James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:02 P.M. EST
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Bonjour.
Q Bonjour!
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, nice! Okay. Get into the spirit, folks.
Okay. So, we are pleased to welcome President and Mrs. Macron and the delegation from France to the United States. Above all, this visit is a celebration of the strong French-U.S. relationship and the personal relationship between President Biden and President Macron.
Just a few hours ago, President Macron joined Vice President Harris for a briefing at NASA headquarters. The visit underscores our deepening collaboration on space and — on space, and came on the heels of the very first U.S.-France Comprehensive Space Dialogue, which was held in Paris last month. And it delivers on a commitment made by Vice President Harris and President Macron during her visit to Paris last year.
Looking towards tomorrow, I know everyone is eager to hear more details about the state dinner itself. Today, the First Lady is — actually, happening right now — is hosting a media preview with the White House Social Secretary, Carlos Elizondo, followed by presentations from White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison. At that preview, they are sharing information about the menu and the décor for the state dinner.
I also wanted to share some good economic news. First, this morning, we learned that our economy grew at even stronger pace in the third quarter than we previously thought. American consumers continue to spend and American businesses continue to invest here at home at even higher — at even stronger pace.
Second, as of today, the average price of gas is now below $3.50 a gallon for the first time since February, before Putin's invasion of Ukraine. And the most common price for gas is $2.99. Gas prices are down about $1.52 per gallon since June, for a savings of $160 per month for American families with two cars.
Finally, American consumers should continued — showed continued strength with record holiday spending, including on Black Friday and also this week on Cyber Monday.
According to the National Retail Federation, a record number of holiday shoppers returned to stores from Thanksgiving through Monday. And Adobe Analytics reported consumers spent a record $35 billion online over just five days.
It will take time to bring inflation back down to normal, but the American people showed — showed that they still have confidence that the President's economic plan is indeed working.
As the President said yesterday, he'll work with anyone — Democrat, Republican, or independent — with ideas on how we can provide working families breathing room and build a stronger, more resilient economy for the long haul. That's what the American people voted for in November.
With that, Colleen, you want to kick us off?
Q Sure. Thank you. There are reports that the Islamic State leader has been killed, and I wondered if you can confirm that and also whether the U.S. was involved at all and if it was a U.S.-led attack or — I'm sorry — operation.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, earlier today, ISIS publicly announced the death of al- — al-Qurayshi, the overall leader of ISIS.
This follows the same fate of his predecessor, Hajji Abdullah, who was killed in a U.S.-led raid in February in North- — Northwestern Syria.
We are pleased to see the removal of ISIS's top leaders in such quick succession. The United States remains committed to countering the global threat from ISIS and stands ready to work with international partners who share that same goal.
We will — we build — we will build on these counterterrorism successes, and we will keep that pressure on for sure.
As far as any involvement with — by us, by the U.S., as it relates to the death of al-Qurayshi, there was no re- — it was not a result of any U.S. action, I can confirm.
Q Okay, thank you. And then, another question on Indiana. The Indiana Attorney General has asked the State Medical Board to sanction the doctor who spoke out about performing an abortion on a 10-year-old girl from Ohio.
I just wondered what the — you know, the White House's thoughts were on that effort, whether it, you know, could potentially send a chilling effect or cause a chilling effect to other doctors — whether doctors should be speaking out about this. I just sort of wondered where the White House stood on this.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I can't speak about the details of the Indiana AG's request to the medical board. But there's a couple of things I do want to lay out and take a step back, because it's — it's a truly ho- — a horrifying situation. We're talking about a 10-year-old child here who was raped and could not receive healthcare in her home state of Ohio and was forced to travel because she was raped and had to go to another state, clearly as you have all — some of you have reported.
A doctor who provided reproductive care to a child that was raped is now being accused of violating patient privacy by an elected official. That is what we're seeing, and that is what is currently happening.
And if that was not enough — if that weren't enough, he is asking the state medical board to discipline the doctor for speaking out about patients in desperate need of care.
And this is not about the concerns of the victim. This is not about the victim at all. This is an elected official going after a doctor for helping a child who was raped and seeking healthcare.
And — and broadly speaking here — and you've heard us say this before — I know there was a lot of concern in here back in October on whether there was too much focus on women's — women losing their constitutional right. And — and, as you can see, there should — there should be more concern.
And these types of situations are very real, and they are very much interests of the American people. We saw that in this past election. This is something that the American people care about. This is something that women care about. They want us to continue to fight for their rights, to fight for the freedom that they've had for almost 50 years when Roe was in place.
So, the fact is that Americans do not want politicians making their healthcare decisions for them. And we saw that, from Kentucky to Michigan, Americans rejected — they rejected backwards, dangerous proposals.
But what we continue to see from Republican officials just across — across the country is that they want to — to take away that right, to take away that freedom.
So, the President is — and the Vice President is going to do everything that they can to continue to fight for Americans' freedom and their — and for their rights.
