James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
1:53 P.M. EDT
MS. PSAKI: Hi. I have a couple of items for all of you at the top.
On COVID-19 response, we just got today's vaccine report, which Jeff Zients, our COVID Coordinator, touched on during his briefing this morning. But for the rest of you who weren't a part of that, the report is nearly 1.1 million shots in arms. 1.1 million is the highest single-day total shots since July 3rd, which is a good sign. So far in August, we have gotten 12.5 million first shots into arms — that's already 2 million more first shots than in all of July — with several days still left to go to add to that total.
Importantly, we've now hit a major milestone in our effort to vaccinate adolescents at a particularly important time as people go back to school. Fifty percent of 12- to 17-year-olds now have at least their first shot. Obviously, more work to do, but a positive step forward.
Also wanted to note that, today, the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra, announced $85 million in funding to improve mental health services for our nation's children and youth, which is, of course, a priority for the Biden-Harris administration as a part of our push to get kids back to school safely and address the impact of the pandemic on them.
Specifically, he announced the Health Resources and Services Administration is making 24 awards, totaling $10.7 million in funds from the President's American Rescue Plan, to expand pediatric mental healthcare access by integrating telehealth services. For example, actions like technical assistance for pediatric care providers to diagnose, treat, and refer children and youth with mental health conditions and substance use disorders.
And this will also — the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is also granting 29 awards, totaling $74.1 million, to enhance mental health service — mental health services for school-aged youth. So, as an example of that, Project AWARE — which stands for Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education — will use its funding to help raise awareness of mental health issues for young people and train school personnel.
Also wanted to note that today we're announcing that President Biden has directed the Department of Homeland Security to serve as the lead federal agency coordinating across the federal government to relocate evacuated Afghans to the United States. Already, DHS has been working closely with agencies across government — including our military, diplomats, intelligence community, and law enforcement professionals, and many others — to ensure that all Afghans are screened and vetted prior to being allowed into the United States.
Additionally, all evacuees will continue to undergo extensive COVID-19 and public health precautions, including immediate COVID-19 testing and offered vaccines upon arrival.
DHS will also coordinate with numerous other federal agencies to ensure that relocated Afghans have access to medical care and sufficient support to enable their successful resettlement in the United States.
The President is grateful for the critical role the dedicated workforces across the federal government, including our military servicemen and women, diplomats, our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, and many others are in implementing this effort.
Finally, this afternoon, the President and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will host a call with the governors of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi to discuss ongoing preparations for Tropical Storm Ida, which is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast as a major hurricane on Sunday.
As some of you may know, Sunday is the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which caused widespread devastation, claimed more than 1,800 lives, and displaced so many families.
The FEMA Administrator was in Louisiana yesterday. She met with the govern- — with Governor Bel Edwards and the state emergency management director to discuss how they're mobilizing to prepare for what could be a very dangerous storm hitting a region that has been heavily impacted by the Delta variant. And the President will be closely tracking this and receive updates through the course of the weekend.
Aamer, with that, we'll kick — why don't you kick it off.
Q Thank you. You put out a statement not too long — before we came out here — that had some pretty sober language in it about the latest briefing the President has gotten from his national security advisors, namely that an attack is likely. I know you're limited, but is there any more specificity you can offer on what that threat is?
And secondly, what does it mean for the evacuation? Does the intel, in any way, also — and changes that need to be made — limit or restrict the ability to continue or get as much done with the mission through August 31st?
MS. PSAKI: Sure. Well, I think many of you may have seen the statement I put out this morning, but just to highlight the reference I believe Aamer was making:
What I — what I conveyed in the statement was that the national security team the President met with this morning advised the President and Vice President that another terror attack in Kabul is likely. And they are taking maximum force protection measures at the Kabul airport and in surrounding areas with our forces as a result.
I will note that the Department of Defense also just gave a briefing this morning, and I will echo some of the descriptions that they offered.
The threat is ongoing, and it is active. It is — our troops are still in danger. That continues to be the case every day that they are there. Most — this is the most dangerous part of the mission. This is the retrograde period of the mission. And what that means is that this is the period of time when the military commanders on the ground and forces begin to move not just troops home, but also equipment home. And that is often a very dangerous part of any mission, but in this case, they're also doing that while there is an ongoing and acute threat from ISIS-K. So that is what they are facing.
I would note, since you gave me the opportunity, that the military made clear to the President that they are committed to continuing this mission, to getting — to saving lives, to evacuating more people from the country over the coming days, and completing their mission by the 31st.
What it will also mean, as they move to this retrograde phase, is that there will be a reduction of numbers over the next couple of days. And we've been putting those numbers out to all of you twice a day so that you can see how that — how we are evacuating people out of the country. Those numbers will go down in the next couple of days, and you should anticipate that. That is a result of the retrograde process that needs to take place, but also, I will note that, of course, force protection is front and center and is vital to the mission.
Q One more. President Biden told reporters in the Oval Office during his meeting with the Prime Minister that he talked to Dr. Fauci today about the prospect of giving booster shots after five months instead of eight. Can you explain why he's looking at that and what information he has now that justifies the possibility of going that direction?
