.  Though, today, we’re going to make a lot of progress and continue to increase these containment numbers. 

But it is important, and I cannot impress upon you more how happy I was to hear, Mr. President, you say DisasterAssistance.gov. 

People are now naturally calling.  There’s tremendous anxiety out there around getting immediate assistance.  The reality of this is — is starting to come. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  The clarity is — as the, you know, smoke begins to — to move and, in daylight, people are starting to understand the magnitude.

I thought I never would see anything like the Tubbs Fire and then the Camp Fire.  This is up there.  This will be one of the most destructive fires, I mean, in terms of property damage, perhaps in the history of the country, but certainly in terms of scale and scope — 10-plus thousand structures already identified.  Ten people we fear have lost their lives; likelihood of more.  The magnitude of this is pretty profound. 

And — and in closing, you know, I appreciate, Madam Vice President, you bringing up Altadena as well.  You know, I was there yesterday, saw a middle school — it’s a beautiful middle school — burning down.  Lifestyles, places, tradition, kids, families, memories, communities completely, you know, torn — just torn asunder. 

It’s — it’s not just a home.  It’s — it’s their lives and their livelihoods, these businesses, community centers.  I can’t tell you how many churches burned down.

And so, you know, we had these hurricane-force winds, the likes of which we’ve never imagined in our lifetime — 99-plus-mile-an-hour gusts, couldn’t — you know, there was no helicopters that can go up in — in those gusts, in those wind shears.

But we had, you know, thousands and thousands of men and women that — that did everything in their power to hold the line.  And so, hats off to the first responders.

And in closing, hats off to those neighbors that are stepping up, these self-organizing communities that are coming together in the spirit of what makes us great, the spirit of neighbor to neighbor, of being there for each other. 

And final words: You know, I ask you, we’ve got to deal with this misinformation.  There were hurricane-force winds —

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — of mis- and disinformation, lies.  People want to divide this country, and — and we’re going to have to address that as well. 

And it breaks my heart, as people are suffering and struggling, that we’re up against those hurricane force — forces as well.  And — and that’s just a point of personal privilege that I share that with you, because it infects real people that are out there, people I meet every single day, people the mayor has been meeting with.  And they’re having conversations that are not the typical conversations you’d have at this time. 

And — and you wonder where this stuff comes from, and it’s very damaging as well. 

But — but we’re here to get the job done, to be here for folks, to focus, yes, on this mitigation and then, absolutely, recovery in record time.  With your support, we’re going to be able to do that.  With FEMA’s support, we’re going to get people back on their feet.  We’re going to rebuild this remarkable community, and we’re going to come back. 

I know it’s rote and cliché.  It’s just a fact.  We’re going to come back stronger because we’re all in this together.  And — and we’re in this together because we have a leader in the Oval Office right now, Mr. President — Joe Biden, an American president, being there for the American people at a time of critical need. 

And I cannot impress upon you personally, on behalf of 40 million Americans that live in the great state of California, how proud we are of you, the vice president, and your leadership. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, Gov, thank you.  You know, that’s why I think it’s so important I — I — we speak plainly to the American people and let them know what we can and can’t do.

For example, those churches that get burned down you talked about, those public schools, the federal government will pay to rebuild those — rebuild those.  There’s a — so, we have to let people know that there are things that are going to be coming that we’ve declared — and there’s disaster relief legislation and others — that are going to be available. 

Because I think people say, “Okay.  I’m out.  But, God, what — what happens now?  What do I…” — and — but we’re — we’re not leaving.  We’re not leaving until we get it done. 

Karen — Mayor.

MAYOR BASS:  Yes.  Thank you, Mr. President and Madam Vice President.

I just can’t emphasize enough how important your support and involvement has been.  And how, in the midst of such incredible devastation and — and tragedy, that it has been comforting to know that you are — have been accessible. 

Again, you know, the governor certainly mentioned the fact that you moved so quickly in response to the emergency declaration, the idea of 100 percent reimbursement.  And we have made it clear to folks that that is not the norm, but that is what leadership does in response to such a devastating event. 

And the governor mentioned, and let me just repeat: hurricane-strength wind without the rain.  And that has led to such amazing devastation in terms of the Palisades fire and some of the other fires. 

I think it is important to acknowledge the successes that have been going on, where there have been evacuation orders that have been canceled, and people are going back to certain neighborhoods.  Fires have been extinguished in several neighborhoods — Pacoima, Hollywood, Studio City — where people were told they had to evacuate, and those evacuation orders have been rescinded.

And as our first responders are out there putting their lives on the line, as the vice president mentioned, they’ve been experiencing the losses as well, as well as the city and the county workforces.  We have a number of our employees who have had to evacuate.  While responding, their families have had to evacuate, or they’ve had the loss, the personal loss of their homes, their places to worship, their schools, or their businesses. 

But Los Angeles, the region, we are going to recover.  We’re going to recover, and we’re going to rebuild, and we’re going to rebuild better. 

One of the biggest challenges that is facing us — and I also know that it is a national situation — is insurance.  And so, today, I’m here at the County Hall of Administration.  We do two press conferences a day — one in the county, one in the city.  And we had our state insurance commissioner here. 

We do have a state plan, but that state plan certainly needs to be — and he’s — he talked about introducing emergency legislation to respond to some of the ways we need to strengthen our system. 

So, many of the homes in the area, especially in the Palisades area, had their insurance canceled — canceled a year or so ago.  And he talked about how he wanted to have a moratorium — he was going to use the power of his office to have a moratorium — that said that no policies can be canceled, even if your home was not damaged.  If you’re in the area and everybody around you burnt down but your home was not damaged, that your policy cannot be canceled. 

So, we have mobilized the philanthropic community.  The philanthropic community is already setting up funds to assist.  But we are also convening — and the city is — is taking the lead here — in the rebuilding effort, and we’re going to expedite rebuilding. 

It brings back a lot of memories for me, in 1992, when we experienced massive civil unrest, and we were able to get the majority of Los Angeles rebuilt quickly by coming together and suspending — waiving rules, you know, getting past bureaucracy. 

If you — if your home was devastated in the fire, there’s no reason for you to have to go all the way back through the permitting process. 

So, while we are saving lives, preventing further destruction, saving homes, saving businesses, dealing with the emergency at hand, we also have our eyes on the future and are preparing to put forward policies, executive directors next week that would address how we bring our city back together and how we expedite the rebuilding.

And so, again, let me just end by saying that, you know, your leadership — your leadership, period, over the last several years has just been outstanding, Mr. President, Madam Vice President.  Madam Vice President, who’s an Angeleno, we know that you know.

When I spoke with you yesterday, you mentioned that you had to evacuate.  You weren’t going to mention yourself, but I asked you, and you mentioned that you had to evacuate from your home here while you were in Washington, D.C.  And I just want to commend your outstanding leadership and let you know how the residents of Los Angeles are so deeply grateful. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Karen, one of the things I’ve found in my experience in dealing with these disasters — similar, not as devastating than this — is: People take a look at the immediate help, and they’re satisfied, they’re happy.  But they look down the road and say, “My God, look at downtown.  It’s gone.  Look at — how are we going to do this?” 

We’re going to need the United States Congress to follow up with appropriations to help provide for significant help for our fellow Americans who need this help to pay for the — these programs that we have because a lot more is going to be c- — be happening.

And now, yield to a woman who’s an expert in all this.  She and I have traveled more states that are — flying over fires for the last four years, and we’ve literally observed, from the air or on the ground, more areas burned to the ground — burned to the ground — from Arizona all the way up to Idaho — than the entire state of Maryland.  Took it all — to the ground. 

And so, we’ve — but we’re used to this but nothing like the concentration that’s here.  This is profound. 

And so, we got the best person we could.

Go ahead, Deanne.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thank you.  Yeah, thank you, Mr.  President, Madam Vice President.  I mean, you and I, sir, have traveled many different disasters, and I can say from what I’ve seen here yesterday that this is certainly one of the most destructive that you and I have had to — to deal with during our time here. 

I had a chance yesterday to talk with the governor and the mayor, to hear some of their immediate concerns, but mostly to start to talk about what this recovery is going to look like. 

I had an opportunity to get briefings from the incident command post, both at the Palisades fire as well as the Eaton fire.

And, Madam Vice President, I had a chance to drive through Altadena and see just what the heart of this community is by hearing from the local officials and just witness the amount of loss that they are experiencing and going through.  I mean, in addition to the thousands of structures that we hear about that are — that are gone, many of those homes, an entire small-business district — a booming business district in Altadena that has just been burnt to the ground — churches and schools and other public facilities that are just gone. 

And so, this is going to be a very complex recovery, but I know that when we all come together and work together through all of our federal partners and bringing in our — our nonprofit and our private-sector partners, that we are going to get through this.

And your approval, sir, of the 100 percent for the debris removal and the emergency protective measures for 180 days is really going to be a game changer in helping to make sure that this recovery gets started off on the right foot. 

And the major disaster declaration itself is going to do so much.  It’s — so many people, as you heard, are evacuated, and there’s not very many in shelters.  And so, we know that so many people are either staying with friends and family or they’re staying in hotels. 

And with the changes that we have made to our programs over the last year, we are going to be able to cover most of those costs, if not all of those costs that people are incurring, whether they’re staying with family and friends or they’re staying in hotels, to help ease some of that burden.

And as they register for assistance — so, we’ve already got close to 10,000 people that have registered, but we know that that’s going to continue to go up, and we’re going to send more people into the community to make sure that they register.  They’re going to be able to get things to help support that recovery, whether that’s moving into the next-term and longer-term sheltering or their longer-term housing needs to help reimburse for some of the losses and damages, even though we know it’s not going to come close to the total devastation and the total loss that they had. 

Working together, again, if Congress approves additional funding, and working with our partners like the SBA, we’re going to really be able to help all of these families with their specific needs and what they’re going to need to do to help start this recovery journey. 

And one of the biggest things is going to be debris removal.  And, you know, we’ve had lots of conversations with the governor’s team about debris removal.  They have an excellent capability here within the state, and we’re going to be able to provide technical assistance through the Army Corps of Engineers to make sure that they’re getting everything done in the most expeditious way possible so they can start that recovery process. 

And I think, Mr. President and Madam Vice President, what I would just close with is that, as you have said and as, you know, the governor — and I’ve talked to the governor and the mayor — we are going to be here with you.  Governor, Mayor, just know that FEMA, the entire federal family, is going to be here with you throughout this entire recovery journey.  We are going to work through the complicated problems together.  We’re going to find the right federal resource to meet the needs and to get the outcomes that you want.  And we’re going to help every Angeleno with the — the impacts that they’ve had and help them on this road to recovery.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  You know —

MAYOR BASS:  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  — one of the things that —

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  — that you and I have done, Deanne, is we not only have to build back, we have to build back better.  There are certain things we can do to prevent things from being — if the same thing occurred — from as much damage occurring.  And that costs money, but it also saves money. 

There is climate —

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  — change.  There is climate change.  This is part of it.  And we have to deal with it. 

And the other thing is that, you know, when I was with you, Gov, and we were looking around the state, it looked to me, as I traveled — when I was out with you in — in California,

it — what it reminded me of — it reminded me of — more of a war scene where you had certain targets that were bombarded, where artillery was — just blew them up with no — with — with no rhyme or reason.  In other words, you’d have this fire going crazy and burning everything down and three houses being fine —

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  — noth- — nothing is happening.

Or neighborhoods that were still green — I mean, still green, and next to a place that — for example, you know, there was — we were just looking at a Secret Service house that was out there.  You know, all the vehicles were melted — melt — melt — yet that house next door still has green shrubbery on it, and, you know, it — the house is fine.  There’s only, I think, four or five houses in that 200 — you know, it’s in — in the Pasadena area. 

But — but my generic point is, it’s almost like it’s a — it’s a battle scene.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But, you know, Mr. President —

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we saw that in South Carolina, North Carolina —

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, I know.  That’s the point.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — Georgia, and Florida with hurricanes. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, same thing.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  This is also the nature of, to your point, this changing climate, these extreme weather conditions, not only are they — they volatile and devastating, but there — there is no method necessarily to how — to the impact in terms of the predictability of where it might land, if we’re talking about a hurricane or — or a wildfire.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, for example, we —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And so, resilience and adaptation becomes more important.

THE PRESIDENT:  You know, we found, Gov, that in these other areas, like the hurricanes from North Carolina to Florida, where you saw entire highways devastated —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  — coming off the side of the mountains, dropping into —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we got to build back the highway a different way — 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

THE PRESIDENT:  — to make it stronger. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

THE PRESIDENT:  We’re — so, we — we’re going to have to deal with this, and we can make it — I know if anybody — any of your constituents are listening and saying, “My, God, don’t tell me about ‘better,’ just tell me when about getting back.”  But, you know, we can not only build it back, we can build it back better, God willing.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  A hundred percent.  No, it’s — it is remarkable, and it’s — yeah, to your point, particularly as — as the smoke is clearing, you see that, you know, very indelibly and visually here in this fire.  These — these newly constructed homes more likely to have survived — those with — with different materials, those with the latest home hardening investments. 

And that wou- — the — the chapter, verse, the lesson, the master class in this was the Camp Fire.  Remember, we lost 85 lives —

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — 18,000 structures up there in Paradise, California, and those structures that did survive — and so, we’ve changed our building codes.  We — we began to adapt to this new reality. 

And I just say this to the deniers out there: You may not believe in science, but you have to believe your own eyes.

You know, Mother Nature is — it’s been said by others — it’s just, you know, the chemistry, biology, and physics — she bats last; she bats a thousand. 

There’s been no rain.  It’s January — January in Southern California.  So, what is “time of year”?  None projected in the next many days.  There’s been a modest amount since last May here in Southern California.  The hots are getting hotter; dries, drier; wets a lot wetter with these atmospheric rivers.

And on that, Mr. President, this is an area that we need to focus right now, and that’s the likelihood that we may see some intense rain and a lot —

THE PRESIDENT:  Exactly.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — of debris flow —

THE PRESIDENT:  Exactly. 

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — and issues around massive flooding, which often is more deadly than the fires themselves.

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s what —

MAYOR BASS:  And we —

THE PRESIDENT:  — happened in North Carolina.  When — when we talked about the hurricane, you saw the entire rivers fill and —

Anyway, there’s a lot we can do though.

MAYOR BASS:  You know, I — I do remember when we used to have a fire season.  Do you remember that, Governor?  You —

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  No.  (Laughs.)

MAYOR BASS:  — used to have a fire season, right?  In your — in your entire term, that has not been the case. 

This is January.  (Laughs.)  Fire season used to be at the end of summer.  So, you know, ab- — absolutely correct.

And then we know that that was the reason for such massive, massive devastation. 

But, again, you know, sending out your Deanne Criswell — Criswell.  It was wonderful to meet you yesterday.  Everybody was very excited to know that you were going to be here and to know that FEMA was going to be a resource that they can access right away. 

Continuing that is really what is needed right now.  And I want to thank you once again.

THE PRESIDENT:  The vice president and I have initiated every federal agency, from the Department of Defense on — every federal agency — to be part of this. 

And the other thing is, look, you know, I think you get a bad rap.  I know you’re getting a bad rap about “these fire hydrants don’t have enough water in them.”  Give me a break.  Give me a break. 

What this is all about is the utilities, understandably — what they did is they cut off power because they’re worried about these high-tension lines coming down and causing more fires in the wind.  Right?  When they do that, guess what?  They shut off the power that controls the ability to pump the water.

And so, now they’re put- — they’re getting generators now.  I mean, this is complicated stuff. 

You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it, but you’re doing the right thing.  We’re going to get it done, God willing. 

And I say to the people of Southern California, “God bless you.  Stay strong.  Stay strong.  We’re not going anywhere.  We’re not going anywhere.”

MAYOR BASS:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Thank you, Mr. President, for everything.

THE PRESIDENT:  And you know, all kidding aside, you both have my phone number, so —

MAYOR BASS:  Yes, we do.

THE PRESIDENT:  No — no, I’m for real.  Anything that comes up, if you have any ideas.

And — and if you didn’t, I’ve got a California vice president, man.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah, that’s — that helps too.

THE PRESIDENT:  She’s wildly focused on this.

MAYOR BASS:  The access to both of you is a tremendous benefit.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Well, thank you very much.  Keep in touch, okay?

MAYOR BASS:  Okay.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Thank you for everything. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MAYOR BASS:  Bye-bye.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Take care, guys.

AIDE:  Thanks, press.  Thanks, press.  Let’s go.  Thanks guys.  Thank you, press. 

(Cross-talk.)

AIDE:  All right.  Thanks, folks.

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Whoa.  Hey, I’m going to be talking a little later this afternoon about a number of things you’re asking about, from Russian energy to what’s — what’s going on in terms of the economy, but — but focused on this issue now.  And let’s focus on this, and we’ll be back on the rest of it. 

So, about this, you can ask me questions. 

Q    Can I just ask you about — you mentioned yesterday that you’re about to leave office.  Are you coordinating with the incoming administration about this federal response?

THE PRESIDENT:  We are making — everything they know — every single thing we’re doing about the re- — what — the response, my hope is that they will have — at least acknowledge we have some significant experience in this.  We’ve done really well on it, and I’m praying that they continue to focus. 

Q    Mr. President, have you been told that the loss of life is likely to increase significantly in California?

THE PRESIDENT:  It is likely it will increase.  Whether it’s significantly or not, we don’t know yet.  There’s still a lot of people who are unaccounted for.  We don’t know where they are.  I think this toll is likely to go up.  Whether it’s significant or not — pray God it’s not — but it could be. 

Q    How concerned are you about looting, Mr. President, in this?

THE PRESIDENT:  (Inaudible.)

Q    How concerned are you about looting and incidents of looting in Los Angeles —

THE PRESIDENT:  We are concerned.  That’s why I provided more police officers and more military.  Look, the DOD is in full (inaudible) with this.  They’re providing everything from security through the military, the National Guard; supplementing the National Guard.  Because we are — there’s clear evidence that there’s looting.  There’s clear evidence that people are going into these surviv- — even places where they’re not — they’re evacuated, and it’s not all rubble, and people are going in and they’re looting. 

And so, that’s going to — that — we know that will continue, unless we make sure we — we’re providing the help to prevent it from happening. 

Q    Mr. President, what will you be seeking from Congress?  Is the supplemental for this, specifically, or is it broader for FEMA?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think — I think whether I’m going to be here to suggest it, and I have 10 days left — we have 10 days left, but we’re briefing the opposition — “the opposition” — the incoming administration on what they’re going to have to do. 

Look, we have an awful lot of experience in this, unfortunately.  Climate change has been real.  It’s been real for the last four years of our administration.  We’ve seen devastating impacts of consequences of the changes. 

And it’s just like — you know, there are — it’s going to take more funding.  I mean, look, you’re the most informed people in the country.  I’m not being facetious.  You cover this every single minute.  You’ve seen what these downtowns look like.  I mean, they look like bombing.  They look like they actually have been blown up — entire sections of the cities blown up.  Just to remove the debris — just to remove the debris is an incredibly expensive undertaking. 

We’re going to do it for them.  We’re going to get it done.  We’re going to pay for it, but we’ve got to be prepared to pay for it.  And — and when we do, we’ve got to build back better than we did before. 

So, thank you. 

AIDE:  Thank you, press.

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  One l- — one — one last question.  There was one last question: Do I have any estimates of cost?