Q Can I have one more quick one?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.
Q I'm sorry. The Prince and Princess of Wales are going to be in Boston this Friday, I think. Will the President meet them or see them or hang out with them at all? (Laughter.)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hang out? Okay. So, the President intends to greet the Prince and Princess of Wales when he is in Boston. We are still finalizing and working through the details, so I don't have any — anything more to share — any more specifics to share on that.
Go ahead, Mary.
Q The President released a statement praising the House for passing this bill to avert a shutdown of the rails. He says he wants it on his desk immediately. But he didn't mention this separate bill guaranteeing seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers. Does the President also back and support this legislation? Does he also want that on his desk immediately?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I just want to say a couple of things — that the President believes that a bill averting a rail strike needs to reach his desk by this weekend. He is very clear about that, because we need to protect the American families from potential devastating effects of a real shutdown. And we have talked about that numerous times, and the President was really clear about that when he — when he put out his statement earlier this week.
The President, of course — of course, he supports paid sick leave for all Americans, including rail workers. But he does not support any bill or amendment that will delay getting this bill to his desk by this Saturday. And he is — he's been very clear about that.
Again, he's a President for all Americans, and he believes that we need to avert a potential — this potential shutdown that would have a devastating effect on our economy, a devastating effect on jobs, a devastating effect in our communities across the country, and our — and our farms, as well.
Q What is the President's message to union workers, rail workers across the country who backed the President, who helped him get elected, believed that he was standing with them, and who feel that he has betrayed them?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, the President, as you know, has been — has been called by union — unions and labor leaders as a pro-union President. And he takes that very seriously.
He is the most pro-union President in history. And he's worked tirelessly to secure victories for unions and for workers since he was first elected to Sen- — to the Senate.
So, this is — this is — when it comes to labor, when it comes to unions, this is something that he has worked towards, in making sure that he delivers for — for what he called yesterday, if you listened to him during his Michigan — his Michigan statement, he said they were the backbone; they built our middle class, right?; they were the best workers that we have in this country.
And so as a proud pro-union President, he's reluctant to override the ratifications proce- — procedures of individual unions, right?
We have to remember: There were 12 unions involved in this. When the tentative agreement was done, when — when that agreement came out, it was praised. We received praise from rail unions and — and from folks and from the companies as well. And once that agreement came to fruition — because of the work that this President did on September 15th, there was a cooling period and it was ratified by 8 of those 4 — 8 — 8 unions of the 12.
And so, look, we have to remember: There are really good — good — good — you know, good pieces in this — in this deal. There's a 24 percent pay raise and a $5,000 bonus; no changes in co-pays, deductibles, or — or coinsurance cost; some time off for routine preventive and emergency medical care; and protecting the two-man crew.
This is — you know, this is a deal that has a lot of benefits. But, again, he wants to make sure that we — you know, we avert a shutdown that would be detrimental to our economy.
Go ahead.
Q Thanks, Karine. Europe and France are concerned about Buy America provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, and President Macron is expected to raise that during his visit. What will the President — President Biden — say in response to those concerns?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about what may come up in that conversation.
Q I think they flagged that they're going to bring it up.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, but, still, I'm —
Q So, it's not hypothetical.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I'm — well, it's hypothetical because it hasn't happened yet. They may have flagged that. I'm not going to speak for France. Clearly, I'm just speaking for this President. I speak for the President of the United States. So, right now, it is a hypothetical that it will come up, right?
And — but I will say this: The Inflation Reduction Act, as we know, is historical. It will — you know, it is an investment that will — historical investment that will deal with climate change in a real way. It will lower costs for American families — if you think about healthcare, if you think about energy costs as well.
And just a couple of things: There's a number of provisions that will contribute to the growth of clean energy sector globally. And that is important to note. It presents significant opportunities for European firms, as well as benefits to EU energy security. And this is not a zero-sum game for us.
And so, we see a constructive path of engagement with the EU on this. And we continue to discuss this issue at all levels of the U.S. government.
Again, you know, I'm not — I'm just not going to get ahead of — of what will be on the agenda in their conversation.
Q But it sounds like, from your prepared response, that you're prepared to talk about it.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We're always prepared to talk about issues that may — that may come up, certainly — certainly, with — with our allies. As you know, France is our oldest ally. And — and the President looks forward to — to meeting with President Macron.
We — you know, we read the news — the news reports and your reportings as well. We — we have heard — we've heard President Macron's comments.
So, you know, of course, we're ready to have that conversation, but just don't want to get into a potential hypothetical. Maybe it comes up and maybe it doesn't.
But the President is very proud of this Inflation Reduction Act. It will have true benefits for American families, and it's historical.
Q Do you have a response to Fed Chair Powell's remarks about inflation today?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, let me — I have a little bit of what we wanted to say about that. Give me one second here.
So, when it comes to his comments, as you know, we are very clear about the Fed having their independence and respecting that independence. As we know, prior Presidents have — have not made that — made that clear. And it was — it was not something that they — they did — many of them did not do.