MS. PSAKI: Well, let me be very clear: The President would rely on any guidance by the CDC and the FDA and his health and medical experts. That guidance continues to be eight months. That has not changed. So I want to be very clear on that.
If they were to change their guidance, based on data, for any particular group, he would, of course, abide by that. But for people watching at home, for you all who are reporting out this, nothing has changed about the eight-month timeline as it relates to the boosters.
Q But why did they go — why is this conversation even happening? What sort of triggered going from eight to five?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I would say I can't — I obviously wasn't in — sitting in the meeting having the discussion with them on this. But Israel has taken the step of doing six-month boosters, and it's — the President referenced advice he'd been given from the Prime Minister. Obviously, we make our own assessments based on our health and medical experts here in the United States, and nothing has changed on that front.
So I think it was more likely a reference to that. And obviously, we have ongoing discussions with our health and medical experts about what they look at.
Go ahead, Trevor.
Q Two on Afghanistan. First, I just wanted to get an update on the President's plans, if he has any, to meet the troops when their remains are returned to the United States.
MS. PSAKI: Well, there hasn't been an announcement, as you know, by the U.S. military about the timing of that, but I can reiterate what I conveyed yesterday, which is: The President will look for any opportunity to honor the servicemen and women who lost their lives yesterday. But I don't have anything to announce at this point in time.
Q Okay. And then just one other thing. There's been some reporting around the Taliban requesting a diplomatic — an ongoing diplomatic presence in Kabul from the United States. Could you talk a little bit about what the thinking is here at the White House about whether that's appropriate and how or if that would happen after the end of August?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I would say, first, that we are looking at ways — and I will refer to our Secretary of State and the State Department here — to continue to engage.
I'll note something I said — I know this wasn't exactly your question, but just to get it in here — that the President did direct the Secretary of State to continue diplomatic efforts with international partners to secure means for third-country nationals and Afghans with visas to leave the country, even after the U.S. military presence ends.
A part of that would certainly be having a coordinated approach and engagement with the Taliban, because in order to continue to evacuate any American citizen who was not yet prepared to leave, who wants to leave, third-country nationals and Afghans with visas — we will need to coordinate with the Taliban. That does not mean or translate into a presence on the ground. As we've noted, we are pulling our presence out by the 31st, and that has not changed.
Go ahead.
Q Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez put out a statement that said, in part, "We can't trust the Taliban with American security," in terms of — in the wake of the attack yesterday. I don't want to get into a semantic debate about the word "trust," but I guess my question is: Is the coordination with the Taliban the best of bad options right now? Or was it the view, from the military and the White House, that it was the only option, given the dynamics on the ground?
MS. PSAKI: Maybe both. And I will say, I know — I won't get into a semantic debate, but I think it's worth repeating as often as I can that we don't trust the Taliban. This is not about trust.
But there is a reality on the ground, and the reality is the Afghan — the Taliban control large swaths of Afghanistan, including the area surrounding the perimeter of the airport. So, by necessity, that is our option — to coordinate with to get American citizens out; to get our Afghan partners out; to get individuals, who are eligible for the range of programs the United States has, out. And we have now evacuated more than 105,000 people as a result of those coordinated — in large part as a result of those coordinated efforts of getting people out.
But I will say that, as the Department of Defense noted earlier today, clearly something went wrong here in the process — that we saw the ISIS-K attack occur yesterday. We don't have additional information to suggest that it was, you know, intentional, or anything along those lines, which was a question that was asked yesterday. But clearly, there was a break in the security process here. There's no question about that.
Q And then, just one more kind of following up on what Aamer asked. It is rare that you have U.S. officials be this definitive about the security threats that are being faced anywhere in the world, but this has always been something the President has pointed to as to why he wanted to stick to the August 31st deadline.
Is there a tangible difference in what you guys are seeing or have seen over the course of the last several days that makes this moment different than what the President was citing a week ago or 10 days ago?
M. PSAKI: Well, like, I can't always — and I know you're not asking me to — but I can't clearly get into specific details from here. But what I think the — the reason we put this out publicly in the way we did is because yesterday there was an attack by terrorists that killed 13 members of the U.S. military. And it's important for us, as the fed- — as the government, to be clear about what threat our U.S. forces are facing on the ground as they continue to implement the mission.
And that threat is acute, it is ongoing. Our troops are still in danger. And they are taking the steps they are taking to save lives and evacuate people because of their commitment to the mission. And we felt it was important for people to understand that.
Go ahead.
Q Thanks, Jen. I also wanted to ask you about the statement you put out. You said that in light of yesterday's attack, the troops there are taking maximum force protection measures at Kabul airport. What resources are available to them that they didn't have yesterday? They have the same number of troops and the same amount of equipment.
MS. PSAKI: Any resources that they need and they request from the President, they will be granted. But I'm not going to get into additional details.
Q Okay. And then I'm also wondering if the President has any plans to speak to the families of the fallen service members.