I could tell you, based on my experience, what I think the cost would be, but I’m not going to do that because we don’t know.  We want to make sure when we — we get the cost estimate, it’s real.  We’ve thought it through.  We get — we got the engineers and the scientists in to give us the best assessment of what’s happening. 

And one of the things that is going to have to change, and it’s been — I’ve been a — been broken record on this for the last three years: We’ve got to change the way in which we transmit energy.  And these high-tension wires that are the things that cause — some — remember we had someone from the other team about, “Well, we just ought to sweep the floor of the — the forest floor so we have no fires.”  Come on, man. 

You know, we — the idea is if we had these wires underground, it’s a hell of lot safer.  We wouldn’t have as many fires as we have now or in the future, but it costs a hell of a lot of money to put it underground. 

So, we’re working out all those issues to determine what would be needed — when I say “build back better” — to build back in a way that diminishes the prospect that the change in weather and the environment is going to continue to cause such devastation. 

We can protect against much of it, but it’s going to cost a lot of money to do it. 

Thank you.

12:50 P.M.  EST

The post Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris Before Briefing on the Full Federal Response to the Wildfires Across Los Angeles appeared first on The White House.

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:40 P.M. EST

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Hi, everybody.  Hi.  Good afternoon.

Q    Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  All right.  So, the president and the first lady continue to grieve the lives lost and livelihoods destroyed by the tragic wildfires that are burning communities in Southern California to the ground. 

Before I hand it over to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who has been on the ground in California and will provide further details on fer- — on the federal response, I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone in this room and who is watching at home that this is not about politics.  This is about people.  This is about humanity — people who have literally lost everything.  Homes, schools, and businesses, entire communities burnt to the ground.  Treasured artifacts, like personal photos, precious family heirlooms, and other priceless belongings all reduced to rubble. 

And I know there’s many of you, your colleagues out there, who are on the ground trying to cov- — to cover all of the disastrous moments that we’re seeing on the ground with this event, and I hope you all are — are being safe out there.

We need to be thinking about Californians, their priorities, and how we can all come together to support them.  From Maui to North Carolina to — to California, we have seen that these disasters do not discriminate.  So, it is on all of us to show these people, to show folks in California some compassion as they are reckoning with an unimaginable disaster.

While nothing can bring back what many have lost, the president and his administration are continuing to use every tool at our disposal to help fight these fires and ensure that the communities impacted are able to recover.  The president has received regular briefings on the fires.  And at his direction, his team has been in contact — constant contact with their s- — with their state and local counterparts from the day the fire started.

Just last night, he spoke separately with Governor Newsom, Senator Schiff, Congressman Sherman and Lou, Mayor Bass, and LA County Supervisors Solis and Barger to discuss the latest updates on the wildfires across Los Angeles.  And earlier this week, the president was in California, where he received briefings from personnel on the ground and met with firefighters who are on the front lines of this response to ensure they have the resources they need.

As soon as the fires broke out, FEMA approved Fire Management Assistance Grants to reimburse California for firefighting costs, and the pre- — president immediately approved the state’s request for a major disaster declaration for California, allowing impacted communities and survivors to immediately access funds and resourc- — resources to jump-start their recovery.

As you just heard from the president moments ago, we have made some progress over the last 24 hours.  Overnight, local, state, and federal firefighters partially contained some of the largest wildfires.  There is still a long way to go, but we will continue to be with the people of California every step of the way.

Other actions the Biden-Harris administration has taken is to support local firefighting efforts, include five U.S. Forest Ser- — Forest Service large air tankers operating in Southern California, with an additional tanker en route; over 20 federal firefighting helicopters performing operational — operations in the area in support of state and local firefighters. 

Additionally, two air firefighting system units are being deployed from each of the California and National — Nevada National Guards, and 10 Navy helicopters with water buckets are en route from San Diego.  And Colorado is providing assistance, from the mobilization of aviation assets, as well as fielding of 50 engine companies to assist with firefighting on the ground.

As always, we stand ready to provide further support as needed, and we urge residents in the affected areas to remain vigilant and heed the warnings of local officials, especially if you have been ordered to evacuate.

And to everyone impacted by this tra- — tragedy, please remember that we see you, we are with you, and we will do everything within our power to get you the help that you need.

With that, I will turn it over to the FEMA administrator, Criswell.  The floor is yours.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thanks, Kar- — thank you, Karine.  Good afternoon, everybody.

You know, I just want to start by telling everybody that has been impacted by these devastating fires that my heart is with each and every one of you, and I know that you continue to face these fires, as they are still working to bring them under control.  And unfortunately, this will probably be a life-changing event for so many of you. 

But FEMA is here, along with our entire federal family, to help you through this recovery process.  We are going to continue to support the state and the local jurisdictions, the local first responders as they continue to try to contain this fire and eventually extinguish this fire.

I arrived on the ground yesterday, as Karine said, at the direction of the president.  I had an opportunity to meet with Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass.  We discussed what their immediate needs were, as well as began the conversation about what their recovery needs are going to be.

The governor, the mayor, and I had an opportunity just before this to also brief the president and the vice president about what their concerns are, about what their needs are going to be, and provided an update on the current status of the firefighting operations.

Yesterday, I also had an opportunity to receive briefings from the incident command posts at the Palisades fire, as well as the Eaton fire. 

And I think the most important thing that I want to make sure I continue to get across to everyone, as this situation is still very dangerous: It is still very dynamic.  The winds have died down today, but as I just got a weather briefing at the county EOC, the winds are going to increase again in the coming days.  And so, people still need to stay vigilant.  They need to listen to their local officials.  They need to heed their advice so they can keep themselves and their families safe.

I also want to just take a minute to commend all of the amazing and heroic work that the firefighters are doing around the clock to fight these fires.  They have been working night and day. 

I had a chance to speak with several of them, some of them whose homes have also been lost or their families have had to evacuate, yet they still show up every day, supporting their communities, trying to keep them safe.

And I just want to say thank you.  I want to thank all of them for their heroic efforts, because they are making a difference.

Now, while the National Interagency Fire Center continues to provide resources to support Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County and City Fire Departments, FEMA is also supporting the recovery efforts.  We’re supporting those that have been impacted by this fire.  I even met with the SBA administrator here just briefly, who is also here to support them — businesses and individuals that have been impacted by these fires.

With the quick major disaster declaration, residents can now register and begin their recovery journey.  Some of the immediate things that we can provide to them are to cover the costs that they’re incurring as they have been evacuated, helping to support what their longer-term shelter and housing needs are going to be.  We can also help support crisis counseling and disaster unemployment. 

These are just a few of the programs that we have.  We have many more, and I encourage everyone to begin that process by registering now.

Recovery from these fires is going to be complex.  I’ve seen many disasters throughout my four years in this role.  This is certainly one of the worst that I have seen.

And the debris removal alone is going to be one of the major things that we have to accomplish — that the state has to accomplish to get this recovery journey started, and that’s why — when President Biden authorized 100 percent reimbursement for the first 180 days is really going to set the stage to jump-start this recovery for these communities. 

I had a chance to drive through some of the communities that were impacted as well, and it’s not just the homes that are lost.  We’ve seen schools that have been destroyed, businesses, small businesses, religious institutions.  These are things that we are going to be help being — are going to be able to help with temporary facilities, like temporary schools to help get children back into the schoolhouse, but also any other emergency measures as they begin the work of permanent repair.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed, and we continue to hear the numbers change, but know that this is going to be a long-term recovery for all of these individuals that have been impacted. 

And as I told the governor and the mayor yesterday and today, I assured them that our programs, our staff, the entire federal family are going to be here with them, alongside them, helping them achieve the outcomes that they need to — to not just rebuild these communities but also rebuild them in a way that’s going to make them stronger and more resistant to the types of weather events that they have been experiencing. 

This recovery journey is going to be long, but we are going to be there with them to support them every step of the way. 

And with that, Karine, I’m happy to take some questions. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Thank you so much, Administrator.

Go ahead, Zeke.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Thanks, Administrator.  Hope you could speak to whether the admin- — whether your agency has enough money currently to fund the immediate response needs, or is there a need to go to Con- — Congress quickly to get additional funds.  And then, separately, 10 days out from the presidential transition, what steps are underway at FEMA to ensure that what has been done so far, what’s going to be done in the coming days is sustained at the career level and — and beyond, you know, into the new administration?  Thank you.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, with the recent supplemental, FEMA received $27 billion, and so we are now able to continue to support the ongoing recovery efforts for all of the disasters that we have been supporting to include, now, the immediate response and the initial recovery efforts that are going to be needed here in California.  So, we’re very grateful for the bipartisan support from Congress to give us that additional funding so we can meet the needs of the individuals that have been impacted. 

And as far as going through the transition, you know, we have an amazing, dedicated workforce of women and men that are going to be able to continue to support them.  Our regional administrator here has worked many fires across several different administrations, and we are going to work day in and day out to continue to support them through the authorities that are given to us through the Stafford Act.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead. 

Q    Thank you, Administrator, for taking our questions.  I wonder, realistically, how quickly will people be able to obtain these temporary living quarters?  What are you doing to set those up?  Where are you setting them up, and how are you making sure to get in contact with people that may need those temporary shelters?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, so the first step that everybody needs to do — there’s two things.  They need to register for assistance with FEMA so they get in our system and we can continue to work with them on a case-by-case basis, because we know that everybody is going to have an individual and unique need.  And they need to contact their insurance company, because their insurance company may also provide alternate living expenses. 

We have a suite of tools, and one of the biggest tools and the best resources we have is reimbursing individuals for either the hotel costs that they’re experiencing right now, or if they find a place to rent, reimbursing them for rental assistance.  Given where we’re at right now, we know that there’s going to be a lot of rental resources, and that’s going to be the best resource and the best tool that we have to support the families that have been impacted, but we have other tools in our toolbox.

And so, again, we want to work with everybody individually because we know that everybody’s situation is going to be different, and we’re going to apply the right tool for their particular situation. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead, Mary.

Q    Thank you, Administrator.  I — I know you can’t, obviously, put a dollar sign on this, but can you just help us put into perspective a bit how you think the cost of this may compare to the cost of other recent natural disasters? 

And I’m hoping you could also comment on some misinformation that’s out there — we’ve seen these erroneous evacuation orders — and how concerned you are that that may lead to people to not responding to or not paying close enough attention to actual, real alerts.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, it’s really hard right now on the — the cost of the disaster, to put a number on it, because we haven’t been able to assess how much of the infrastructure has been damaged.  I mean, we know that thousands of homes that have been impacted, but the real cost of these disasters comes from how much of the actual infrastructure has been damaged — the roads, the water system, the power — but also the soft costs and the economic impact. 

We know that this is going to be billions, and so we really want to continue to focus right now on whatever we can do to continue to support California in getting this fire suppressed and starting this recovery process. 

And, again, thanks to the bipartisan support of Congress, we have enough funding to support those recovery efforts and these response efforts.

And as far as the misinformation and the alert that went out, I mean, we want to make sure people are getting timely and accurate information.  And I will defer to the county for the specifics on what they’re doing as far as that alert, but know that it’s part of our wireless emergency alert platform that FEMA offers to state and locals, and we are providing technical assistance to them to make sure we can help them understand what happened and ensure that it doesn’t happen again, because we have to be able to send out accurate information so we — so we can give people the right information and they know to believe it. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead, Jeff.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Administrator, the president was referring in the Oval earlier and yesterday to, I guess, some misinformation about the fire hydrants.  Can you just spell it out clearly: Is there a water shortage?  Is there an issue with water?  And if not, what — what’s the issue?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, I mean, I would really defer to the city and the county for the specifics, but what I have been briefed is that it was an overload of the system, right?  There were so many simultaneous fires that happened at once.  There was multiple firefighting resources that were utilizing and — and putting — using the water system to put out these fires, and it put a strain on the system.  And it takes time for that system to then regenerate. 

But the specifics on it, I really just want to make sure that you talk with them.  As we heard from, you know, the — the Cal — Los Angeles City Fire chief yesterday, they have — they’ve planned for this.  They have other resources available with water tenders, and now we have the ability to fly the aircraft into these communities to help put that fire out. 

And so, it really — you talk about the multiple simultaneous fires that started, and it just put a strain on the system, from my understanding. 

Q    And just one follow-up on the coordination with the incoming administration.  Are you speaking to anyone, yourself, from — on the transition?  And has the misinformation aspect come up in those discussions?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, we have a whole team dedicated to be working with the transition team, and they’re providing regular briefings to them on a daily basis.  And so, we’re providing whatever information that they ask for.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.

Q    President Biden committed to 180 days of 100 percent match on — on recovery funds.  I- — how — just technically, how is he able to commit to six months when he’s only going to be in office for 10 more days?  Is that locked in, or could that change if the next administration has a different idea?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  You know, this is a practice that many administrations have utilized to help support the immediate needs in the — the response to one of these major catastrophic disasters.  And what we want to be able to do is recognize the catastrophic impact of that. 

And the president has the authority, through the statute, through law, to be able to commit this amount of funding to support the recovery efforts.  I would hope that we look at this, as I think Karine said earlier, that these are communities that have had a catastrophic impact and that we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can as a federal family to support them on this recovery journey. 

The statute, the law allows us to do exactly what we did and allows the president to make that determination.  And this is what they need.  They need this support in order to facilitate the recovery that’s going to have to happen. 

Q    And — and just a quick follow.  Does that mean that it can’t be rolled back?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  I — I mean, I’m certain that, you know, anybody can make a determination on if they want to do something or not, but this was done according to the statute, and I would think that the statute would say that this is the — the direction that needs to happen and that it shouldn’t be rolled back.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.

Q    In your — this is Arlette Saenz with CNN.  In your conversations with any of the local officials, have any of them expressed concerns about the possibility that that funding could be rolled back?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Well, I think I’ve gotten the question from several people about what’s going to happen over the transition, and — and the same thing that I’ve said to you is that we have dedicated career women and men that have been supporting disaster response for everywhere around the country, not just this administration but the previous administration and every administration before that.  And the actions that we have taken in this administration are no different than the types of declarations that have happened before. 

And I, you know, want to assure them that the law, the Stafford Act, that gives us the authority to — to provide these declarations is one that has withstood since 1979.  And — and we will continue to implement it as directed by the law. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Kelly O.

Q    Administrator, it’s Kelly O’Donnell From NBC.  Do you have concerns about the inventory of available housing for people who have been displaced and for the length of time it would take for rebuilding?  Obviously, it’s going to be some time before you can even clear parcels that people may own or what have you.  Do you see almost an extinction of some of these communities for a period of time?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, we’re going to work with the state to understand what the housing stock is, because, as I said, one of the — the best resources that we have is our rental assistance.  And we want to get people into that longer-term temporary situation as quickly as possible so they can continue on with their lives. 

We’re going to have to do an assessment to see what the availability is and then determine if we’re going to need to bring in other tools to help support the ongoing housing requirement for these communities. 

But know that our goal is to keep people in these communities.  We do not want them to move far from their communities.  This is where they work; this is where their schools are; this is where their family, their religious institutions are.  And so, our goal is to find everything we can as close to their communities so they can keep the community part of them intact.  Right?  The houses and the buildings might be gone, but the community stays, right?  That community spirit will always be there. 

And so, that is what our goal is, and that’s what we’ll work with the state and the county to achieve.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  In the back, go ahead.

Q    Thanks.  Thanks, Karine.  Thanks, Administrator.  The president previewed that the death toll was likely to increase.  Does the federal government have a handle on how many missing people there are, as well as any advice you have for people dealing with air quality issues at the moment?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, I didn’t hear the second question.  But to answer the first question, that’s something I would have to defer to the state.  All of those numbers come from the coroner to determine the number of fatalities, and the number missing is something that they’ll track. 

We’re just going to continue to support them if they need resources to help with that. 

And then what was your second question?

Q    Just about advice that you would have for people dealing with air quality issues in the area?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  With their what issues?

Q    Air quality.

Q    Air quality. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Air quality issues in the area — what’s your advice? 

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Oh, air quality.  Air quality issues.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  What’s your advice to — to folks on the ground?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Again, listening to your — your local officials.  There’s definitely air quality issues around the area.  And, you know, the beauty of the wind dying down is that they can get better control over the fires, but it also doesn’t blow the smoke out. 

And so, there are definitely a lot of concerns from across the — the area here about what the air quality is going to look like.  And so, they need to make the decisions that’s best for them.  And I know that the Departments of Public Health at both the county and the state are providing information and guidance, and I would have them listen to them for what the best resources are for them to protect themselves from the air quality impacts from these fires. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  We’ve got to wrap it up.  Go ahead.  And then to you. 

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Thank you, Administrator.  I’m curious, as you’re briefing the incoming administration, are there specific steps you are recommending that they take in this response, given how long-term it’s likely going to be?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, that’s something that — I mean, our career staff that are here on the ground in California that are going to be back at headquarters, they will continue to work through all of the requirements to support the recovery efforts.

And as the incoming administration comes on board, we will give them an update as to where we’re at with the status and any challenges that we’re finding and — and the direction and the vision that we need to do to achieve the governor, the mayor’s outcomes for this disaster recovery, but all of the disaster recoveries.  Right?  We had 179 disaster declarations just last year alone. 

And so, our team that has been working these day in and day out for the last four years will continue to do so within the new administration. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.  Last question.

Q    Thank you, Karine.  So, as the rebuilding gets underway, will there be any requirements around fire-resistant building materials to be used and other safety measures that, you know, construction folks should adhere to?  Thank you. 

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  I — I think — I just want to make sure I heard the question: As the rebuilding begins, are there going to be requirements on how they rebuild?  Did I hear that right?  I’m sorry.

Q    Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yes, you did.

Q    On fire resistance, yeah. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, fire resistance.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah.  So, one of the things that we can do to help support these communities is we do have mechanisms through our mitigation programs, whether that’s in the — the public infrastructure that’s getting rebuilt or through our Hazard Mitigation Grants that the state can offer. 

As they rebuild, we want them to rebuild in a way that helps make them more fire resistant, and so we encourage the use of that flexibility within our authorities to make sure that these communities are stronger to face any future events that they might see like this.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  All right.  Administrator, since we have 10 days left, I wanted to be sure to say thank you so much for your service.  It’s been an honor to work with you.  Please stay safe in California.

And, again, thank you so much.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thanks, Karine.  Thanks, everybody.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Oh, I have actually two more things, and then I’ll get to questions. 

So, I’ll quickly turn to Venezuela, where Maduro once again demonstrated his complete disregard for democratic norms and proceeded with his illegitimate inauguration.  As President Biden emphasized during his meeting with President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia on Monday, January 6, we believe that it is essential that the will of the Venezuelan people is respected. 

In coordination with our partners, we’ve given Maduro and his representatives every opportunity to restore democracy, but they haven’t. 

So, today, we are building on all of our previous actions and taking further major actions.  We announced new sanctions on key Maduro-aligned officials as a part of our efforts to hold them accountable, and we imposed more visa restrictions, tot- — totaling nearly 2,000 individuals.  We also increased the reward amount to $25 million for Nicolás Maduro and his so-called minister of interior as part of the Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program — only the second and third to have the largest amount allowed.

It is important to note that we are taking these actions alongside similar actions taken by Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom to demonstrate a message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people and further elevate international efforts to maintain pressure on Maduro and his representatives.

Today, Maduro finds himself more alone than ever, with few friends in the region and in the world — and around the world.