So, we want to give the Fed the space to do the work that they — they need. They have the best monetary tools to deal with inflation.
Our economic team continues to believe that thanks to the President's economic team and his economic plan, we can bring inflation down without giving up the historic gains that we have made. Our economy has added 10 million jobs, and unemployment is near a 50-year low.
And so, as I just stated, we saw that economic growth last quarter — that was even stronger than previously estimated. At pre- — it was previously estimated at 2.6 percent, and now we're seeing at 2.9 percent.
So, again, you know, as the Chair said today, bottlenecks in goods production are easing and goods price inflation appears to be easing. And so that — that is important.
But I want to be very clear: We're going to give them their — kind of, their ability to — to work in an independent way, and not going to interfere.
Bless you, Emilie. (Laughter.)
Go ahead.
Q Thanks, Karine. Just to follow up a little bit on Mary's question. Given the close ties the administration has to the labor movement, have there been conversations, maybe behind the scenes, kind of explaining the "why" here or kind of detailing the decision-making process with the labor movement?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I mean, look — and we've said this; I said this the other day — Secretary Walsh has been in touch with the rail union. Secretary Buttigieg has been in touch with the companies. The President has been, clearly, in touch with congressional leaders and his administration. And — and Secretary Vilsack has been in close touch with the agriculture sector.
But just to — just to just give a little bit of a timeline here — you know, the President and his team have been directly engaged in supporting negotiations and averting a shutdown for months now.
In July, if — as you recall, like we've talked about it right here in the briefing room, the unions asked him to constitute a Presidential Emergency Board, a request they made because they know he — he is indeed a pro-union President. And he did just that.
After the PEB, he brought the full weight of his administration to bear to keep the parties at the table and to get employers to make concessions, and they did. So, he made it possible for the unions to secure a tentative agree- — agreements in September that secured a higher pay — I just mentioned 24 percent, and you've seen that also in the President's statement — and a $5,000 bonus for — for workers.
Those tentative agreements kept our rail system working and prevented a disruption to our economy. And just want to add: You know, there was a cooling-off period once that September 15th tentative agreement was made. In that cooling-off period, those 12 unions were given the opportunity to — for them to — to ratify or vote for that tentative agreement. Again, eight of them ratified it. That's a majority of the 12. And — and — and so, we wanted to give the last two unions who voted in lat- — in late November their opportunity to make their voices heard.
And so, that's kind of how you saw the process the last couple of months. We've been engaged. We've been, certainly, working with them on — on coming to this tentative agreement.
And — and now we're at a place where the President has been very clear that we have to avert a rail shutdown. And he's asking Congress to act. He's very pleased by what the Speaker and the leadership was able to do today in the House to move that forward.
Q Just one more quick one. This happened just an hour or two ago, so it may be a little bit too new. But there were roughly a dozen Republican senators threatening to block the annual defense policy bill, which you guys need to finish before the end of the year, unless they get a vote on an amendment that would end the military's COVID vaccine mandate.
One, do you have a response to that push? And two, more broadly, are there any — is there any thought to making changes on that anytime in the future?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I — this is the first I'm hearing of this. As you said, it's very new. And so, I will, certainly, let the Department of Defense speak to their own COVID vaccine requirement. And so, I'm just not going to get more into that. I'll talk to the team further on — as to exactly what the specifics are of the — these members and what they're saying.
Q Thanks, Karine.
Q I just want to go back and clarify. On the proposed seven-day paid leave amendment or stand-alone that was passed by the House, however it's taken on in the Senate, does the President support that proposal?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So the President, again, believes that it is important to avert a rail strike, and that is what he's focusing on. And he wants to bring — make sure that there's an agreement that's brought to his desk by the weekend to — again, to protect American families, to protect jobs, to protect farms, and to protect communities across the — across the country.
The President, of course, supports — he supports paid sick leave for all Americans and for — including rail workers. This is something, as you have seen him over the past almost two years, talk about that and try to move forward in making sure — in — in — in getting paid sick leave.
But he understands there are not 60 votes, right? There are not 60 votes in the Senate to make that happen. His number one priority is that — is making sure that we get this done. So, he is — does not support any bill or amendment that will delay a bill that's getting to his desk by Saturday.
Q All right. Two other quick ones. Does he have a plan to meet with the new House Democratic leadership?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don't have anything to — to preview for you at this time on a meeting.
Q He hasn't spoken with them yet today?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don't have any calls to preview at this time.
Q And this was brought up on a background call yesterday previewing today's Tribal Nations Conference, and those on that call said they didn't have anything on it. I'm just curious, maybe, if you do.
Does the President support the Cherokee Nation's push to get a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, which would make good on an 1835 treaty that was supposed to seat one?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I'm just going to repeat what you heard on the background call. We just don't have anything to share on that at this time.
Go ahead, Peter.
