James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:41 P.M. EDT
MS. PSAKI: Okay. Jonathan, second day in a row — nothing at the top.
Q All right. Here we go.
MS. PSAKI: So, let's kick it off.
Q All right. Well, let's start here with budget talks still obviously ongoing on Capitol Hill. There's a growing frustration among some Democrats, particularly those in the House, about what they consider the President's lack of outreach. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, for one, said today that the President has, quote, "got to talk to more than two senators" — meaning Manchin and Sinema. What response does the White House have to the Congresswoman?
MS. PSAKI: Well, first, Congresswoman Dig- — Dingell is a friend of the President's, a friend of this White House's, and we work in close partnership with her on our agenda. But I will say that the President has spoken over the last several days with a range of different voices.
He knows — but he knows the most constructive role he can play in this moment is working to unify Democrats on a path forward. And a big part of that — of course, a huge part of that is working toward an agreement to get 50 votes in the Senate.
And clearly — it doesn't require me telling you — that his meetings with Senator Sinema, with Senator Manchin are part of that effort and those objectives.
I would note that I just saw Congresswoman Jayapal on television conveying something similar to what I just said, which is that that's a constructive role for him to be playing in this moment. I can also assure you that the President looks forward to speaking with, continuing to work with Congresswoman Dingell and a range of members of the caucus.
But right now, he's focused on what the most constructive role he can play to move these two pieces of legislation forward.
Q I'll let my colleagues follow up on the legislation. Two other topics.
MS. PSAKI: Sure.
Q The rate of new vaccinations right now is as low as it was in July, despite the renewed push from the White House and the new encouragement for vaccine mandates. Are these mandates working?
MS. PSAKI: Well, Jonathan, first, we did expect that rates of newly vaccinated would decline over time as they have in other countries with more mature vaccination programs. So, if you look at the United Kingdom, you look at Israel, you look at Canada, as things have progressed and as, of course, greater percentage of the population are vaccinated, the percentages per day, or the numbers per day have declined. We expected that would happen. And the number of people remaining to be vaccinated each day is also decreasing.
But we've also seen — and in our view — that the requirements that have — we have announced we're putting in place, that many companies and institutions and organizations have put in place, are working.
So, I'd remind you that the OSHA requirements, or the OSHA regulations, which we hope to see more — have more detail on in the coming weeks, have not yet even been implemented for businesses of over 100.
But already to date, a number of companies, institutions, organizations have put in place requirements where we have shown — where we have seen rapid increases over a short period of time in vaccination rates. So, one of the reasons the President made that announcement two weeks ago is because he knows we need to do more. We're going to continue to do more, and we're hopeful that that will be an impactful step as well.
Q Okay. And last matter: The ATF nominee, David Chipman, gave an interview today in which he said he did not hear from the White House again after being told that he was going to be the nominee until he was told that he wouldn't be the nominee. And he said — he's quoted as saying he felt like he was on "an island," and there was "no plan B" to get his nomination through. Did the White House drop the ball on this?
MS. PSAKI: Well, first, we share David Chipman's frustration that he wasn't confirmed. We felt that he was absolutely qualified — uniquely qualified, in many ways, as somebody who had worked both at ATF and also for a number of gun safety — for a gun safety organization over time.
And there's only one — but we also knew and we were clear-eyed about nominating anyone, even anyone as qualified as him. There's only been one qualifi- — one confirmed ATF director in history because of Republican obstructionism.
We moved historically quickly. There was a whole team of multiple people behind him. We engaged with members of the Senate — including the President engaged with members of the Senate — about his nomination. And we were committed to getting it through.
Unfortunately, we didn't have the votes to do exactly that. We also have been engaged with him about working to find a job in the administration. That's something that we are eager to do if there's alignment on that. But we believe in his qualifications. We absolutely worked to get him confirmed. But we weren't naïve about how challenging that would be, given the history.
Go ahead.
Q Jen, do you have a better sense of the topline numbers of Senators Sinema and Manchin now?
MS. PSAKI: I would point you, again, to Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin. I would say, Steve, I certainly understand your question. We knew that it would be a compromise, and that's exactly what it is.
And, as you know, the President has spent a great bit of time, relatively so — but given nothing more precious than the time of the President of the United States — over the last two days engaging with each of these senators about the path forward. But I would — I would leave it to them to describe what they're comfortable with.
Q Is there any frustration here that you really don't know what their bottom line is?
MS. PSAKI: Well, that's part of the discussion. We don't really have the luxury to be frustrated around here. If you were easily frustrated, this is probably the wrong line of business for you.
But I would say the President knew that this would require a range of discussions, negotiations, long conversations. He's obviously been through this before: 36 years in the Senate, 8 years as Vice President, and even the success he's has — he's had to date as Senator [President] getting the American Rescue Plan through. We knew that, especially at this point in the process, and that's what he's spending the majority of his time doing, also why he pulled down his trip to Chicago today.
Q Thank you.
MS. PSAKI: Sure. Go ahead.
Q Have they come to an agreement behind the scenes on a topline number?
MS. PSAKI: Again, I'll leave it to them to describe exactly what they're comfortable with and where they sit.
Q But, I mean, would the White House — have they come to an agreement on a topline number?
MS. PSAKI: What our objective is, Kaitlan, is working to determine how they're — what the path forward looks like. We knew that would require compromise. We knew that would require negotiation and sometimes all sides giving a little bit. That's what we've been discussing. But I'm not going to outline private conversations in more detail.
Q Does the President want an agreement on the legislative text by tomorrow?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I think you're asking me probably because of Speaker Pelosi's comments, I assume. One, I would say the President trusts the Speaker and her assessment of what her caucus needs to win this vote. Our objective here is winning two votes, getting these two pieces of important legislation across the finish line, because we know the impact they'll have on the American people. We know they'll lower costs for people. We know they will make a huge — be a huge down payment toward addressing our climate crisis. They'll lower taxes for 50 million Americans. And he wants to get both done.
We certainly trust Speaker Pelosi. We're working in lockstep and around the clock to get both of these pieces of legislation done.
I would say it's only 2:46 now. We have lots of time left in the day; it may not feel that way. (Laughter.) Lots can happen. And that's what we're working toward.
Q Based on the conversations that he's had with Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema — since we know that there have been plenty of them — does he feel that progressives can trust them to support the bigger package?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I can't speak for what members of the Progressive Caucus feel will make them confident about the path forward on reconciliation.
Q Does the President feel that the progressives can trust Manchin and Sinema?
MS. PSAKI: I'm not going to speak for what they — they think they require to get the vote across the finish line. They can speak to that. I'll let them do that.
Go ahead.