And before I get to your question, just one more thing.  I didn’t want to hi- — I did want to highlight some good news we received this morning.  The final jobs report for the Biden-Harris administration was released today, and a remarkable 250,000 jobs were created last month, defying expectations.  Additionally, the unemployment rate ticked down to a low of 4.1 percent.

This is the only administration to gain jobs every month.  We had zero months with job losses.  This was no accident.  President Biden’s administration has delivered the strongest recovery in the world and laid a strong foundation for years to come by investing in America, empowering workers and unions, lowering costs, and supporting small businesses. 

Over 16.6 million jobs created; the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in 50 years; record-high unemployment — record-high employment rates for working-age women; and lowest Black-white unemployment gap on record.  Inflation down faster than almost any other advanced economy, and incomes up almost $4,000.

And, again, this was no accident.  This is because of the president’s leadership. 

And as the president said, our nation faces an inflection point: Do we continue to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, or do we backslide to trickle-down economics?  And that is a question that we have to ask.

In the meantime, we’ll continue with this briefing.  Go ahead.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  First off, yesterday, the Senate advanced the Laken Riley Act.  It passed the House.  If it’s presented to him before he leaves office on the 20th, would the president sign that bill or veto it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I’m not going to get ahead of — of what’s happening.  The proced- — I know there was a procedural vote that happened in the Senate.  I’m going to let the process play — play out, let the — let the senators do — do their work on that.  I don’t want to get ahead of that.

So, we’re going to let it play out.  I’m not going to get into a hypothetical on this right now.

Q    I mean, the administration also often puts out a statement to the administration’s policy, where it stands.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    So, you’re not putting one out here?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Well, the — the process is still playing out, and so we’re going to — we’re going to certainly follow all of the latest developments on this.  And so, we want to evaluate the bill.  We haven’t done that yet.  We want to evaluate the bill, certainly, at the end of that process, and then we will have more to say.  I just don’t want to get ahead of it right now.

Q    And the president, in the Oval, said he’d be speaking to us later today about Russia and some other issues.  Is —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — is that going to happen?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, we’ll have more to share with all of you on what the president is going to — to be speaking on.  Certainly, we’ll — we’ll share that shortly.

Q    The event he’ll be speaking today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That’s what the president said, and that’s what we’re working out.  (Laughs.)

Q    And then, lastly, it is customary for presidents often to leave office with a final press conference.  Does the president — how does he — does he plan to schedule one for his final week in office?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.  So, I don’t have anything to preview right now at this moment.  As you know, as you just mentioned, the president took questions today; he took questions yesterday.  He’s going to certainly continue to engage with all of you by taking your questions, as he’s done very — multiple times recently.

I — I don’t have anything to preview about a press conference.

Go ahead, Mary.

Q    Do you or do the — does the administration have any response to Donald Trump‘s sentencing earlier today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, we’re going to focus as — one of the reasons we had Administrator Criswell in the room, as you all know and you guys have done a very good job — some of you — certainly some of your colleagues who are out there on the ground — covering this disastrous, catastrophic fire.  And so, the president wants to continue to focus on that.  That’s what we want to continue to focus on.

We’re not focused on — on what occurred today, certainly, with the court decision.  We are — and we’ve been saying this — I know it’s probably ad nauseam we’ve been saying this — that we are running through the tape, and I think we have proven that almost every day, certainly, in 2025.  We’ve ha- — we’ve been pretty busy. 

And so, that’s going to be our focus: How — what can we do to continue to deliver for the American people, what can we do to make the lives of the American people better.  And that is our focus. 

I’m not going to — to speak to the decisions made in the court today.

Go ahead.

Q    Two questions, Karine.  One on Meta.  The — Meta made a decision this week about doing away with its fact-checking for Facebook and its other platforms.  Does the White House have a reaction to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I th- — we’ve been pretty consistent here over the last four years when a — any co- — any corporation or company makes a decision — a private company, let’s — to be more specific — makes a decision, we just are not going to comment.  So, I’m not going to comment on this.  And so, I’m just going to leave it in that realm. 

But, look, social media — I’ll say this: Social media companies make their own rules about content mod- — moderation and — but, with that said, we have been outspoken about our belief that the social media companies have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent to — spread of misinformation.  That is a responsibility that that company has, and we’ve always been pretty clear about that.

But spe- — speaking specifically to an announcement, we’re just not going to comment on that.

Q    I mean, I understand, but that is something that you guys have been outspoken about, and they’re making a change on it.  So —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, but we’ve al- —

Q    I guess it’s something I thought maybe you would want to comment on.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No.  I mean, look, we talk about social media companies having a responsibility.  We’ve always said that.  We’ve been — we’ve all been really clear about that.  We’ve also been clear that policy decisions that are made by private companies, we’re not going to speak to those specific an announcement. 

But we can speak broadly on our belief and how we see their responsibility, and that’s as far as we’ve always gone.  And we’re not just — we’re not going to go beyond that.

Q    And just briefly on another topic.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    With regard to the Russian sanctions that were announced today, does the president, does the White House have any concern that that could lead to an increase in gas prices for consumers? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, we took aim today, in — in your question, at Russia’s largest resources of revenue and imposed significant sanctions on the Russian energy sector.  These sanctions certainly target both Russian oil and LNG, and we expect our actions to cost Russia upwards to billions of dollars per month.  And so, that’s important to note as well.

And these — also, let’s not forget that these are also — these sanctions really continue to — to — for us to make good on the commitment that we made — that the president made and his G7 counterparts made to target Russia’s ability to use its energy sector to fund and sustain this war.  We’ve talked about this for some time, and so now the president certainly made good on that commitment. 

So, it’s not just us.  Obviously, we won’t — we join these actions with the UK, which imposed significant and complementary actions of its own. 

And so, I — I think it is important to note that, you know, by taking these significant actions against Russia, the oil markets are in fundamentally a better place.  That’s number one. 

And, number two, the U.S. economy is a fundamentally better place as well. 

And so, that’s why we took this action now.  This is a commitment that the president wanted to uphold — not just the president but also the G7 — his G7 counterparts, and that’s th- — that’s what you’re seeing right now. 

Q    But my question was whether you’re concerned that it will lead to an increase in gas prices. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, you know, I’ve said — look, one of the things that we expect and we believe is that the supply of energy is going to exceed global demand through this year with ample capacity within the — outside of APAC — OPEC+ to increase production, if necessary. 

So, since the start of Russia’s war, benchmark oil prices have fallen almost 35 bucks per barrel, and average U.S. gasoline prices have dropped from roughly $4 to just $3 per gallon.  That’s because of the actions that this president has taken.

And so, that is what we want to continue to see, and so that’s what we also think will continue to be — like, the gas prices — you know, we’re — we believe the ca- — gas prices will continue to — to be where it is and continue to — to go down because of the pres- — the actions that the president has taken. 

Go ahead.

Q    President Biden was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy when —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — he was in Rome today.  Is he planning to speak with him?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, the president did speak to President Zelenskyy moments ago.  We will have a readout for all of you. 

Obviously, the president wanted to reach out to President Zelenskyy because, as you just stated, they were supposed to meet in Rome.  It did not happen because the president decided to stay and be back here because of the catastrophic fires, obviously, that we’re seeing in Southern California.  So, the president decided to stay back. 

But they did have a conversation.  They spoke moments ago.  And so, we — I know the team, before I came out here, was going to work on a readout, and so we’ll have that out to all of you soon.

Q    Okay.  And in his interview with the USA Today earlier this week, the president talked a bit about preemptive pardons, saying that they are still potentially on the table.  Can you speak a little bit about the scope that he is considering —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — when it comes to that and if he’s any closer to a decision?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, we have been saying that the president will have more to say, more to announce on pardons and commutations.  So, that is — we have 10 days to go, so it’s — certainly, that will be very soon that we will make those announcement. 

I’m not going to get into the scope.  I’m not going to get ahead of the president, but we will be making some more additional announcements on pardons and commutations before the end of his term.

Go ahead.  Go ahead.

Q    You mentioned the president spokes with — spoke with Zelenskyy, but is he also going to have a conversation with the Pope?  I know he was also supposed to meet with him.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Or is there any thought that the Rome trip could sort of reemerge in the —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Look —

Q    — final 10 days?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — I don’t have anything to say, to add, or to announce about a change in schedule.  What I can say is — I just mentioned that he spoke to President Zelenskyy.  He wanted to share with the president our continued support for Ukraine, which you’ve seen over the past three years, and so that was a part of their conversation.

As it relates to the Pope, I don’t have anything to announce about a conversation with the Pope.  And so, if we have anything to share, we certainly will share with that — with all of you. 

Go ahead, Kelly O.

Q    Has the president received any updated information about the status of his son’s home in California?  Also, his granddaughter lives there now.  He did make some reference to seeing some pictures — I couldn’t — I wasn’t quite certain I heard it correctly — related to Secret Service being burned out.  Can you give us an update on anything that relates to the family?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So — so, what I can say, Secret Service — you would have to reach out to the Secret Service to — for them to — to speak to any — any developments in what has occurred with them.

As it relates to the — to the president and his son, I don’t have anything else to add beyond what the president shared.  Just don’t have anything at this time.

Q    But is he get- — is he inquiring and getting any on-the-ground information related to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I don’t have anything to share. 

What I can say is that, when it relates to Secret Service, certainly, you have to reach out to the Secret Service. 

But, obviously, he’s in close touch with —

Q    Right.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — his son —

Q    Well, I only ask about that because —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — and his family. 

Q    — he referenced that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — and they would only be present if protectees were at issue, and — and they would be connected to the president.  So, that’s why I’m asking if he’s getting any update on anything related to that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Well, again, I don’t have anything else to — to add to what the president shared.

As it relates to Secret Sl- — Service and protectees and what they’re doing specifically, you would have to reach out to the Secret Service, and we’ve been pretty consistent on that. 

Q    And did he have any opportunity at all to speak to the president-elect about the fires?  And they were obviously briefly in the same place yesterday with the Carter funeral and — and so forth. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Does he see a need to — I know there’s a full transition operation.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I was going to say, there’s a full transition operation.  You heard — 

Q    Fully aware of that, but —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  You heard the administrator — the administrator talk about their kind of process on that side as it relates to FEMA.  Don’t have a conversation to read out that the president had with the president-elect. 

But, as you said, there is a transition happening.  We want it to be effective.  We want to make sure that they have what they need, and so that continues. 

Q    And one last one.  As —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — as a part of transition, is an office of the former president also being stood up?  And would that be in Delaware, presumably?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, I don’t have anything to say — to say about location, but the protocols that normally occur when a form- — when a president leaves his post, it’s going to continue.  I don’t have a location for you.

Go ahead.

Q    Yeah.  Just briefly, we talked about the president’s family being affected by this.  The vice president’s home was also under an evacuation order.  Any update there on her home there in Los Angeles area?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, I mean, it — it’s devastating.  This is her — her city, her neighborhood, and — and her state.  I — I would have to refer you to the vice president’s office on any updates that they might share with — with you. 

I don’t have anything for you at this time, but, certainly, it’s devastating.  So many people are affected by this, and it’s heartbreaking. 

Q    Just a quick follow-up.  Will she travel to the Los Angeles area this weekend?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Is there any travel plan for her?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I would refer you to the vice president’s office on any travel on — on her schedule.

Q    And one more.  One more.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.  Sure.

Q    One quick — quick one, I promise.  So, we talk about the transition.  Have you hosted any conversations with your immediate successor?  And when will your final briefing take place?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  (Laughs.)  I’m sure you guys are all very excited about that. 

Q    No, I’m just asking for the folks (inaudible).

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I have not had a discussion with my successor.  I’m letting the transition team kind of manage that process and just doing my job, focusing on my job, on behalf of the president. 

And we will have a briefing next week, and, certainly, we will share that with all of you to — I guess, to — to say goodbye.  (Laughs.)

Q    Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  All right.  Go ahead.

Q    Hi, Karine.  A couple of topics, if you don’t mind.  First, on Venezuela.  You mentioned the sanctions that the administration is putting on Venezuela in its final 10 days.  Are you in discussions with the incoming administration about policy towards Venezuela?  And are you expecting those sanctions to hold once Trump does take office?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  And so, look, I can’t speak to what the next administration is going to do or not do.  What I can say is — and I believe Jake Sullivan talked about this when — the National Security Advisor talked about this a couple times, whether in a gaggle, here at the podium, saying that they’re — they are in constant communication with their incoming counterparts, the NSC is.  And so, I’m sure those conversations are happening on that side of things dur- — with the transitioning. 

I — you know, I can’t speak to what the next administration is going to do or not do, but we are in constant communication with — the transition team here is in constant communication with their transition — well, their transition team is in constant communication with our — our folks here. 

Q    Just another one on Havana syndrome —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — and AHIs.  There’s been a slight shift in the intelligence community assessment surrounding this phenomenon. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Does the White House believe that this is because of foreign actors — it’s happening because of foreign actors? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, we put out a statement on this.  I would certainly refer you to the statement that came out from my colleague, out of the National Security Council.

What I will say is the intelligence — the intelligence community assessment is one element of — of an interdisciplinary approach this administration has taken to getting to the bottom of these incidents.  We believe it’s important to do so and ensuring our colleagues receive the support and care they need and that they deserve. 

So, the IC’s updated assessment is a product of ongoing analysis.  That’s basically what is stated in our — in our statement in — in — to make sure that we continue those efforts, which we welcome and which only reinforce why it is vital for the U.S. government to continue critical research, investigate credible incidents, and provide care. 

So, they’re an ongoing process.  And so, that is part of what, certainly, our statement stated, and also what the ICA said as well. 

Q    I read statement from Sean earlier —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, yeah.

Q    — and part of it said that the administration, current administration will be briefing the incoming administration about this to continue that work.  What does that kind of briefing process look like, and what does it involve?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, I’m not going to get into

private discussions or conversations.  Obviously, this is an intelligence community situation, so I’m going to leave it in their — certainly in their hands.  So, I’m not going to divulge or get into what those conversations will look like.

But like I’ve said multiple times, we are certainly keeping the transition team up to date on — on matters that ma- — that are important, certainly, to our national security, but to the American people.

Q    Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  Go ahead, Josh.

Q    Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead, Josh.

Q    The Supreme Court indicated today that it will allow the TikTok ban or divestment ruling to proceed with the deadline of January 19th.  Does the administration have a position on whether that should happen?  Of course, the —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — incoming administration, he’s changed his view. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I — look, we’ve been very clear about our position.  Obviously, the president signed the bill, and we believe it’s not a — it’s not a ban.  It’s a divestment. 

And obviously, there are provisions in that on how to move forward.  It’s in the courts.  We’ve allowed that process to play out.  I don’t have anything else to add beyond that.

Q    Can a divestment happen in nine days?  I mean, it seems like it’s door number one at this point. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, we’ve been very clear where we stand on this.  Nine, ten days — I would certainly leave it up to TikTok to speak to that. 

Q    Going back to the Russia sanctions.  Can you walk us through the thought process on this?  Is — is this — the president-elect has obviously made clear his desire for some sort of deal to end the fighting. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Is this trying to set the table for that by ratcheting up pressure on Russia?  Another way of asking that is: Why not do this earlier than now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, this is — as I stated, this is a commitment that was made by the president and the G7 counterparts — his G7 counterparts.  And we’ve always said that we were going to find ways to put pressure on Russia.  We’ve always said that it is up to Russia to end this war.  They can do it today. 

And we’ve been, I think, pretty clear on that.  We — this is not the first sanctions.  We’ve done multiple sanctions over the past almost three years as this war has gone on. 

And so, this was — you know, it wasn’t just us.  This was also in coordination with our allies and partners.  And so, that’s what you saw.  You saw UK make an announcement as well.

And — but we’ve — we’ve been clear — we’ve been clear that we were going to take actions.  And so, that’s what you see from — from this administration. 

But this is not the first one.  Right?  We’ve done multiple, as I just stated, actions before, and we want to make sure that we hold Russia accountable here. 

Q    But by definition, these are — you made the choice not to do these specific actions, which are pretty significant —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, they are significant.

Q    — for — for a —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  You’re right.

Q    — couple of — couple of years.  So, why now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Again, I just said —

Q    You know, why didn’t you do it a year ago?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, I hear you.

Q    Why now?  What changed?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  And again, in my answer to you just moments ago, it’s not just us.  This is also being done with our G7 counterparts.  This is a — a — essentially, a group effort, and that’s what you’re seeing today.

Q    Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I know I have to — go ahead.

Q    Thank you, Karine.  Do you have updates on the American citizens that are being detained in Venezuela?  The Maduro government claims one of them is an FBI agent.  If you can confirm? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I don’t have any updates for you at this time.  I certainly would refer you to the State Department.

Look, when it comes to Americans being held hostage, wrongfully detained, you have seen from this administration our efforts to make sure that we get Americans home.  I think we have shown some success in doing that, and that is going to continue to be our commitment, even though we have 9, 10 days left. 

I don’t have an update in this particular — on this particular individual.  I certainly would refer you to the State Department.

Q    And one more.  If we can get a reaction on Indonesia becoming a full member of BRICS.  Indonesia is obviously Southeast Asia’s largest economy.  That could lend credibility to BRICS’s ambition to become the alternative to the G7, particularly as we head into the new U.S. administration, which may have a different approach towards multilateral cooperation. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I don’t have anything specific to say about this.  I would have to refer you to our — our National Security Council on that particular question. 

Go ahead, Gerren.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Meta also reportedly eliminated its DEI programs in hiring, training, and picking suppliers, and they cite the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.  I know you said that you wouldn’t comment on business policies, but the administration really went out of its way to sort of convince businesses not to interpret that ruling as anything that — further than that.  Is there a disappointment there that — that companies like Meta and McDonald’s, Walmart are rolling back these DEI policies?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, not going to comment on a specific — a specific action that a private company takes. 

But what I can say is that you’ve heard from this president.  You’ve heard from this administration.  Diversity is our greatest strength.  You have seen this not just by words, by action that this president has taken.  And certainly, that is a sentiment you’ve heard echoed by leaders across — across businesses and government, not just us. 

And so, that continues to be our stance on this.  It is important to have different voices around the table.  It is important to have different important to have different voices, you know, working on policy to make sure that we are delivering for the American people. 

And that’s what we have done.  That’s what we have shown.  And as it relates to specific companies, I’m just not going to comment on that policy. 

But I think by our actions and what you have seen us do over the last four years — our commitment to that, our commitment to making sure communities that are normally left behind have a voice or not — or don’t feel like they don’t have access, and changing that around. 

We have done that in many ways, whether it’s the economy, whether it’s lowering cost on — on drug — on sper- — prescription drugs, making sure manufacturing jobs come back, helping t- — for wages to go up.  We have done this and shown our commitment to that. 

Again, I’m not going to speak to any particular company.

Q    Just one more question.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yep.  Sure.

Q    I recently spoke to Reverend Al Sharpton, and he said that he wanted the president to issue a pardon for Baltimore County State Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Jesse Jackson, Jr.  Can we expect to hear an announcement on any high-profile pardons such as these?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, I’m not going to get ahead of the president.  He’s going to make some more announcements on pardons and commutations.  Certainly, we’ve heard from groups out there who have certainly been very vocal about what they think the par- — the president should do.  The president and his team is working through it.  They’re trying to figure out the best way forward. 

Obviously, the president believes in Americans who have shown that they can get a second chance to have that second chance, and I think you’ve seen that.  This is a president that has been pretty historic in his actions in — in moving forward with pardons and co- — commutations.  I’m not going to get ahead of him.