MS. PSAKI: Yeah, so how this process works is the next-of- kin notifications would, of course, happen by the Department of Defense, typically in person, to next of kin. I believe they gave an update on that this morning and conveyed that that process is ongoing. The President wouldn't then make a call or reach out until that process is completed. And it would be up to the next of kin and the families to determine if they are prepared to receive a call from the President of the United States.
And I think it's important to note that this may be the worst day of their lives. And they may or may not feel they're ready to talk to the United States or they want to talk to the President of the United States. And that's their choice.
But I expect, once any calls are completed, we'll provide you all an update.
Q Great. And then, finally, I want to know if the White House has any reaction to the swath of Republican lawmakers who are now calling on the President to resign over this.
MS. PSAKI: Well, Nancy, I have to say that seeing some of this occur, or be called for, or be put out on Twitter — you know, the backdrop here is the U.S. men and women of the military deployed on the ground are bravely continuing to implement a mission to save lives on the ground — American citizens, Afghan partners, many people that some of these same individuals are calling for us to evacuate.
Yesterday, they lost 13 of their own, and the President made absolutely clear that we are going to hunt down, go after, and kill the terrorists who are responsible. Everyone should be supportive of that.
Q So you're saying now is not the time for politics?
MS. PSAKI: Correct.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Jen. When the President says, "We will hunt you down and make you pay," what does that look like? Is he going to order a mission to kill the people responsible? Or would he be satisfied if they are captured and brought to trial?
MS. PSAKI: I think he made clear yesterday that he does not want them to live on the Earth anymore.
Q Okay. And as the U.S. is coordinating with the
Taliban about security for the next couple days, some of the people running security for the Taliban in Kabul are terrorists with millions of dollars' worth of bounties on their heads. Are we going to try to bring those known terrorists to justice before we leave the country?
MS. PSAKI: Peter, I think our focus right now is on doing everything we can to get the remaining American citizens, who want to depart, out of the country; to get our African partners out of the country.
As I just said in response to Phil's question, this is not a preferred relationship or a situation that we would have designed if we had started from scratch. I think that's very clear. But right now, we need to continue to coordinate. That's our focus for the next couple of days.
Q And the last one: You said that you think we're going to have a great deal of leverage over the Taliban after we leave. Do you think we're going to have more leverage with no troops on the ground in Afghanistan than we do with thousands of troops on the ground in Afghanistan?
MS. PSAKI: Well, to be clear, one of the steps that the President directed his Secretary of State to take, which was in my statement this morning, was to engage with our international partners to determine what the path forward looks like.
And there are key components here. The Taliban are going to want a functioning airport; so do we. There's an enormous amount of economic leverage that the global community has. That's something we need to work with our international partners on. As we have more to update you on, we will update you on it.
Q In terms of the President's commitment to make those who are responsible for yesterday's attack pay, is the President committed that even after American troops leave Afghanistan, he would be willing to send in American troops, even in some covert form, to complete that mission to kill those who are responsible?
MS. PSAKI: I'm not going to get into details from here on what going — hunting down and going after the terrorists, who killed 13 servicemembers, will entail or detail, and I don't think the Department of Defense will either. But that will — he — that commitment will remain until it's done.
Q Suffice to say it means the potential exists for troops to go back into Afghanistan, even after the 31st?
MS. PSAKI: Again, I'm not going to get into the detail of what that would require. But his commitment remains until it's done.
Q Understood. In terms of the commitment, just so it's clear for Americans right now, just four-plus days away from the August 31st deadline: Is the White House's commitment still, at this point, that all Americans who want to leave Afghanistan will be able to leave before that date?
MS. PSAKI: That is what we are focused on, committed to, and working toward.
Go ahead.
Q Back on the diplomatic efforts — it's Friday; the deadline is Tuesday. What more can you tell us about these talks that the President has directed the Secretary of State to undertake? How close is an agreement? Will we have a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan on September 1st?
MS. PSAKI: That's not what we're predicting, nor are we predicting we're going to have a dip- — we're not predicting a diplomatic presence on the ground in Afghanistan. We are — what we're talking about is coordinating with our international partners in order to determine what the path forward looks like so we can continue to evacuate third-country nationals, Afghans with visas, and any American citizens who have not yet departed because they're not prepared to depart after that period of time.
And that will require coordination with our international partners. It will also require continued engagement in some capacity with the Taliban.
Q So, just to be clear, are you suggesting there will
not be an American diplomatic presence in Afghanistan?
MS. PSAKI: I think we've been clear we're pulling our personnel out by the 31st. I don't think we've made any other assessment. I'll let the State Department speak to any other plans beyond that.
Q If I could ask you one more question. I think you indicated yesterday that you believe the President has all the legal authority he needs to attack —
MS. PSAKI: Yeah.
Q — ISIS-K. Is it the White House's view that the
President can lean on the AUMF that was passed right after 9/11 to do so?
MS. PSAKI: I can just assure you the President and the military feel they have all the authorities they need to attack ISIS-K.
Go ahead.