All right.  Go ahead, Karen.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Does the president expect that President-elect Trump will be here in the morning before the inauguration?  Has that invitation been accepted by the president-elect?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I would refer you to the transition team to speak to what the president-elect is going to do or not do on January 20th.

Q    But he extended the invitation to come here —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That is something that is a tradition, so, obviously, we are going to try to continue that con- — tradition, but I would have to refer it to his transition team.

Go ahead, Emily.

Q    Thanks.  I have a few follow-up questions on the transition process.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    To follow up on what Karen was asking, it’s also a tradition for the president — incoming president to stay at Blair House.  Is that an invitation that’s been extended?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I don’t have anything to share on if the president-elect is going to be staying at the Blair House.  What I — what I will say is we certainly are trying to continue the traditions here.  We want this to be an effected, efficient, peaceful transfer of power. 

Once we have more to share, certainly would share from our end of things.  And anything that’s related to the president-elect, I would refer you to the transition team.

Q    And then we’ve seen some moving trucks out here today.  (Laughter.)  Can you talk about where you guys are physically in the process?  And have there been any directives — because, I know, in the past, with the other administration, there’s been issues with classified documents and mix-ups, and I know you guys have said you want to be careful and follow the rules.  So —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  We are going to do our best, certainly, to be careful, to follow the rules, to do this the right way, to follow traditions, obviously, as the president truly wants to do, as he showed right after the election, having the president-elect in the Oval Office, and putting everything aside and making sure that we were putting the American people first and what they wanted.  You know, respecting the results of the election, that’s what you’ve seen from this administration. 

And we have 9, 10 days left, and we’re trying to run through the tape, do everything that we can and — and get out of here in time on — on December — “on December” — on January 20th. 

Go ahead.

Q    Speaking of the days left, Monday, the president is going to deliver this capstone speech on — on foreign policy at the State Department.  I just wanted to sort of see what you could share from a preview.  Is this sort of a — a defense of his foreign policy?  Is it a warning to allies or advice that he wants to give the incoming administration?  How should we kind of view the speech that the president is going to give?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  (Laughs.)  Well, as I’ve stated many times already at the podium, as it relates to the pardon commutation, I’m not going to get ahead of the president.  And so, he is going — he wanted to make the speech.  There has been — you know, there’s a — there has been some key events, obviously, that has happened across the globe o- — in his — in his tenure.  And this is someone who has been — when it comes to foreign policy, that is something that has been a key pillar of who he is and how — in his career.

And — and let’s not forget, 50-plus years as a public official, elected official.  And so, he has some thoughts on the future, not just of the country but how — how this country moves forward as a leader, when you think about global events, glob- — important global issues.  And certainly, he will lay that out.

I don’t want to get ahead of him, but you could be — you could reassure there are major events happening right now: the — the — Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Middle East, and many other — Indo-Pacific, many other important matters that he’s going to certainly lean into.  But I — I don’t want to get ahead of the president.

All right.  Thanks, everybody.  I’ll see you next week.

Q    Thank you.

Q    Any reaction to the Title IX ruling, Karine?

3:32 P.M. EST

The post Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell appeared first on The White House.

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:40 P.M. EST

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Hi, everybody.  Hi.  Good afternoon.

Q    Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  All right.  So, the president and the first lady continue to grieve the lives lost and livelihoods destroyed by the tragic wildfires that are burning communities in Southern California to the ground. 

Before I hand it over to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who has been on the ground in California and will provide further details on fer- — on the federal response, I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone in this room and who is watching at home that this is not about politics.  This is about people.  This is about humanity — people who have literally lost everything.  Homes, schools, and businesses, entire communities burnt to the ground.  Treasured artifacts, like personal photos, precious family heirlooms, and other priceless belongings all reduced to rubble. 

And I know there’s many of you, your colleagues out there, who are on the ground trying to cov- — to cover all of the disastrous moments that we’re seeing on the ground with this event, and I hope you all are — are being safe out there.

We need to be thinking about Californians, their priorities, and how we can all come together to support them.  From Maui to North Carolina to — to California, we have seen that these disasters do not discriminate.  So, it is on all of us to show these people, to show folks in California some compassion as they are reckoning with an unimaginable disaster.

While nothing can bring back what many have lost, the president and his administration are continuing to use every tool at our disposal to help fight these fires and ensure that the communities impacted are able to recover.  The president has received regular briefings on the fires.  And at his direction, his team has been in contact — constant contact with their s- — with their state and local counterparts from the day the fire started.

Just last night, he spoke separately with Governor Newsom, Senator Schiff, Congressman Sherman and Lou, Mayor Bass, and LA County Supervisors Solis and Barger to discuss the latest updates on the wildfires across Los Angeles.  And earlier this week, the president was in California, where he received briefings from personnel on the ground and met with firefighters who are on the front lines of this response to ensure they have the resources they need.

As soon as the fires broke out, FEMA approved Fire Management Assistance Grants to reimburse California for firefighting costs, and the pre- — president immediately approved the state’s request for a major disaster declaration for California, allowing impacted communities and survivors to immediately access funds and resourc- — resources to jump-start their recovery.

As you just heard from the president moments ago, we have made some progress over the last 24 hours.  Overnight, local, state, and federal firefighters partially contained some of the largest wildfires.  There is still a long way to go, but we will continue to be with the people of California every step of the way.

Other actions the Biden-Harris administration has taken is to support local firefighting efforts, include five U.S. Forest Ser- — Forest Service large air tankers operating in Southern California, with an additional tanker en route; over 20 federal firefighting helicopters performing operational — operations in the area in support of state and local firefighters. 

Additionally, two air firefighting system units are being deployed from each of the California and National — Nevada National Guards, and 10 Navy helicopters with water buckets are en route from San Diego.  And Colorado is providing assistance, from the mobilization of aviation assets, as well as fielding of 50 engine companies to assist with firefighting on the ground.

As always, we stand ready to provide further support as needed, and we urge residents in the affected areas to remain vigilant and heed the warnings of local officials, especially if you have been ordered to evacuate.

And to everyone impacted by this tra- — tragedy, please remember that we see you, we are with you, and we will do everything within our power to get you the help that you need.

With that, I will turn it over to the FEMA administrator, Criswell.  The floor is yours.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thanks, Kar- — thank you, Karine.  Good afternoon, everybody.

You know, I just want to start by telling everybody that has been impacted by these devastating fires that my heart is with each and every one of you, and I know that you continue to face these fires, as they are still working to bring them under control.  And unfortunately, this will probably be a life-changing event for so many of you. 

But FEMA is here, along with our entire federal family, to help you through this recovery process.  We are going to continue to support the state and the local jurisdictions, the local first responders as they continue to try to contain this fire and eventually extinguish this fire.

I arrived on the ground yesterday, as Karine said, at the direction of the president.  I had an opportunity to meet with Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass.  We discussed what their immediate needs were, as well as began the conversation about what their recovery needs are going to be.

The governor, the mayor, and I had an opportunity just before this to also brief the president and the vice president about what their concerns are, about what their needs are going to be, and provided an update on the current status of the firefighting operations.

Yesterday, I also had an opportunity to receive briefings from the incident command posts at the Palisades fire, as well as the Eaton fire. 

And I think the most important thing that I want to make sure I continue to get across to everyone, as this situation is still very dangerous: It is still very dynamic.  The winds have died down today, but as I just got a weather briefing at the county EOC, the winds are going to increase again in the coming days.  And so, people still need to stay vigilant.  They need to listen to their local officials.  They need to heed their advice so they can keep themselves and their families safe.

I also want to just take a minute to commend all of the amazing and heroic work that the firefighters are doing around the clock to fight these fires.  They have been working night and day. 

I had a chance to speak with several of them, some of them whose homes have also been lost or their families have had to evacuate, yet they still show up every day, supporting their communities, trying to keep them safe.

And I just want to say thank you.  I want to thank all of them for their heroic efforts, because they are making a difference.

Now, while the National Interagency Fire Center continues to provide resources to support Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County and City Fire Departments, FEMA is also supporting the recovery efforts.  We’re supporting those that have been impacted by this fire.  I even met with the SBA administrator here just briefly, who is also here to support them — businesses and individuals that have been impacted by these fires.

With the quick major disaster declaration, residents can now register and begin their recovery journey.  Some of the immediate things that we can provide to them are to cover the costs that they’re incurring as they have been evacuated, helping to support what their longer-term shelter and housing needs are going to be.  We can also help support crisis counseling and disaster unemployment. 

These are just a few of the programs that we have.  We have many more, and I encourage everyone to begin that process by registering now.

Recovery from these fires is going to be complex.  I’ve seen many disasters throughout my four years in this role.  This is certainly one of the worst that I have seen.

And the debris removal alone is going to be one of the major things that we have to accomplish — that the state has to accomplish to get this recovery journey started, and that’s why — when President Biden authorized 100 percent reimbursement for the first 180 days is really going to set the stage to jump-start this recovery for these communities. 

I had a chance to drive through some of the communities that were impacted as well, and it’s not just the homes that are lost.  We’ve seen schools that have been destroyed, businesses, small businesses, religious institutions.  These are things that we are going to be help being — are going to be able to help with temporary facilities, like temporary schools to help get children back into the schoolhouse, but also any other emergency measures as they begin the work of permanent repair.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed, and we continue to hear the numbers change, but know that this is going to be a long-term recovery for all of these individuals that have been impacted. 

And as I told the governor and the mayor yesterday and today, I assured them that our programs, our staff, the entire federal family are going to be here with them, alongside them, helping them achieve the outcomes that they need to — to not just rebuild these communities but also rebuild them in a way that’s going to make them stronger and more resistant to the types of weather events that they have been experiencing. 

This recovery journey is going to be long, but we are going to be there with them to support them every step of the way. 

And with that, Karine, I’m happy to take some questions. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Thank you so much, Administrator.

Go ahead, Zeke.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Thanks, Administrator.  Hope you could speak to whether the admin- — whether your agency has enough money currently to fund the immediate response needs, or is there a need to go to Con- — Congress quickly to get additional funds.  And then, separately, 10 days out from the presidential transition, what steps are underway at FEMA to ensure that what has been done so far, what’s going to be done in the coming days is sustained at the career level and — and beyond, you know, into the new administration?  Thank you.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, with the recent supplemental, FEMA received $27 billion, and so we are now able to continue to support the ongoing recovery efforts for all of the disasters that we have been supporting to include, now, the immediate response and the initial recovery efforts that are going to be needed here in California.  So, we’re very grateful for the bipartisan support from Congress to give us that additional funding so we can meet the needs of the individuals that have been impacted. 

And as far as going through the transition, you know, we have an amazing, dedicated workforce of women and men that are going to be able to continue to support them.  Our regional administrator here has worked many fires across several different administrations, and we are going to work day in and day out to continue to support them through the authorities that are given to us through the Stafford Act.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead. 

Q    Thank you, Administrator, for taking our questions.  I wonder, realistically, how quickly will people be able to obtain these temporary living quarters?  What are you doing to set those up?  Where are you setting them up, and how are you making sure to get in contact with people that may need those temporary shelters?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, so the first step that everybody needs to do — there’s two things.  They need to register for assistance with FEMA so they get in our system and we can continue to work with them on a case-by-case basis, because we know that everybody is going to have an individual and unique need.  And they need to contact their insurance company, because their insurance company may also provide alternate living expenses. 

We have a suite of tools, and one of the biggest tools and the best resources we have is reimbursing individuals for either the hotel costs that they’re experiencing right now, or if they find a place to rent, reimbursing them for rental assistance.  Given where we’re at right now, we know that there’s going to be a lot of rental resources, and that’s going to be the best resource and the best tool that we have to support the families that have been impacted, but we have other tools in our toolbox.

And so, again, we want to work with everybody individually because we know that everybody’s situation is going to be different, and we’re going to apply the right tool for their particular situation. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead, Mary.

Q    Thank you, Administrator.  I — I know you can’t, obviously, put a dollar sign on this, but can you just help us put into perspective a bit how you think the cost of this may compare to the cost of other recent natural disasters? 

And I’m hoping you could also comment on some misinformation that’s out there — we’ve seen these erroneous evacuation orders — and how concerned you are that that may lead to people to not responding to or not paying close enough attention to actual, real alerts.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, it’s really hard right now on the — the cost of the disaster, to put a number on it, because we haven’t been able to assess how much of the infrastructure has been damaged.  I mean, we know that thousands of homes that have been impacted, but the real cost of these disasters comes from how much of the actual infrastructure has been damaged — the roads, the water system, the power — but also the soft costs and the economic impact. 

We know that this is going to be billions, and so we really want to continue to focus right now on whatever we can do to continue to support California in getting this fire suppressed and starting this recovery process. 

And, again, thanks to the bipartisan support of Congress, we have enough funding to support those recovery efforts and these response efforts.

And as far as the misinformation and the alert that went out, I mean, we want to make sure people are getting timely and accurate information.  And I will defer to the county for the specifics on what they’re doing as far as that alert, but know that it’s part of our wireless emergency alert platform that FEMA offers to state and locals, and we are providing technical assistance to them to make sure we can help them understand what happened and ensure that it doesn’t happen again, because we have to be able to send out accurate information so we — so we can give people the right information and they know to believe it. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead, Jeff.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Administrator, the president was referring in the Oval earlier and yesterday to, I guess, some misinformation about the fire hydrants.  Can you just spell it out clearly: Is there a water shortage?  Is there an issue with water?  And if not, what — what’s the issue?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, I mean, I would really defer to the city and the county for the specifics, but what I have been briefed is that it was an overload of the system, right?  There were so many simultaneous fires that happened at once.  There was multiple firefighting resources that were utilizing and — and putting — using the water system to put out these fires, and it put a strain on the system.  And it takes time for that system to then regenerate. 

But the specifics on it, I really just want to make sure that you talk with them.  As we heard from, you know, the — the Cal — Los Angeles City Fire chief yesterday, they have — they’ve planned for this.  They have other resources available with water tenders, and now we have the ability to fly the aircraft into these communities to help put that fire out. 

And so, it really — you talk about the multiple simultaneous fires that started, and it just put a strain on the system, from my understanding. 

Q    And just one follow-up on the coordination with the incoming administration.  Are you speaking to anyone, yourself, from — on the transition?  And has the misinformation aspect come up in those discussions?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, we have a whole team dedicated to be working with the transition team, and they’re providing regular briefings to them on a daily basis.  And so, we’re providing whatever information that they ask for.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.

Q    President Biden committed to 180 days of 100 percent match on — on recovery funds.  I- — how — just technically, how is he able to commit to six months when he’s only going to be in office for 10 more days?  Is that locked in, or could that change if the next administration has a different idea?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  You know, this is a practice that many administrations have utilized to help support the immediate needs in the — the response to one of these major catastrophic disasters.  And what we want to be able to do is recognize the catastrophic impact of that. 

And the president has the authority, through the statute, through law, to be able to commit this amount of funding to support the recovery efforts.  I would hope that we look at this, as I think Karine said earlier, that these are communities that have had a catastrophic impact and that we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can as a federal family to support them on this recovery journey. 

The statute, the law allows us to do exactly what we did and allows the president to make that determination.  And this is what they need.  They need this support in order to facilitate the recovery that’s going to have to happen. 

Q    And — and just a quick follow.  Does that mean that it can’t be rolled back?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  I — I mean, I’m certain that, you know, anybody can make a determination on if they want to do something or not, but this was done according to the statute, and I would think that the statute would say that this is the — the direction that needs to happen and that it shouldn’t be rolled back.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.

Q    In your — this is Arlette Saenz with CNN.  In your conversations with any of the local officials, have any of them expressed concerns about the possibility that that funding could be rolled back?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Well, I think I’ve gotten the question from several people about what’s going to happen over the transition, and — and the same thing that I’ve said to you is that we have dedicated career women and men that have been supporting disaster response for everywhere around the country, not just this administration but the previous administration and every administration before that.  And the actions that we have taken in this administration are no different than the types of declarations that have happened before. 

And I, you know, want to assure them that the law, the Stafford Act, that gives us the authority to — to provide these declarations is one that has withstood since 1979.  And — and we will continue to implement it as directed by the law. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Kelly O.

Q    Administrator, it’s Kelly O’Donnell From NBC.  Do you have concerns about the inventory of available housing for people who have been displaced and for the length of time it would take for rebuilding?  Obviously, it’s going to be some time before you can even clear parcels that people may own or what have you.  Do you see almost an extinction of some of these communities for a period of time?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, we’re going to work with the state to understand what the housing stock is, because, as I said, one of the — the best resources that we have is our rental assistance.  And we want to get people into that longer-term temporary situation as quickly as possible so they can continue on with their lives. 

We’re going to have to do an assessment to see what the availability is and then determine if we’re going to need to bring in other tools to help support the ongoing housing requirement for these communities. 

But know that our goal is to keep people in these communities.  We do not want them to move far from their communities.  This is where they work; this is where their schools are; this is where their family, their religious institutions are.  And so, our goal is to find everything we can as close to their communities so they can keep the community part of them intact.  Right?  The houses and the buildings might be gone, but the community stays, right?  That community spirit will always be there. 

And so, that is what our goal is, and that’s what we’ll work with the state and the county to achieve.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  In the back, go ahead.

Q    Thanks.  Thanks, Karine.  Thanks, Administrator.  The president previewed that the death toll was likely to increase.  Does the federal government have a handle on how many missing people there are, as well as any advice you have for people dealing with air quality issues at the moment?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, I didn’t hear the second question.  But to answer the first question, that’s something I would have to defer to the state.  All of those numbers come from the coroner to determine the number of fatalities, and the number missing is something that they’ll track. 

We’re just going to continue to support them if they need resources to help with that. 

And then what was your second question?

Q    Just about advice that you would have for people dealing with air quality issues in the area?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  With their what issues?

Q    Air quality.

Q    Air quality. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Air quality issues in the area — what’s your advice? 

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Oh, air quality.  Air quality issues.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  What’s your advice to — to folks on the ground?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Again, listening to your — your local officials.  There’s definitely air quality issues around the area.  And, you know, the beauty of the wind dying down is that they can get better control over the fires, but it also doesn’t blow the smoke out. 

And so, there are definitely a lot of concerns from across the — the area here about what the air quality is going to look like.  And so, they need to make the decisions that’s best for them.  And I know that the Departments of Public Health at both the county and the state are providing information and guidance, and I would have them listen to them for what the best resources are for them to protect themselves from the air quality impacts from these fires. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  We’ve got to wrap it up.  Go ahead.  And then to you. 

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Thank you, Administrator.  I’m curious, as you’re briefing the incoming administration, are there specific steps you are recommending that they take in this response, given how long-term it’s likely going to be?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, that’s something that — I mean, our career staff that are here on the ground in California that are going to be back at headquarters, they will continue to work through all of the requirements to support the recovery efforts.

And as the incoming administration comes on board, we will give them an update as to where we’re at with the status and any challenges that we’re finding and — and the direction and the vision that we need to do to achieve the governor, the mayor’s outcomes for this disaster recovery, but all of the disaster recoveries.  Right?  We had 179 disaster declarations just last year alone. 

And so, our team that has been working these day in and day out for the last four years will continue to do so within the new administration. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.  Last question.

Q    Thank you, Karine.  So, as the rebuilding gets underway, will there be any requirements around fire-resistant building materials to be used and other safety measures that, you know, construction folks should adhere to?  Thank you. 

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  I — I think — I just want to make sure I heard the question: As the rebuilding begins, are there going to be requirements on how they rebuild?  Did I hear that right?  I’m sorry.

Q    Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yes, you did.

Q    On fire resistance, yeah. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, fire resistance.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah.  So, one of the things that we can do to help support these communities is we do have mechanisms through our mitigation programs, whether that’s in the — the public infrastructure that’s getting rebuilt or through our Hazard Mitigation Grants that the state can offer. 

As they rebuild, we want them to rebuild in a way that helps make them more fire resistant, and so we encourage the use of that flexibility within our authorities to make sure that these communities are stronger to face any future events that they might see like this.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  All right.  Administrator, since we have 10 days left, I wanted to be sure to say thank you so much for your service.  It’s been an honor to work with you.  Please stay safe in California.

And, again, thank you so much.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thanks, Karine.  Thanks, everybody.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Oh, I have actually two more things, and then I’ll get to questions. 

So, I’ll quickly turn to Venezuela, where Maduro once again demonstrated his complete disregard for democratic norms and proceeded with his illegitimate inauguration.  As President Biden emphasized during his meeting with President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia on Monday, January 6, we believe that it is essential that the will of the Venezuelan people is respected. 

In coordination with our partners, we’ve given Maduro and his representatives every opportunity to restore democracy, but they haven’t. 

So, today, we are building on all of our previous actions and taking further major actions.  We announced new sanctions on key Maduro-aligned officials as a part of our efforts to hold them accountable, and we imposed more visa restrictions, tot- — totaling nearly 2,000 individuals.  We also increased the reward amount to $25 million for Nicolás Maduro and his so-called minister of interior as part of the Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program — only the second and third to have the largest amount allowed.

It is important to note that we are taking these actions alongside similar actions taken by Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom to demonstrate a message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people and further elevate international efforts to maintain pressure on Maduro and his representatives.

Today, Maduro finds himself more alone than ever, with few friends in the region and in the world — and around the world.

And before I get to your question, just one more thing.  I didn’t want to hi- — I did want to highlight some good news we received this morning.  The final jobs report for the Biden-Harris administration was released today, and a remarkable 250,000 jobs were created last month, defying expectations.  Additionally, the unemployment rate ticked down to a low of 4.1 percent.

This is the only administration to gain jobs every month.  We had zero months with job losses.  This was no accident.  President Biden’s administration has delivered the strongest recovery in the world and laid a strong foundation for years to come by investing in America, empowering workers and unions, lowering costs, and supporting small businesses. 

Over 16.6 million jobs created; the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in 50 years; record-high unemployment — record-high employment rates for working-age women; and lowest Black-white unemployment gap on record.  Inflation down faster than almost any other advanced economy, and incomes up almost $4,000.

And, again, this was no accident.  This is because of the president’s leadership. 

And as the president said, our nation faces an inflection point: Do we continue to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, or do we backslide to trickle-down economics?  And that is a question that we have to ask.

In the meantime, we’ll continue with this briefing.  Go ahead.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  First off, yesterday, the Senate advanced the Laken Riley Act.  It passed the House.  If it’s presented to him before he leaves office on the 20th, would the president sign that bill or veto it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I’m not going to get ahead of — of what’s happening.  The proced- — I know there was a procedural vote that happened in the Senate.  I’m going to let the process play — play out, let the — let the senators do — do their work on that.  I don’t want to get ahead of that.

So, we’re going to let it play out.  I’m not going to get into a hypothetical on this right now.

Q    I mean, the administration also often puts out a statement to the administration’s policy, where it stands.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    So, you’re not putting one out here?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Well, the — the process is still playing out, and so we’re going to — we’re going to certainly follow all of the latest developments on this.  And so, we want to evaluate the bill.  We haven’t done that yet.  We want to evaluate the bill, certainly, at the end of that process, and then we will have more to say.  I just don’t want to get ahead of it right now.

Q    And the president, in the Oval, said he’d be speaking to us later today about Russia and some other issues.  Is —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — is that going to happen?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, we’ll have more to share with all of you on what the president is going to — to be speaking on.  Certainly, we’ll — we’ll share that shortly.

Q    The event he’ll be speaking today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That’s what the president said, and that’s what we’re working out.  (Laughs.)

Q    And then, lastly, it is customary for presidents often to leave office with a final press conference.  Does the president — how does he — does he plan to schedule one for his final week in office?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.  So, I don’t have anything to preview right now at this moment.  As you know, as you just mentioned, the president took questions today; he took questions yesterday.  He’s going to certainly continue to engage with all of you by taking your questions, as he’s done very — multiple times recently.

I — I don’t have anything to preview about a press conference.

Go ahead, Mary.

Q    Do you or do the — does the administration have any response to Donald Trump‘s sentencing earlier today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, we’re going to focus as — one of the reasons we had Administrator Criswell in the room, as you all know and you guys have done a very good job — some of you — certainly some of your colleagues who are out there on the ground — covering this disastrous, catastrophic fire.  And so, the president wants to continue to focus on that.  That’s what we want to continue to focus on.

We’re not focused on — on what occurred today, certainly, with the court decision.  We are — and we’ve been saying this — I know it’s probably ad nauseam we’ve been saying this — that we are running through the tape, and I think we have proven that almost every day, certainly, in 2025.  We’ve ha- — we’ve been pretty busy. 

And so, that’s going to be our focus: How — what can we do to continue to deliver for the American people, what can we do to make the lives of the American people better.  And that is our focus. 

I’m not going to — to speak to the decisions made in the court today.

Go ahead.

Q    Two questions, Karine.  One on Meta.  The — Meta made a decision this week about doing away with its fact-checking for Facebook and its other platforms.  Does the White House have a reaction to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I th- — we’ve been pretty consistent here over the last four years when a — any co- — any corporation or company makes a decision — a private company, let’s — to be more specific — makes a decision, we just are not going to comment.  So, I’m not going to comment on this.  And so, I’m just going to leave it in that realm. 

But, look, social media — I’ll say this: Social media companies make their own rules about content mod- — moderation and — but, with that said, we have been outspoken about our belief that the social media companies have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent to — spread of misinformation.  That is a responsibility that that company has, and we’ve always been pretty clear about that.

But spe- — speaking specifically to an announcement, we’re just not going to comment on that.

Q    I mean, I understand, but that is something that you guys have been outspoken about, and they’re making a change on it.  So —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, but we’ve al- —

Q    I guess it’s something I thought maybe you would want to comment on.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No.  I mean, look, we talk about social media companies having a responsibility.  We’ve always said that.  We’ve been — we’ve all been really clear about that.  We’ve also been clear that policy decisions that are made by private companies, we’re not going to speak to those specific an announcement. 

But we can speak broadly on our belief and how we see their responsibility, and that’s as far as we’ve always gone.  And we’re not just — we’re not going to go beyond that.

Q    And just briefly on another topic.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    With regard to the Russian sanctions that were announced today, does the president, does the White House have any concern that that could lead to an increase in gas prices for consumers? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, we took aim today, in — in your question, at Russia’s largest resources of revenue and imposed significant sanctions on the Russian energy sector.  These sanctions certainly target both Russian oil and LNG, and we expect our actions to cost Russia upwards to billions of dollars per month.  And so, that’s important to note as well.

And these — also, let’s not forget that these are also — these sanctions really continue to — to — for us to make good on the commitment that we made — that the president made and his G7 counterparts made to target Russia’s ability to use its energy sector to fund and sustain this war.  We’ve talked about this for some time, and so now the president certainly made good on that commitment. 

So, it’s not just us.  Obviously, we won’t — we join these actions with the UK, which imposed significant and complementary actions of its own. 

And so, I — I think it is important to note that, you know, by taking these significant actions against Russia, the oil markets are in fundamentally a better place.  That’s number one. 

And, number two, the U.S. economy is a fundamentally better place as well. 

And so, that’s why we took this action now.  This is a commitment that the president wanted to uphold — not just the president but also the G7 — his G7 counterparts, and that’s th- — that’s what you’re seeing right now. 

Q    But my question was whether you’re concerned that it will lead to an increase in gas prices. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, you know, I’ve said — look, one of the things that we expect and we believe is that the supply of energy is going to exceed global demand through this year with ample capacity within the — outside of APAC — OPEC+ to increase production, if necessary. 

So, since the start of Russia’s war, benchmark oil prices have fallen almost 35 bucks per barrel, and average U.S. gasoline prices have dropped from roughly $4 to just $3 per gallon.  That’s because of the actions that this president has taken.

And so, that is what we want to continue to see, and so that’s what we also think will continue to be — like, the gas prices — you know, we’re — we believe the ca- — gas prices will continue to — to be where it is and continue to — to go down because of the pres- — the actions that the president has taken. 

Go ahead.

Q    President Biden was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy when —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — he was in Rome today.  Is he planning to speak with him?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, the president did speak to President Zelenskyy moments ago.  We will have a readout for all of you. 

Obviously, the president wanted to reach out to President Zelenskyy because, as you just stated, they were supposed to meet in Rome.  It did not happen because the president decided to stay and be back here because of the catastrophic fires, obviously, that we’re seeing in Southern California.  So, the president decided to stay back. 

But they did have a conversation.  They spoke moments ago.  And so, we — I know the team, before I came out here, was going to work on a readout, and so we’ll have that out to all of you soon.

Q    Okay.  And in his interview with the USA Today earlier this week, the president talked a bit about preemptive pardons, saying that they are still potentially on the table.  Can you speak a little bit about the scope that he is considering —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — when it comes to that and if he’s any closer to a decision?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, we have been saying that the president will have more to say, more to announce on pardons and commutations.  So, that is — we have 10 days to go, so it’s — certainly, that will be very soon that we will make those announcement. 

I’m not going to get into the scope.  I’m not going to get ahead of the president, but we will be making some more additional announcements on pardons and commutations before the end of his term.

Go ahead.  Go ahead.

Q    You mentioned the president spokes with — spoke with Zelenskyy, but is he also going to have a conversation with the Pope?  I know he was also supposed to meet with him.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Or is there any thought that the Rome trip could sort of reemerge in the —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Look —

Q    — final 10 days?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — I don’t have anything to say, to add, or to announce about a change in schedule.  What I can say is — I just mentioned that he spoke to President Zelenskyy.  He wanted to share with the president our continued support for Ukraine, which you’ve seen over the past three years, and so that was a part of their conversation.

As it relates to the Pope, I don’t have anything to announce about a conversation with the Pope.  And so, if we have anything to share, we certainly will share with that — with all of you. 

Go ahead, Kelly O.

Q    Has the president received any updated information about the status of his son’s home in California?  Also, his granddaughter lives there now.  He did make some reference to seeing some pictures — I couldn’t — I wasn’t quite certain I heard it correctly — related to Secret Service being burned out.  Can you give us an update on anything that relates to the family?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So — so, what I can say, Secret Service — you would have to reach out to the Secret Service to — for them to — to speak to any — any developments in what has occurred with them.

As it relates to the — to the president and his son, I don’t have anything else to add beyond what the president shared.  Just don’t have anything at this time.

Q    But is he get- — is he inquiring and getting any on-the-ground information related to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I don’t have anything to share. 

What I can say is that, when it relates to Secret Service, certainly, you have to reach out to the Secret Service. 

But, obviously, he’s in close touch with —

Q    Right.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — his son —

Q    Well, I only ask about that because —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — and his family. 

Q    — he referenced that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — and they would only be present if protectees were at issue, and — and they would be connected to the president.  So, that’s why I’m asking if he’s getting any update on anything related to that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Well, again, I don’t have anything else to — to add to what the president shared.

As it relates to Secret Sl- — Service and protectees and what they’re doing specifically, you would have to reach out to the Secret Service, and we’ve been pretty consistent on that. 

Q    And did he have any opportunity at all to speak to the president-elect about the fires?  And they were obviously briefly in the same place yesterday with the Carter funeral and — and so forth. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Does he see a need to — I know there’s a full transition operation.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I was going to say, there’s a full transition operation.  You heard — 

Q    Fully aware of that, but —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  You heard the administrator — the administrator talk about their kind of process on that side as it relates to FEMA.  Don’t have a conversation to read out that the president had with the president-elect. 

But, as you said, there is a transition happening.  We want it to be effective.  We want to make sure that they have what they need, and so that continues. 

Q    And one last one.  As —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — as a part of transition, is an office of the former president also being stood up?  And would that be in Delaware, presumably?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, I don’t have anything to say — to say about location, but the protocols that normally occur when a form- — when a president leaves his post, it’s going to continue.  I don’t have a location for you.

Go ahead.

Q    Yeah.  Just briefly, we talked about the president’s family being affected by this.  The vice president’s home was also under an evacuation order.  Any update there on her home there in Los Angeles area?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, I mean, it — it’s devastating.  This is her — her city, her neighborhood, and — and her state.  I — I would have to refer you to the vice president’s office on any updates that they might share with — with you. 

I don’t have anything for you at this time, but, certainly, it’s devastating.  So many people are affected by this, and it’s heartbreaking. 

Q    Just a quick follow-up.  Will she travel to the Los Angeles area this weekend?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Is there any travel plan for her?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I would refer you to the vice president’s office on any travel on — on her schedule.

Q    And one more.  One more.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.  Sure.

Q    One quick — quick one, I promise.  So, we talk about the transition.  Have you hosted any conversations with your immediate successor?  And when will your final briefing take place?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  (Laughs.)  I’m sure you guys are all very excited about that. 

Q    No, I’m just asking for the folks (inaudible).

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I have not had a discussion with my successor.  I’m letting the transition team kind of manage that process and just doing my job, focusing on my job, on behalf of the president. 

And we will have a briefing next week, and, certainly, we will share that with all of you to — I guess, to — to say goodbye.  (Laughs.)

Q    Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  All right.  Go ahead.

Q    Hi, Karine.  A couple of topics, if you don’t mind.  First, on Venezuela.  You mentioned the sanctions that the administration is putting on Venezuela in its final 10 days.  Are you in discussions with the incoming administration about policy towards Venezuela?  And are you expecting those sanctions to hold once Trump does take office?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  And so, look, I can’t speak to what the next administration is going to do or not do.  What I can say is — and I believe Jake Sullivan talked about this when — the National Security Advisor talked about this a couple times, whether in a gaggle, here at the podium, saying that they’re — they are in constant communication with their incoming counterparts, the NSC is.  And so, I’m sure those conversations are happening on that side of things dur- — with the transitioning. 

I — you know, I can’t speak to what the next administration is going to do or not do, but we are in constant communication with — the transition team here is in constant communication with their transition — well, their transition team is in constant communication with our — our folks here. 

Q    Just another one on Havana syndrome —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — and AHIs.  There’s been a slight shift in the intelligence community assessment surrounding this phenomenon. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Does the White House believe that this is because of foreign actors — it’s happening because of foreign actors? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, we put out a statement on this.  I would certainly refer you to the statement that came out from my colleague, out of the National Security Council.

What I will say is the intelligence — the intelligence community assessment is one element of — of an interdisciplinary approach this administration has taken to getting to the bottom of these incidents.  We believe it’s important to do so and ensuring our colleagues receive the support and care they need and that they deserve. 

So, the IC’s updated assessment is a product of ongoing analysis.  That’s basically what is stated in our — in our statement in — in — to make sure that we continue those efforts, which we welcome and which only reinforce why it is vital for the U.S. government to continue critical research, investigate credible incidents, and provide care. 

So, they’re an ongoing process.  And so, that is part of what, certainly, our statement stated, and also what the ICA said as well. 

Q    I read statement from Sean earlier —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, yeah.

Q    — and part of it said that the administration, current administration will be briefing the incoming administration about this to continue that work.  What does that kind of briefing process look like, and what does it involve?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, I’m not going to get into

private discussions or conversations.  Obviously, this is an intelligence community situation, so I’m going to leave it in their — certainly in their hands.  So, I’m not going to divulge or get into what those conversations will look like.

But like I’ve said multiple times, we are certainly keeping the transition team up to date on — on matters that ma- — that are important, certainly, to our national security, but to the American people.

Q    Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  Go ahead, Josh.

Q    Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead, Josh.

Q    The Supreme Court indicated today that it will allow the TikTok ban or divestment ruling to proceed with the deadline of January 19th.  Does the administration have a position on whether that should happen?  Of course, the —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — incoming administration, he’s changed his view. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I — look, we’ve been very clear about our position.  Obviously, the president signed the bill, and we believe it’s not a — it’s not a ban.  It’s a divestment. 

And obviously, there are provisions in that on how to move forward.  It’s in the courts.  We’ve allowed that process to play out.  I don’t have anything else to add beyond that.

Q    Can a divestment happen in nine days?  I mean, it seems like it’s door number one at this point. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, we’ve been very clear where we stand on this.  Nine, ten days — I would certainly leave it up to TikTok to speak to that. 

Q    Going back to the Russia sanctions.  Can you walk us through the thought process on this?  Is — is this — the president-elect has obviously made clear his desire for some sort of deal to end the fighting. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Is this trying to set the table for that by ratcheting up pressure on Russia?  Another way of asking that is: Why not do this earlier than now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, this is — as I stated, this is a commitment that was made by the president and the G7 counterparts — his G7 counterparts.  And we’ve always said that we were going to find ways to put pressure on Russia.  We’ve always said that it is up to Russia to end this war.  They can do it today. 

And we’ve been, I think, pretty clear on that.  We — this is not the first sanctions.  We’ve done multiple sanctions over the past almost three years as this war has gone on. 

And so, this was — you know, it wasn’t just us.  This was also in coordination with our allies and partners.  And so, that’s what you saw.  You saw UK make an announcement as well.

And — but we’ve — we’ve been clear — we’ve been clear that we were going to take actions.  And so, that’s what you see from — from this administration. 

But this is not the first one.  Right?  We’ve done multiple, as I just stated, actions before, and we want to make sure that we hold Russia accountable here. 

Q    But by definition, these are — you made the choice not to do these specific actions, which are pretty significant —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, they are significant.

Q    — for — for a —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  You’re right.

Q    — couple of — couple of years.  So, why now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Again, I just said —

Q    You know, why didn’t you do it a year ago?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, I hear you.

Q    Why now?  What changed?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  And again, in my answer to you just moments ago, it’s not just us.  This is also being done with our G7 counterparts.  This is a — a — essentially, a group effort, and that’s what you’re seeing today.

Q    Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I know I have to — go ahead.

Q    Thank you, Karine.  Do you have updates on the American citizens that are being detained in Venezuela?  The Maduro government claims one of them is an FBI agent.  If you can confirm? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I don’t have any updates for you at this time.  I certainly would refer you to the State Department.

Look, when it comes to Americans being held hostage, wrongfully detained, you have seen from this administration our efforts to make sure that we get Americans home.  I think we have shown some success in doing that, and that is going to continue to be our commitment, even though we have 9, 10 days left. 

I don’t have an update in this particular — on this particular individual.  I certainly would refer you to the State Department.

Q    And one more.  If we can get a reaction on Indonesia becoming a full member of BRICS.  Indonesia is obviously Southeast Asia’s largest economy.  That could lend credibility to BRICS’s ambition to become the alternative to the G7, particularly as we head into the new U.S. administration, which may have a different approach towards multilateral cooperation. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I don’t have anything specific to say about this.  I would have to refer you to our — our National Security Council on that particular question. 

Go ahead, Gerren.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Meta also reportedly eliminated its DEI programs in hiring, training, and picking suppliers, and they cite the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.  I know you said that you wouldn’t comment on business policies, but the administration really went out of its way to sort of convince businesses not to interpret that ruling as anything that — further than that.  Is there a disappointment there that — that companies like Meta and McDonald’s, Walmart are rolling back these DEI policies?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, not going to comment on a specific — a specific action that a private company takes. 

But what I can say is that you’ve heard from this president.  You’ve heard from this administration.  Diversity is our greatest strength.  You have seen this not just by words, by action that this president has taken.  And certainly, that is a sentiment you’ve heard echoed by leaders across — across businesses and government, not just us. 

And so, that continues to be our stance on this.  It is important to have different voices around the table.  It is important to have different important to have different voices, you know, working on policy to make sure that we are delivering for the American people. 

And that’s what we have done.  That’s what we have shown.  And as it relates to specific companies, I’m just not going to comment on that policy. 

But I think by our actions and what you have seen us do over the last four years — our commitment to that, our commitment to making sure communities that are normally left behind have a voice or not — or don’t feel like they don’t have access, and changing that around. 

We have done that in many ways, whether it’s the economy, whether it’s lowering cost on — on drug — on sper- — prescription drugs, making sure manufacturing jobs come back, helping t- — for wages to go up.  We have done this and shown our commitment to that. 

Again, I’m not going to speak to any particular company.

Q    Just one more question.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yep.  Sure.

Q    I recently spoke to Reverend Al Sharpton, and he said that he wanted the president to issue a pardon for Baltimore County State Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Jesse Jackson, Jr.  Can we expect to hear an announcement on any high-profile pardons such as these?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, I’m not going to get ahead of the president.  He’s going to make some more announcements on pardons and commutations.  Certainly, we’ve heard from groups out there who have certainly been very vocal about what they think the par- — the president should do.  The president and his team is working through it.  They’re trying to figure out the best way forward. 

Obviously, the president believes in Americans who have shown that they can get a second chance to have that second chance, and I think you’ve seen that.  This is a president that has been pretty historic in his actions in — in moving forward with pardons and co- — commutations.  I’m not going to get ahead of him.

All right.  Go ahead, Karen.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Does the president expect that President-elect Trump will be here in the morning before the inauguration?  Has that invitation been accepted by the president-elect?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I would refer you to the transition team to speak to what the president-elect is going to do or not do on January 20th.

Q    But he extended the invitation to come here —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That is something that is a tradition, so, obviously, we are going to try to continue that con- — tradition, but I would have to refer it to his transition team.

Go ahead, Emily.

Q    Thanks.  I have a few follow-up questions on the transition process.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    To follow up on what Karen was asking, it’s also a tradition for the president — incoming president to stay at Blair House.  Is that an invitation that’s been extended?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I don’t have anything to share on if the president-elect is going to be staying at the Blair House.  What I — what I will say is we certainly are trying to continue the traditions here.  We want this to be an effected, efficient, peaceful transfer of power. 

Once we have more to share, certainly would share from our end of things.  And anything that’s related to the president-elect, I would refer you to the transition team.

Q    And then we’ve seen some moving trucks out here today.  (Laughter.)  Can you talk about where you guys are physically in the process?  And have there been any directives — because, I know, in the past, with the other administration, there’s been issues with classified documents and mix-ups, and I know you guys have said you want to be careful and follow the rules.  So —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  We are going to do our best, certainly, to be careful, to follow the rules, to do this the right way, to follow traditions, obviously, as the president truly wants to do, as he showed right after the election, having the president-elect in the Oval Office, and putting everything aside and making sure that we were putting the American people first and what they wanted.  You know, respecting the results of the election, that’s what you’ve seen from this administration. 

And we have 9, 10 days left, and we’re trying to run through the tape, do everything that we can and — and get out of here in time on — on December — “on December” — on January 20th. 

Go ahead.

Q    Speaking of the days left, Monday, the president is going to deliver this capstone speech on — on foreign policy at the State Department.  I just wanted to sort of see what you could share from a preview.  Is this sort of a — a defense of his foreign policy?  Is it a warning to allies or advice that he wants to give the incoming administration?  How should we kind of view the speech that the president is going to give?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  (Laughs.)  Well, as I’ve stated many times already at the podium, as it relates to the pardon commutation, I’m not going to get ahead of the president.  And so, he is going — he wanted to make the speech.  There has been — you know, there’s a — there has been some key events, obviously, that has happened across the globe o- — in his — in his tenure.  And this is someone who has been — when it comes to foreign policy, that is something that has been a key pillar of who he is and how — in his career.

And — and let’s not forget, 50-plus years as a public official, elected official.  And so, he has some thoughts on the future, not just of the country but how — how this country moves forward as a leader, when you think about global events, glob- — important global issues.  And certainly, he will lay that out.

I don’t want to get ahead of him, but you could be — you could reassure there are major events happening right now: the — the — Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Middle East, and many other — Indo-Pacific, many other important matters that he’s going to certainly lean into.  But I — I don’t want to get ahead of the president.

All right.  Thanks, everybody.  I’ll see you next week.

Q    Thank you.

Q    Any reaction to the Title IX ruling, Karine?

3:32 P.M. EST

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

               THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY

SUBJECT:       Presidential Determination on the Proposed

               Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government

               of the United States of America and the

               Government of the Kingdom of Thailand Concerning

               Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

I have considered the proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (the “proposed Agreement”), along with the views, recommendations, and statements of the interested departments and agencies.

I have determined that the performance of the proposed Agreement will promote, and will not constitute an unreasonable risk to, the common defense and security.  Pursuant to section 123 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2153(b)), I hereby approve the proposed Agreement and authorize the Secretary of State to arrange for its execution.

The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

               THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY

SUBJECT:       Presidential Determination on the Proposed

               Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government

               of the United States of America and the

               Government of the Kingdom of Thailand Concerning

               Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

I have considered the proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (the “proposed Agreement”), along with the views, recommendations, and statements of the interested departments and agencies.

I have determined that the performance of the proposed Agreement will promote, and will not constitute an unreasonable risk to, the common defense and security.  Pursuant to section 123 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2153(b)), I hereby approve the proposed Agreement and authorize the Secretary of State to arrange for its execution.

The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy to express thanks for Italy’s role as a leader in the G7, NATO, and European Union. President Biden expressed appreciation to Prime Minister Meloni for Italy’s support for the people of Ukraine. The leaders affirmed the enduring strength of U.S.-Italy relations.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy to express thanks for Italy’s role as a leader in the G7, NATO, and European Union. President Biden expressed appreciation to Prime Minister Meloni for Italy’s support for the people of Ukraine. The leaders affirmed the enduring strength of U.S.-Italy relations.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to discuss U.S. support for Ukraine in its courageous defense against Russian aggression. President Biden updated President Zelenskyy on U.S. efforts to surge support to Ukraine and strengthen its position vis-à-vis Russia. Over the past several months, the United States has delivered hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, hundreds of armored vehicles, and other critical capabilities to Ukrainian forces as they defend their freedom from Russian aggression. In addition, today the United States announced a comprehensive sanctions package against the Russian energy sector, which builds upon the unprecedented sanctions regime that the United States has put in place against the Russian economy since 2022. President Zelenskyy expressed his appreciation for this surge in support and briefed President Biden on his strategic planning in the war. 

It is now clear that President Putin’s war against Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia. Due to the Ukrainian people’s courage and resolve, and with the support of the United States, Russia has failed to achieve any of its strategic objectives in Ukraine. When President Putin started this war, he thought he would capture Kyiv in a matter of days. Nearly three years later, Kyiv is still free. Russia wanted to destroy the Ukrainian nation. Today, Ukraine remains a free and vibrant democracy. Russia wanted to grind down Ukraine’s army. Now, that army is stronger and more capable than ever. And Russia wanted to break NATO. Instead, NATO is larger, stronger, and more united than at any time in its history. 

President Biden underscored the importance of continuing to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom so that the Ukrainian people can secure the just and lasting peace that they deserve.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to discuss U.S. support for Ukraine in its courageous defense against Russian aggression. President Biden updated President Zelenskyy on U.S. efforts to surge support to Ukraine and strengthen its position vis-à-vis Russia. Over the past several months, the United States has delivered hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, hundreds of armored vehicles, and other critical capabilities to Ukrainian forces as they defend their freedom from Russian aggression. In addition, today the United States announced a comprehensive sanctions package against the Russian energy sector, which builds upon the unprecedented sanctions regime that the United States has put in place against the Russian economy since 2022. President Zelenskyy expressed his appreciation for this surge in support and briefed President Biden on his strategic planning in the war. 

It is now clear that President Putin’s war against Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia. Due to the Ukrainian people’s courage and resolve, and with the support of the United States, Russia has failed to achieve any of its strategic objectives in Ukraine. When President Putin started this war, he thought he would capture Kyiv in a matter of days. Nearly three years later, Kyiv is still free. Russia wanted to destroy the Ukrainian nation. Today, Ukraine remains a free and vibrant democracy. Russia wanted to grind down Ukraine’s army. Now, that army is stronger and more capable than ever. And Russia wanted to break NATO. Instead, NATO is larger, stronger, and more united than at any time in its history. 

President Biden underscored the importance of continuing to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom so that the Ukrainian people can secure the just and lasting peace that they deserve.

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Vice President Kamala Harris spoke separately today with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain. The Vice President expressed regret she was no longer able to travel to Bahrain given the historic wildfires in Los Angeles. The Vice President thanked both leaders for their partnership throughout the Biden-Harris Administration in strengthening the U.S.-Bahrain relationship and she reaffirmed the close and enduring bilateral relationship between the United States and Bahrain. The Vice President expressed pride in the 2023 signing of the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA), a key accomplishment of the Biden-Harris Administration in the Middle East, which she and the Crown Prince advanced in their March 2022 meeting. C-SIPA enhances U.S-Bahrain cooperation on defense, trade, science, and emerging technology. The Vice President expressed support for strengthening C-SIPA, and noted the United Kingdom’s recent decision to join C-SIPA—demonstrating it can be a model for further regional integration.  The Vice President expressed her appreciation for the security partnership with Bahrain, and for its hosting the U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, and the Vice President reaffirmed the importance of the United States working with our regional partners to support regional stability and maritime security. The Vice President discussed latest developments in the Middle East, and she underscored she will continue working toward a future of peace, dignity, and security for all people in the region, and a future with increased integration, connectivity, and prosperity. The Vice President commended Bahrain’s leaders on the steps taken to promote interfaith tolerance in Bahrain.
 

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Vice President Kamala Harris spoke separately today with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain. The Vice President expressed regret she was no longer able to travel to Bahrain given the historic wildfires in Los Angeles. The Vice President thanked both leaders for their partnership throughout the Biden-Harris Administration in strengthening the U.S.-Bahrain relationship and she reaffirmed the close and enduring bilateral relationship between the United States and Bahrain. The Vice President expressed pride in the 2023 signing of the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA), a key accomplishment of the Biden-Harris Administration in the Middle East, which she and the Crown Prince advanced in their March 2022 meeting. C-SIPA enhances U.S-Bahrain cooperation on defense, trade, science, and emerging technology. The Vice President expressed support for strengthening C-SIPA, and noted the United Kingdom’s recent decision to join C-SIPA—demonstrating it can be a model for further regional integration.  The Vice President expressed her appreciation for the security partnership with Bahrain, and for its hosting the U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, and the Vice President reaffirmed the importance of the United States working with our regional partners to support regional stability and maritime security. The Vice President discussed latest developments in the Middle East, and she underscored she will continue working toward a future of peace, dignity, and security for all people in the region, and a future with increased integration, connectivity, and prosperity. The Vice President commended Bahrain’s leaders on the steps taken to promote interfaith tolerance in Bahrain.
 

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The post Readout of Vice President Harris’s Calls with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifaand Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain appeared first on The White House.

Today the White House released visitor log records generated in August 2024. This set includes 43,783 records, bringing the total number of records posted to 1,786,410

These records were posted pursuant to the White House’s policy to voluntarily disclose visitor log records. This release is consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to becoming the first administration to post visitor log records from its first full year in office.

To learn more about the policy, read our voluntary disclosure policy. To view visitor log records, view our disclosure page.

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The post August 2024 Visitor Logs Records Posted appeared first on The White House.

Today the White House released visitor log records generated in August 2024. This set includes 43,783 records, bringing the total number of records posted to 1,786,410

These records were posted pursuant to the White House’s policy to voluntarily disclose visitor log records. This release is consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to becoming the first administration to post visitor log records from its first full year in office.

To learn more about the policy, read our voluntary disclosure policy. To view visitor log records, view our disclosure page.

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The post August 2024 Visitor Logs Records Posted appeared first on The White House.

On Wednesday, January 15 at 8:00 PM, the President will deliver a Farewell Address to the nation from the Oval Office. 

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The post President Joe Biden to Deliver Farewell Address to the Nation appeared first on The White House.

On Wednesday, January 15 at 8:00 PM, the President will deliver a Farewell Address to the nation from the Oval Office. 

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The post President Joe Biden to Deliver Farewell Address to the Nation appeared first on The White House.

From Day One, President Biden identified the Indo-Pacific as the critical region for the future of the United States and the world. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the United States has reinvested in and reinvigorated our leadership in this region and, as a result, our position there is stronger now than ever before. Together with our allies and partners, we have built a shared foundation for the Indo-Pacific–one that is free, open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Free and Open

We are promoting a free and open region where individuals can thrive in transparent societies and nations can make sovereign political choices free from coercion.  We are addressing regional issues openly, upholding international law and norms, and facilitating the free movement of goods, services, ideas, and people by:

• Ensuring seas, skies, and other shared domains are lawfully governed: The Department of Defense (DoD) continues to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific in accordance with international law. Over the past four years, DoD has challenged over a dozen excessive maritime claims as part of the global freedom of navigation operations (FON) Program. The U.S. military, alongside allies and partners, has participated in numerous bilateral and multilateral maritime exercises to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea.

• Investing in democratic institutions, a free press, and a vibrant civil society:  In 2024, we co-hosted the third Summit for Democracy with the Republic of Korea (ROK) to champion our democratic values of transparency, accountable governance, advancing technology for democracy and support for the rule of law.  We continue to promote accountability for human rights abuses in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Burma. We have continued to rally global attention to these human rights abuses at the United Nations and in other multi-lateral fora.

• Supporting journalistic integrity and countering foreign information manipulation and interference:  To bolster civil society and safeguard communities, we have signed bilateral memoranda with Japan, the ROK, and Australia to combat foreign state information manipulation.  We also built the capacity of media outlets across the Indo-Pacific to increase journalistic integrity, improve access to information, and reduce vulnerability to foreign interference. 

• Addressing the Humanitarian Crisis in Burma: As a leading contributor of humanitarian assistance, we provided $1.8 billion in life saving assistance in Burma and the region, including more than $1.2 billion in response to the Rohingya crisis.  We have sanctioned 91 individuals and 50 entities since the 2021 coup to deny the military regime income and pressure it to return to the path of democracy.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Connected

Over the past four years, this Administration has built, in cooperation with our partners and allies, a new, enduring Indo-Pacific architecture that is better equipped to meet the profound challenges and capitalize on the momentous opportunities this region presents. We have built collective capacity within and beyond the region by:

• Elevating and strengthening our bilateral relationships:  We upgraded our bilateral relationships with Vietnam and Indonesia to Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships. President Biden hosted State or Official Visits with the leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the ROK at the White House. We affirmed commitments with the ROK to deepen defense and security ties, expand economic cooperation, and increase digital and technology collaboration. We inaugurated a new era of U.S.-Australia strategic cooperation, adding climate and clean energy as the third pillar of our Alliance. The U.S. and Japan launched over 70 initiatives at the April 2024 State Visit as part of our drive to transform our bilateral relationship into a truly global partnership. The U.S. and India launched a transformational initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to deepen our strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation. And we achieved unprecedented defense, economic, and technology cooperation with our ally the Philippines.

• Delivering through the Quad:  In 2021, President Biden elevated the Quad – a grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – to the Leader-level. Since then, Leaders have met six times, including at four Leaders’ Summits. Our four countries have achieved an unprecedented degree of strategic alignment and advanced concrete projects across the Indo-Pacific in priority areas: maritime domain awareness, cybersecurity and technology, quality infrastructure, health security, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

• Deepening U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation:  At the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit at Camp David in August 2023, we achieved a historic breakthrough that ushered in a previously unimaginable level of cooperation between the United States, Japan, and the ROK, and drove deeper trilateral cooperation in every domain. We committed to consult on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our collective interests and security; accelerated information sharing, including the real-time sharing of missile warning data and data on potential supply chain disruptions; institutionalized defense cooperation through the annual FREEDOM EDGE exercise; and established a new cyber working group.

• Enhancing trilateral cooperation with Japan and the Philippines:  In April 2024, President Biden hosted the first-ever U.S.-Japan-Philippines Leaders’ Summit, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our Philippine allies in the face of unlawful and destabilizing PRC provocations in the South China Sea. Since then, we have coordinated investment in strategic sectors and promoted dynamic growth in the Philippines, cooperated on critical technologies, and strengthened maritime law enforcement and security coordination and interoperability.

• Expanding our Diplomatic Presence:  We opened U.S. embassies in Vanuatu, Tonga, Maldives, and Solomon Islands, we intend to open new consulates in India in 2025, and we established diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands and Niue. We opened Department of Commerce Commercial Service offices in Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. We re-established a USAID mission in Fiji and elevated USAID’s presence in Papua New Guinea to a Country Representative Office.

• Deepening cooperation with our Pacific partners:  UnderPresident Biden, we hosted two historic Pacific Islands Forum Summits at the White House, designated the first-ever U.S. Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, and launched the first-ever U.S.-Pacific Partnership Strategy. We launched the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative in 2022 to work with partners and bring new resources to deliver results in support of Pacific priorities. Our defense posture in the Pacific Islands countries continues to be critical for U.S. military logistics, sustainment, and power projection. In the last few years, we expanded the National Guard State Partnership Program to Pacific Island countries and signed important new defense agreements with Papua New Guinea and Fiji. We returned the Peace Corps to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. In partnership with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau, we continue to strengthen the Compacts of Free Association and have extended $7.1 billion in economic assistance over the next 20 years.

• Strengthening our relationships in the Indian Ocean Region:  We brought the U.S.-India relationship to new heights, including through Prime Minister Modi’s State Visit to Washington and President Biden’s visit to New Delhi for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit. We deepened cooperation with India on semiconductor and critical minerals supply chains, and launched an Innovation Handshake to strengthen our startup and entrepreneurial ecosystems.  We strengthened partnerships in the Indian Ocean Region, working with partners and organizations like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on climate adaptation, sustainable blue economies, and maritime security. Additionally, the United States recently launched the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative, which will link young leaders throughout South Asia and promote innovation through local and regional grants.

• Reaffirming our support for ASEAN:  We support a strong and independent ASEAN and its central role within the region.  Over the course of the administration, we held five U.S.-ASEAN Summits, including a historic U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC, in May 2022.  That same year, the United States elevated its relationship with ASEAN to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We have already successfully implemented 99% of the 2022-2025 ASEAN-U.S. Plan of Action goals; established through a public-private partnership the U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, DC; extended the U.S.-ASEAN Regional Development Cooperation Agreement to 2029; and launched the new five-year ASEAN USAID Partnership Program. Continuing a tradition of close defense cooperation with ASEAN, we launched the new Emerging Leaders Defense Program to support rising defense leaders across the region, commenced planning for the second ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise, and expanded training and support for climate resilience efforts.We have reinvigorated youth leadership in the region through fellowships, training programs, and educational exchanges. Through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, we have equipped more than 150,000 participants with knowledge and skills to solve regional and global challenges. In FY 2023 alone, the United States also supported soft and life skills training for more than 68,000 youth across the region.

• Reinvigorating our partnership in the Mekong sub-region:  Through sustained engagement with partner countries under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP), we convened in July 2024 the first ever in-person MUSP Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and adopted the MUSP Plan of Action 2024-2026, which captures the contributions that the MUSP has made towards the equitable, sustainable, and inclusive development of the Mekong sub-region over the last years, and sets the course for continued cooperation.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Prosperous

In collaboration with our regional partners, we are fostering private investment, enhancing economic competitiveness, and addressing the region’s infrastructure gap to drive greater economic prosperity by:

• Demonstrating leadership in the region through Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC):  We continued to deepen our economic ties with key regional partners and advance a more innovative, interconnected, and inclusive economic agenda for the region by hosting APEC in 2023. In addition to promoting U.S. economic policy priorities, we announced over $50 billion of U.S. private sector investment into APEC economies to drive inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth throughout the region, while advancing U.S. competitiveness and incentivizing private sector investment from the region. Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, companies based in the Asia-Pacific invested almost $200 billion into the United States and supported tens of thousands of jobs for American workers.

• Launching the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF):  Along with 13 partners in the Indo-Pacific, we established a new grouping to shape regional collaboration on contemporary economic challenges to ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains a dynamic marketplace where businesses can invest, grow, and thrive. Through a combination of innovative agreements and cross-cutting initiatives, IPEF partners are fostering trade ties, strengthening supply chain resilience, facilitating public and private investments in infrastructure, and promoting a fair and predictable business environment for our companies.

• Expanding Investment in Regional Infrastructure:  We invested billions in regional infrastructure, including in ports, energy, rail, and digital.  We launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) Luzon Economic Corridor with the Philippines and Japan to improve regional transportation, energy, and digital connectivity in the Philippines. We supported Pacific island countries by funding over $37 million in undersea cables projects–providing communications connections to populations for the first time–and collaborated with partners like Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan, and mobilized the U.S. private sector, to secure further funding. We are also providing capacity building support to South Asia’s busiest transshipment hub as well as supporting sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific through the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership.
• Promoting Resilient and Secure Connectivity: The United States promoted resilient, secure, and trustworthy telecommunications across the region, focusing on 5G vendor diversification, Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) technology, and undersea cable infrastructure. In India, USAID teamed up with Qualcomm to introduce Open RAN technology. The United States is promoting Open RAN workforce development opportunities through the Asia Open RAN Academy in the Philippines. In Indonesia, we are supporting the deployment of Open RAN technology to provide connectivity to 1,621 unserved rural villages. In addition, we, alongside Quad partners, deployed the first Open RAN technology in the Pacific, in Palau, and elevated undersea cable protections throughout the region through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Stable and Secure

In pursuit of regional peace, security, and stability, we have reinvested in our defense presence and capabilities, integrated our efforts with partners and modernized our alliances, and collectively deterred aggression and coercion by:

• Launching the Australia – United Kingdom – United States (AUKUS) Enhanced Security Partnership:  We are delivering on a generational opportunity to support Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability and are engaged with Australia and the United Kingdom in developing advanced capabilities to address current and future security challenges. In addition to the core partners, we are consulting with Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea on possible collaboration on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects.

• Providing an unprecedented $2 billion in supplemental Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to the Indo-Pacific:  We are demonstrating the United States’ commitment to enhancing our allies’ and partners’ capacity to address external threats and meet emerging challenges. This included working with Congress to allocate an unprecedented $500 million in FMF from the National Security Supplemental to enhance the capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard to fulfill their territorial defense mission and contribute to regional security.  We also allocated a record level of FMF to support the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, gave new support to Vietnam, and made substantial contributions to the maritime security of states across the Indian Ocean region.

• Supporting Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities:  Consistent with the United States’ longstanding one China policy, we have used a range of security assistance authorities and resources to provide Taiwan defensive arms and services necessary to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, commensurate with the threat it faces.  This support includes the first-ever use of Foreign Military Financing and Presidential Drawdown Authority for Taiwan, as well as International Military Education and Training.  This assistance is an important part of our efforts to maintain cross-Strait peace and stability.

• Modernizing our alliances: The U.S.-Japan Alliance is stronger than ever before. Over the past four years, we have modernized our alliance command and control frameworks, strengthened training and exercises, and established a new bilateral forum to advance co-production, co-development, and co-sustainment. We strengthened the U.S.-Philippines alliance by signing the first-ever Bilateral Defense Guidelines to enhance military cooperation across all domains, expanding the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to include four new sites, supporting the Philippines’ military modernization, and investing $128 million in EDCA infrastructure through the President’s FY25 Budget Request.  We also created the Nuclear Consultative Group with the Republic of Korea to deepen and enhance our extended deterrence cooperation in the face of threats from the DPRK. Additionally, cooperation in cyberspace and emerging technology has become an integral feature in all of our alliances to support our joint network defenses and interoperability.

• Enhancing Maritime Security:  We worked with our allies and partners to enhance the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific and protection of sea lanes, including through the Maritime Security Consortium—the first ever initiative bringing together defense industry, U.S. government leaders, and Southeast Asian decision makers to transform maritime security in Southeast Asia—the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), expanded Coast Guard exchanges, and capacity building efforts across the region. In December 2023, we established a dedicated Indo-Pacific Support Cutter in Honolulu, HI to promote maritime governance, establish persistent U.S. presence, and conduct meaningful engagements in the region. U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane embarked shipriders and worked alongside 12 Pacific island countries to enhance maritime domain awareness and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and other illicit activities. We secured $200 million for two additional U.S. Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters to support the Indo-Pacific, which will add capacity to complete further-reaching deployments.

• Forging deeper ties between NATO and its Indo-Pacific Partners (IPP):  The United States has championed NATO deepening its relationships with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the ROK, recognizing the prosperity and security of the two regions are inextricably linked. The IPP attended the past three NATO Summits and at the most recent Washington Summit, NATO and the IPP pledged to cooperate on flagship projects focused on cybersecurity, countering disinformation, emerging technology, and supporting Ukraine. The NATO-IPP partnership demonstrated its indispensable importance in November when an ROK delegation briefed Allies and other IPP countries on DPRK’s deepening support for Russia on the eve of the entry of DPRK forces into battle against Ukraine.

• An Indo-Pacific that is Resilient

The United States has collaborated with Indo-Pacific partners to enhance resilience against transnational threats that effect all of our countries, including climate change, natural disasters, and infectious disease threats by:

• Addressing the climate crisis:  We are supporting ASEAN member states in developing and implementing ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the U.S.-ASEAN Climate Solutions Hub.  Through the Interagency Climate Ambition Program, we provided long-term embedded advisors to the Philippines, Fiji, and Vietnam to support partner countries’ climate priorities. We also supported Pacific island countries through the funding of humanitarian warehousing, an ocean and fisheries research vessel, the Pacific Resilience Facility, marine spatial planning, a Resilience and Adaptation Fellowship, and the Climate Action Champions Network to support disaster resilience, community resilience, and climate leadership in the Pacific and South Asia.

• Strengthening disaster and climate resilient infrastructure: We are supporting Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) India’s climate change initiative to help foster disaster and climate resilient infrastructure worldwide. Together, we launched the Global Infrastructure Risk Model and Resilience Index, enabling countries to predict disaster impacts and strengthen infrastructure resilience.

• Deepening Coordination on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief: Following Super Typhoon Man-Yi, Tropical Storm Kristine, and Tropical Storm Julian, USAID provided over $6 million in life saving assistance, and DoD worked with our Philippine allies to deliver humanitarian relief prepositioned at EDCA sites, along with 50 tons of other assistance, to affected communities across the Philippines. We worked with ourQuad partners on coordinated responses to Typhoon Yagi and the devastating landslides in Papua New Guinea, providing $5 million in humanitarian assistance for the landslide disaster relief efforts.

• Boosting Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response:  We enhanced coordination with Quad partners to scale up COVID-19 response efforts, donating more than 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indo-Pacific countries and almost 800 million vaccines doses globally, expanding vaccine production capacity, and addressing a range of health security priorities in the region. We also launched the Quad Cancer Moonshot, an over $150 million public-private investment to prevent, detect, and treat cancer across the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, the U.S. government is partnering with more than ten countries in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen their ability to prevent and control health security threats at their source.

• Deepening our cooperation on clean energy research and development:  We collaborated with Indo-Pacific partners to establish diverse, secure, and reliable supply chains for critical minerals and clean energy.  We launched the multilateral Just Energy Transition Partnerships with Indonesia and Vietnam and signed Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology “123” Agreements with both the Philippines and Singapore to address energy needs.  We also launched the Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) under the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership aimed at developing action roadmaps for technology development, deployment, and commercialization ofhydrogen, long duration energy storage, offshore wind, and geothermal energy.

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The post The United States’ Enduring Commitment to the Indo-Pacific Region appeared first on The White House.

From Day One, President Biden identified the Indo-Pacific as the critical region for the future of the United States and the world. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the United States has reinvested in and reinvigorated our leadership in this region and, as a result, our position there is stronger now than ever before. Together with our allies and partners, we have built a shared foundation for the Indo-Pacific–one that is free, open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Free and Open

We are promoting a free and open region where individuals can thrive in transparent societies and nations can make sovereign political choices free from coercion.  We are addressing regional issues openly, upholding international law and norms, and facilitating the free movement of goods, services, ideas, and people by:

• Ensuring seas, skies, and other shared domains are lawfully governed: The Department of Defense (DoD) continues to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific in accordance with international law. Over the past four years, DoD has challenged over a dozen excessive maritime claims as part of the global freedom of navigation operations (FON) Program. The U.S. military, alongside allies and partners, has participated in numerous bilateral and multilateral maritime exercises to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea.

• Investing in democratic institutions, a free press, and a vibrant civil society:  In 2024, we co-hosted the third Summit for Democracy with the Republic of Korea (ROK) to champion our democratic values of transparency, accountable governance, advancing technology for democracy and support for the rule of law.  We continue to promote accountability for human rights abuses in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Burma. We have continued to rally global attention to these human rights abuses at the United Nations and in other multi-lateral fora.

• Supporting journalistic integrity and countering foreign information manipulation and interference:  To bolster civil society and safeguard communities, we have signed bilateral memoranda with Japan, the ROK, and Australia to combat foreign state information manipulation.  We also built the capacity of media outlets across the Indo-Pacific to increase journalistic integrity, improve access to information, and reduce vulnerability to foreign interference. 

• Addressing the Humanitarian Crisis in Burma: As a leading contributor of humanitarian assistance, we provided $1.8 billion in life saving assistance in Burma and the region, including more than $1.2 billion in response to the Rohingya crisis.  We have sanctioned 91 individuals and 50 entities since the 2021 coup to deny the military regime income and pressure it to return to the path of democracy.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Connected

Over the past four years, this Administration has built, in cooperation with our partners and allies, a new, enduring Indo-Pacific architecture that is better equipped to meet the profound challenges and capitalize on the momentous opportunities this region presents. We have built collective capacity within and beyond the region by:

• Elevating and strengthening our bilateral relationships:  We upgraded our bilateral relationships with Vietnam and Indonesia to Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships. President Biden hosted State or Official Visits with the leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the ROK at the White House. We affirmed commitments with the ROK to deepen defense and security ties, expand economic cooperation, and increase digital and technology collaboration. We inaugurated a new era of U.S.-Australia strategic cooperation, adding climate and clean energy as the third pillar of our Alliance. The U.S. and Japan launched over 70 initiatives at the April 2024 State Visit as part of our drive to transform our bilateral relationship into a truly global partnership. The U.S. and India launched a transformational initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to deepen our strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation. And we achieved unprecedented defense, economic, and technology cooperation with our ally the Philippines.

• Delivering through the Quad:  In 2021, President Biden elevated the Quad – a grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – to the Leader-level. Since then, Leaders have met six times, including at four Leaders’ Summits. Our four countries have achieved an unprecedented degree of strategic alignment and advanced concrete projects across the Indo-Pacific in priority areas: maritime domain awareness, cybersecurity and technology, quality infrastructure, health security, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

• Deepening U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation:  At the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit at Camp David in August 2023, we achieved a historic breakthrough that ushered in a previously unimaginable level of cooperation between the United States, Japan, and the ROK, and drove deeper trilateral cooperation in every domain. We committed to consult on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our collective interests and security; accelerated information sharing, including the real-time sharing of missile warning data and data on potential supply chain disruptions; institutionalized defense cooperation through the annual FREEDOM EDGE exercise; and established a new cyber working group.

• Enhancing trilateral cooperation with Japan and the Philippines:  In April 2024, President Biden hosted the first-ever U.S.-Japan-Philippines Leaders’ Summit, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our Philippine allies in the face of unlawful and destabilizing PRC provocations in the South China Sea. Since then, we have coordinated investment in strategic sectors and promoted dynamic growth in the Philippines, cooperated on critical technologies, and strengthened maritime law enforcement and security coordination and interoperability.

• Expanding our Diplomatic Presence:  We opened U.S. embassies in Vanuatu, Tonga, Maldives, and Solomon Islands, we intend to open new consulates in India in 2025, and we established diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands and Niue. We opened Department of Commerce Commercial Service offices in Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. We re-established a USAID mission in Fiji and elevated USAID’s presence in Papua New Guinea to a Country Representative Office.

• Deepening cooperation with our Pacific partners:  UnderPresident Biden, we hosted two historic Pacific Islands Forum Summits at the White House, designated the first-ever U.S. Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, and launched the first-ever U.S.-Pacific Partnership Strategy. We launched the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative in 2022 to work with partners and bring new resources to deliver results in support of Pacific priorities. Our defense posture in the Pacific Islands countries continues to be critical for U.S. military logistics, sustainment, and power projection. In the last few years, we expanded the National Guard State Partnership Program to Pacific Island countries and signed important new defense agreements with Papua New Guinea and Fiji. We returned the Peace Corps to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. In partnership with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau, we continue to strengthen the Compacts of Free Association and have extended $7.1 billion in economic assistance over the next 20 years.

• Strengthening our relationships in the Indian Ocean Region:  We brought the U.S.-India relationship to new heights, including through Prime Minister Modi’s State Visit to Washington and President Biden’s visit to New Delhi for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit. We deepened cooperation with India on semiconductor and critical minerals supply chains, and launched an Innovation Handshake to strengthen our startup and entrepreneurial ecosystems.  We strengthened partnerships in the Indian Ocean Region, working with partners and organizations like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on climate adaptation, sustainable blue economies, and maritime security. Additionally, the United States recently launched the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative, which will link young leaders throughout South Asia and promote innovation through local and regional grants.

• Reaffirming our support for ASEAN:  We support a strong and independent ASEAN and its central role within the region.  Over the course of the administration, we held five U.S.-ASEAN Summits, including a historic U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC, in May 2022.  That same year, the United States elevated its relationship with ASEAN to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We have already successfully implemented 99% of the 2022-2025 ASEAN-U.S. Plan of Action goals; established through a public-private partnership the U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, DC; extended the U.S.-ASEAN Regional Development Cooperation Agreement to 2029; and launched the new five-year ASEAN USAID Partnership Program. Continuing a tradition of close defense cooperation with ASEAN, we launched the new Emerging Leaders Defense Program to support rising defense leaders across the region, commenced planning for the second ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise, and expanded training and support for climate resilience efforts.We have reinvigorated youth leadership in the region through fellowships, training programs, and educational exchanges. Through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, we have equipped more than 150,000 participants with knowledge and skills to solve regional and global challenges. In FY 2023 alone, the United States also supported soft and life skills training for more than 68,000 youth across the region.

• Reinvigorating our partnership in the Mekong sub-region:  Through sustained engagement with partner countries under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP), we convened in July 2024 the first ever in-person MUSP Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and adopted the MUSP Plan of Action 2024-2026, which captures the contributions that the MUSP has made towards the equitable, sustainable, and inclusive development of the Mekong sub-region over the last years, and sets the course for continued cooperation.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Prosperous

In collaboration with our regional partners, we are fostering private investment, enhancing economic competitiveness, and addressing the region’s infrastructure gap to drive greater economic prosperity by:

• Demonstrating leadership in the region through Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC):  We continued to deepen our economic ties with key regional partners and advance a more innovative, interconnected, and inclusive economic agenda for the region by hosting APEC in 2023. In addition to promoting U.S. economic policy priorities, we announced over $50 billion of U.S. private sector investment into APEC economies to drive inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth throughout the region, while advancing U.S. competitiveness and incentivizing private sector investment from the region. Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, companies based in the Asia-Pacific invested almost $200 billion into the United States and supported tens of thousands of jobs for American workers.

• Launching the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF):  Along with 13 partners in the Indo-Pacific, we established a new grouping to shape regional collaboration on contemporary economic challenges to ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains a dynamic marketplace where businesses can invest, grow, and thrive. Through a combination of innovative agreements and cross-cutting initiatives, IPEF partners are fostering trade ties, strengthening supply chain resilience, facilitating public and private investments in infrastructure, and promoting a fair and predictable business environment for our companies.

• Expanding Investment in Regional Infrastructure:  We invested billions in regional infrastructure, including in ports, energy, rail, and digital.  We launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) Luzon Economic Corridor with the Philippines and Japan to improve regional transportation, energy, and digital connectivity in the Philippines. We supported Pacific island countries by funding over $37 million in undersea cables projects–providing communications connections to populations for the first time–and collaborated with partners like Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan, and mobilized the U.S. private sector, to secure further funding. We are also providing capacity building support to South Asia’s busiest transshipment hub as well as supporting sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific through the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership.
• Promoting Resilient and Secure Connectivity: The United States promoted resilient, secure, and trustworthy telecommunications across the region, focusing on 5G vendor diversification, Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) technology, and undersea cable infrastructure. In India, USAID teamed up with Qualcomm to introduce Open RAN technology. The United States is promoting Open RAN workforce development opportunities through the Asia Open RAN Academy in the Philippines. In Indonesia, we are supporting the deployment of Open RAN technology to provide connectivity to 1,621 unserved rural villages. In addition, we, alongside Quad partners, deployed the first Open RAN technology in the Pacific, in Palau, and elevated undersea cable protections throughout the region through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience.

1. An Indo-Pacific that is Stable and Secure

In pursuit of regional peace, security, and stability, we have reinvested in our defense presence and capabilities, integrated our efforts with partners and modernized our alliances, and collectively deterred aggression and coercion by:

• Launching the Australia – United Kingdom – United States (AUKUS) Enhanced Security Partnership:  We are delivering on a generational opportunity to support Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability and are engaged with Australia and the United Kingdom in developing advanced capabilities to address current and future security challenges. In addition to the core partners, we are consulting with Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea on possible collaboration on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects.

• Providing an unprecedented $2 billion in supplemental Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to the Indo-Pacific:  We are demonstrating the United States’ commitment to enhancing our allies’ and partners’ capacity to address external threats and meet emerging challenges. This included working with Congress to allocate an unprecedented $500 million in FMF from the National Security Supplemental to enhance the capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard to fulfill their territorial defense mission and contribute to regional security.  We also allocated a record level of FMF to support the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, gave new support to Vietnam, and made substantial contributions to the maritime security of states across the Indian Ocean region.

• Supporting Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities:  Consistent with the United States’ longstanding one China policy, we have used a range of security assistance authorities and resources to provide Taiwan defensive arms and services necessary to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, commensurate with the threat it faces.  This support includes the first-ever use of Foreign Military Financing and Presidential Drawdown Authority for Taiwan, as well as International Military Education and Training.  This assistance is an important part of our efforts to maintain cross-Strait peace and stability.

• Modernizing our alliances: The U.S.-Japan Alliance is stronger than ever before. Over the past four years, we have modernized our alliance command and control frameworks, strengthened training and exercises, and established a new bilateral forum to advance co-production, co-development, and co-sustainment. We strengthened the U.S.-Philippines alliance by signing the first-ever Bilateral Defense Guidelines to enhance military cooperation across all domains, expanding the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to include four new sites, supporting the Philippines’ military modernization, and investing $128 million in EDCA infrastructure through the President’s FY25 Budget Request.  We also created the Nuclear Consultative Group with the Republic of Korea to deepen and enhance our extended deterrence cooperation in the face of threats from the DPRK. Additionally, cooperation in cyberspace and emerging technology has become an integral feature in all of our alliances to support our joint network defenses and interoperability.

• Enhancing Maritime Security:  We worked with our allies and partners to enhance the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific and protection of sea lanes, including through the Maritime Security Consortium—the first ever initiative bringing together defense industry, U.S. government leaders, and Southeast Asian decision makers to transform maritime security in Southeast Asia—the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), expanded Coast Guard exchanges, and capacity building efforts across the region. In December 2023, we established a dedicated Indo-Pacific Support Cutter in Honolulu, HI to promote maritime governance, establish persistent U.S. presence, and conduct meaningful engagements in the region. U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane embarked shipriders and worked alongside 12 Pacific island countries to enhance maritime domain awareness and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and other illicit activities. We secured $200 million for two additional U.S. Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters to support the Indo-Pacific, which will add capacity to complete further-reaching deployments.

• Forging deeper ties between NATO and its Indo-Pacific Partners (IPP):  The United States has championed NATO deepening its relationships with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the ROK, recognizing the prosperity and security of the two regions are inextricably linked. The IPP attended the past three NATO Summits and at the most recent Washington Summit, NATO and the IPP pledged to cooperate on flagship projects focused on cybersecurity, countering disinformation, emerging technology, and supporting Ukraine. The NATO-IPP partnership demonstrated its indispensable importance in November when an ROK delegation briefed Allies and other IPP countries on DPRK’s deepening support for Russia on the eve of the entry of DPRK forces into battle against Ukraine.

• An Indo-Pacific that is Resilient

The United States has collaborated with Indo-Pacific partners to enhance resilience against transnational threats that effect all of our countries, including climate change, natural disasters, and infectious disease threats by:

• Addressing the climate crisis:  We are supporting ASEAN member states in developing and implementing ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the U.S.-ASEAN Climate Solutions Hub.  Through the Interagency Climate Ambition Program, we provided long-term embedded advisors to the Philippines, Fiji, and Vietnam to support partner countries’ climate priorities. We also supported Pacific island countries through the funding of humanitarian warehousing, an ocean and fisheries research vessel, the Pacific Resilience Facility, marine spatial planning, a Resilience and Adaptation Fellowship, and the Climate Action Champions Network to support disaster resilience, community resilience, and climate leadership in the Pacific and South Asia.

• Strengthening disaster and climate resilient infrastructure: We are supporting Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) India’s climate change initiative to help foster disaster and climate resilient infrastructure worldwide. Together, we launched the Global Infrastructure Risk Model and Resilience Index, enabling countries to predict disaster impacts and strengthen infrastructure resilience.

• Deepening Coordination on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief: Following Super Typhoon Man-Yi, Tropical Storm Kristine, and Tropical Storm Julian, USAID provided over $6 million in life saving assistance, and DoD worked with our Philippine allies to deliver humanitarian relief prepositioned at EDCA sites, along with 50 tons of other assistance, to affected communities across the Philippines. We worked with ourQuad partners on coordinated responses to Typhoon Yagi and the devastating landslides in Papua New Guinea, providing $5 million in humanitarian assistance for the landslide disaster relief efforts.

• Boosting Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response:  We enhanced coordination with Quad partners to scale up COVID-19 response efforts, donating more than 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indo-Pacific countries and almost 800 million vaccines doses globally, expanding vaccine production capacity, and addressing a range of health security priorities in the region. We also launched the Quad Cancer Moonshot, an over $150 million public-private investment to prevent, detect, and treat cancer across the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, the U.S. government is partnering with more than ten countries in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen their ability to prevent and control health security threats at their source.

• Deepening our cooperation on clean energy research and development:  We collaborated with Indo-Pacific partners to establish diverse, secure, and reliable supply chains for critical minerals and clean energy.  We launched the multilateral Just Energy Transition Partnerships with Indonesia and Vietnam and signed Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology “123” Agreements with both the Philippines and Singapore to address energy needs.  We also launched the Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) under the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership aimed at developing action roadmaps for technology development, deployment, and commercialization ofhydrogen, long duration energy storage, offshore wind, and geothermal energy.

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Washington National Cathedral
Washington, D.C.

11:31 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Leaders of the clergy.  Distinguished guests.  Most importantly, the Carter family. 

In April 2021, Jill and I visited Jimmy and Rosalynn on a warm spring day down in Plains, Georgia.  We wanted to see them.

Rosalynn met us at the front door with her signature smile.  Together, we entered a home that they had shared for almost 77 years of marriage — an unassuming red-brick ranch home that reflects their modesty more than any trappings of power. 

We walked in the living room, where Jimmy greeted us like family.  That day, just the four of us sat in the living room and shared memories that spanned almost six decades.  A deep friendship that started in 1974. 

I was a 31-year-old senator, and I was the first senator outside of Georgia — maybe the first senator — to endorse his candidacy for president.  It was an endorsement based on what I believe is Jimmy Carter’s enduring attribute: character.  Character.  Character. 

Because of that — character, I believe, is destiny — destiny in our lives and, quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. 

It’s an accumulation of a million things built on character that leads to a good life and a decent country — a life of purpose, a life of meaning. 

Now, how do we find that good life?  What does it look like?  What does it take to build character?  Do the ends justify the means?

Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me — and, through his life, taught me that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold.  It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect — that everyone — and I mean everyone deserves an even shot — not a guarantee, but just a shot.

You know, we have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to what my dad used to say is the greatest sin of all: the abuse of power. 

Now, it’s not about being perfect because none of us are perfect.  We’re all fallible.  But it’s about asking ourselves: Are we striving to do things — the right things?  What values — what are the values that animate our spirit?  Do we operate from fear or hope, ego or generosity?  Do we show grace?  Do we keep the faith when it’s most tested? 

For keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America is a story, in my view, from my perspective, of Jimmy Carter’s life.  A story of a man — to state the obvious, you’ve heard today some great, great eulogies — who came from a house without running water or electricity and rose to the pinnacle of power.  A story of a man who was at once driven and devoted to making real the words of his Savior and the ideals of this nation.  A story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world.

The man had character.  Jimmy held a deep Christian faith in God and that his candidacy spoke and wrote about.  Faith as a substance of things hoped for and evidence of the things not seen.  Faith founded on commandments of Scripture: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul and love thy neighbor as thyself.  Easy to say, but very, very difficult to do.

In his life — in this life, any walk of faith can be difficult.  It can be lonely.  But it requires action to be the doers of the world. 

But in that commandment lies the essence, in my view, found in the Gospel, found in many faith traditions, and found in the very idea of America.  Because the very journey of our nation is a walk of sheer faith to do the work, to be the country we say we are, to be the country we say we want to be.  A nation where all are created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never fully lived up to that idea of America.  But we’ve never walked away from it either, because of patriots like Jimmy Carter. 

Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people. 

And today, many think he was from a bygone era.  But in reality, he saw well into the future. 

A white Southern Baptist who led on civil rights.

A decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace.

A brilliant nuclear engineer who led on nuclear nonproliferation.

A hardworking farmer who championed conservation and clean energy.

And a president who redefined the relationship with the vice president.

Jimmy and I often talked about our dear friend Walter Mondale, whom we all miss very much.  Together, they formed a model partnership of collaboration and trust, as both were men of character.

And as we all know, Jimmy Carter also established a model post-presidency by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in America and, I might add, as you all know, around the world.

Through it all, he showed us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flows to others.  At our best, we share the better parts of ourselves: joy, solidarity, love, commitment — not for reward but in reverence for the incredible gift of life we’ve all been granted.

To make every minute of our time here on Earth count, that’s the definition of a good life — a life Jimmy Carter lived during his 100 years.

To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose, study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example.

I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again.

And to the entire Carter family, thank you — and I mean this sincerely — for sharing them both with America and the world.  We love you all. 

Jill and I will cherish our visits with them, including that last one in their home.  We saw Jimmy as he always was: at peace, with a life fully lived.  A good life of purpose and meaning, of character, driven by destiny and filled with the power of faith, hope, and love.  I’ll say it again: faith, hope and love.

As he returned to Plains, Georgia, for his final resting place, we can say goodbye.  In the words of the prophet Micah, who Jimmy so admired until his final breath, Jimmy Carter did justly, loved mercy, walked humbly.

May God bless a great American and a dear friend and a good man.  May he rise up — be raised up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand. 

God bless you, Jimmy Carter.

11:42 A.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Memorial Service for Former President Jimmy Carter appeared first on The White House.

Washington National Cathedral
Washington, D.C.

11:31 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Leaders of the clergy.  Distinguished guests.  Most importantly, the Carter family. 

In April 2021, Jill and I visited Jimmy and Rosalynn on a warm spring day down in Plains, Georgia.  We wanted to see them.

Rosalynn met us at the front door with her signature smile.  Together, we entered a home that they had shared for almost 77 years of marriage — an unassuming red-brick ranch home that reflects their modesty more than any trappings of power. 

We walked in the living room, where Jimmy greeted us like family.  That day, just the four of us sat in the living room and shared memories that spanned almost six decades.  A deep friendship that started in 1974. 

I was a 31-year-old senator, and I was the first senator outside of Georgia — maybe the first senator — to endorse his candidacy for president.  It was an endorsement based on what I believe is Jimmy Carter’s enduring attribute: character.  Character.  Character. 

Because of that — character, I believe, is destiny — destiny in our lives and, quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. 

It’s an accumulation of a million things built on character that leads to a good life and a decent country — a life of purpose, a life of meaning. 

Now, how do we find that good life?  What does it look like?  What does it take to build character?  Do the ends justify the means?

Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me — and, through his life, taught me that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold.  It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect — that everyone — and I mean everyone deserves an even shot — not a guarantee, but just a shot.

You know, we have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to what my dad used to say is the greatest sin of all: the abuse of power. 

Now, it’s not about being perfect because none of us are perfect.  We’re all fallible.  But it’s about asking ourselves: Are we striving to do things — the right things?  What values — what are the values that animate our spirit?  Do we operate from fear or hope, ego or generosity?  Do we show grace?  Do we keep the faith when it’s most tested? 

For keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America is a story, in my view, from my perspective, of Jimmy Carter’s life.  A story of a man — to state the obvious, you’ve heard today some great, great eulogies — who came from a house without running water or electricity and rose to the pinnacle of power.  A story of a man who was at once driven and devoted to making real the words of his Savior and the ideals of this nation.  A story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world.

The man had character.  Jimmy held a deep Christian faith in God and that his candidacy spoke and wrote about.  Faith as a substance of things hoped for and evidence of the things not seen.  Faith founded on commandments of Scripture: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul and love thy neighbor as thyself.  Easy to say, but very, very difficult to do.

In his life — in this life, any walk of faith can be difficult.  It can be lonely.  But it requires action to be the doers of the world. 

But in that commandment lies the essence, in my view, found in the Gospel, found in many faith traditions, and found in the very idea of America.  Because the very journey of our nation is a walk of sheer faith to do the work, to be the country we say we are, to be the country we say we want to be.  A nation where all are created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never fully lived up to that idea of America.  But we’ve never walked away from it either, because of patriots like Jimmy Carter. 

Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people. 

And today, many think he was from a bygone era.  But in reality, he saw well into the future. 

A white Southern Baptist who led on civil rights.

A decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace.

A brilliant nuclear engineer who led on nuclear nonproliferation.

A hardworking farmer who championed conservation and clean energy.

And a president who redefined the relationship with the vice president.

Jimmy and I often talked about our dear friend Walter Mondale, whom we all miss very much.  Together, they formed a model partnership of collaboration and trust, as both were men of character.

And as we all know, Jimmy Carter also established a model post-presidency by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in America and, I might add, as you all know, around the world.

Through it all, he showed us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flows to others.  At our best, we share the better parts of ourselves: joy, solidarity, love, commitment — not for reward but in reverence for the incredible gift of life we’ve all been granted.

To make every minute of our time here on Earth count, that’s the definition of a good life — a life Jimmy Carter lived during his 100 years.

To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose, study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example.

I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again.

And to the entire Carter family, thank you — and I mean this sincerely — for sharing them both with America and the world.  We love you all. 

Jill and I will cherish our visits with them, including that last one in their home.  We saw Jimmy as he always was: at peace, with a life fully lived.  A good life of purpose and meaning, of character, driven by destiny and filled with the power of faith, hope, and love.  I’ll say it again: faith, hope and love.

As he returned to Plains, Georgia, for his final resting place, we can say goodbye.  In the words of the prophet Micah, who Jimmy so admired until his final breath, Jimmy Carter did justly, loved mercy, walked humbly.

May God bless a great American and a dear friend and a good man.  May he rise up — be raised up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand. 

God bless you, Jimmy Carter.

11:42 A.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Memorial Service for Former President Jimmy Carter appeared first on The White House.

In addition, federal agencies awarded a record $183 billion in federal contracting opportunities to small businesses and $78billion to small disadvantaged businesses in 2024.  

Since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, American entrepreneurs have filed a record 21 million new business applications. The Biden-Harris Administration has overseen for the fastest rate new business applications on record with entrepreneurs filing an average of over 440,000 applications every month, a rate over 90% faster than pre-pandemic averages. This historic wave of entrepreneurships is happening in communities across the country—with the most new business applications in any Presidential administration on record.

Further, federal agencies made record awards to small businesses and small disadvantaged businesses in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. The federal government is the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, giving it a critical role in creating opportunities for entrepreneurs. In FY24, federal agencies awarded a record $183 billion in federal contracts to small businesses—representing 28.78% of all eligible federal contracting dollars. These federal contract awards enable small business growth, supporting more than one million jobs in manufacturing, construction, defense, and other core industries. Federal agencies also awarded a record $78 billion to small disadvantaged businesses.

Small business are the engines of our economy and the heart and soul of our communities. They powered our economic recovery and make our economy the strongest in the world. They account for more than 40 percent of GDP, create around two-thirds of new jobs, and employ nearly half of all private sector workers. The Biden-Harris Administration has stood firmly behind small businesses, powering the small business boom by:

• Oversaw historic increases in business ownership and new business creation among underserved communities. Business ownership has doubled among Black households and hit a 30-year high for Hispanic households; new business creation rates hit a 30-year high for Asian Americans; and women own a higher share of businesses than before the pandemic.
• Supporting small business through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden-Harris Administration made significant investments to keep small business afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Small Business Administration (SBA) provided over $450 billion in total emergency relief to more than 6 million small businesses.  The Biden-Harris Administration made reforms to the Paycheck Protection Program that, compared to the first rounds of the program under the previous Administration, increased loans to small businesses in low to moderate income communities by 67%, rural small businesses by 40%, and businesses with less than 20 employees by 35%.  Further, through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the SBA provided more than 100,000 restaurants, bars, and other eligible small businesses a total of over $28 billion, including $18 billion to underserved restaurant owners. Finally, the American Rescue Plan’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund enabled states and localities to support small business through the pandemic with $5 billion in these funds supporting small business assistance programs.
• Backing record levels of lending through the Small Business Administration. In FY2024, the SBA backed an historic $56 billion in capital to small businesses and disaster impacted communities, providing over 100,000 financings in the forms of loans, investments, and surety bond guarantees to small businesses. The SBA tripled its lending to Black-owned business, doubled lending to Latino-owned and women-owned small businesses, and significantly increased lending to businesses owned by Native, Veteran, and rural entrepreneurs compared to FY20. The SBA also prioritized increasing access to small dollar loans, doubling the number of loans under $150,000.
• Investing in small businesses by funding hands-on assistance to help entrepreneurs successfully access capital and grow and scale their businesses. Federal agencies provided extensive hands-on support to ensure small businesses could fully benefit from federal programs and access broader markets. Building on established SBA programs—offered through Regional Field Offices, Small Business Development Centers, Veteran’s Business Outreach Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and SCORE mentoring—the American Rescue Plan made the largest-ever federal investment in small business navigator services through the Small Business Community Navigators Pilot Program. This initiative provided training to over 350,000 entrepreneurs and one-on-one counseling to more than 33,000 small business owners. Additionally, the plan included the largest federal investment in small business incubators and accelerators via the Minority Business Development Agency’s Capital Readiness Program. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law built on this success by making the MBDA permanent and expanding the agency, allowing MBDA to increase their programs and outreach to underserved businesses. Through Treasury’s SSBCI technical assistance grants and Small Business Opportunity Program awards, the Federal government is partnering with local and non-profit organizations to ensure entrepreneurs receive the support they need, no matter where they live.
• Lowering costs for small businesses through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA saved small business owners money in a number of areas. The IRA allowed small businesses to deduct up to $1.00 per square foot of their business for making high energy efficiency upgrades, created a tax credit to cover 30% of the cost of switching to solar power, and lowered health care costs that burden small business owner’s budgets by capping the cost of insulin for seniors at $35 a month and the cost f out-of-pocket prescription drugs costs for seniors at $2,000 , and preserving the American Rescue Plan’s premium tax credit supports for the Affordable Care Act—saving millions of small business owners and self-employed workers an average of $700 per year on their health insurance premiums.
• Expanding access to capital across the country through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Through SSBCI, the American Rescue Plan is providing nearly $10 billion to support small business loan and venture capital programs run by states, territories, and Tribal governments. By the end of 2023, SSBCI funding had already spurred $3.1 billion in public and private financing for small businesses, including $1.2 billion in venture capital financing. The program is expected to assist up to 200 investment funds throughout its duration. SSBCI places a strong emphasis on underserved and very small businesses; as of December 2023, 75% of supported transactions benefited underserved businesses, while 78% supported businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
• Expanded and reformed the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program to expand access to equity capital.  SBICs are SBA-licensed privately managed investment funds that make debt and equity investments in small businesses using SBA-guaranteed funds.  Over the course of the Biden-Harris Administration, SBICs deployed over $30 billion in financing to more than 3,100 U.S. small businesses and startups, with more than 28 percent of SBIC financings going to underserved small businesses, including women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned small businesses and small businesses located in low median income areas (LMIs).  Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration expanded the SBIC program to include new types of licenses tailored to align with long duration equity investment in earlier stage and capital-intensive industries or enable a fund of funds model to invest equity in new and emerging funds – particularly funds serving underserved small businesses and startups.  Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the number of jobs supported by underserved small businesses financed by SBICs are estimated to have increased by 75 percent to 350,000 between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2023.

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