Transcripts For CSPAN Natl 20240703

Charter is glad to be recognized as one of americas best providers. Charter communications supports cspan as a public service, along with these other Television Service providers, giving you a fnt row seat to democracy. National Teacher Committee occasions coordinator john kirby, updates that at least 27 americans have been killed and 14 are unaccounted for after the hamas attack on israel. He spoke on the response to the war on the tulsa Daily Briefing with press secretary karine jeanpierre. This is just under an hour. To why republican form of government karine good afternoon, everyone. This morning the president and the Vice President who joined from air force 2 while en route to las vegas met with Senior Administration officials, including attorney general merrick garland, secretary of Homeland Security, mayo kiss, director of national mayorkas, white house chief of staff, jeff sykes, f. B. I. Director christopher rey, National Security advisor wray, National Security advisor. The president , Vice President , and their National Security teams discussed steps they are taking to safeguard the homeland of the people of the United States, including jewish, arab, and muslim communities. Following the hamas terrorist attacks in israel. We are in touch with faith leaders and communities across the country to provide support, listen to their concerns, and offer the full resources of the federal government during what is a very difficult time for many people in the Jewish Community, but also for people all of all faiths. As you all have seen, the president continues to be highly engaged on this subject between the briefing today and his meeting yesterday with Jewish Community leaders. He and the entire Bidenharris Administration are committed, committed to doing all we can to protect against antisemitism and other forms of hate in the aftermath of this weekends horrific terrorist attacks. And to discuss these events and answer any questions, admiral john kirby is here. National security council. John good afternoon, everybody. Just a couple small things. Ill start with the saddest of news. We can now update the number of americans that we know have been killed to 27. And the number of unaccounted for stands today at 14. We are obviously doing everything we can to support and inform the families. Now sadly, five more families have gotten the worst possible news that any man can conceive of getting. We are going to stay in touch with them as appropriate. The same goes for the Family Members of those who are unaccounted for. By unaccounted for, we mean that we dont know where they are. They dont know where they are. We are going to stay in touch with them as well. We are continuing to work with israeli officials to make sure we are getting as much context and information as possible. Well share with them. Also as you, i think, realize we are all acutely aware of limited availability right now on commercial flights out of israel. And u. S. Citizens who may want to depart. The president has asked his team to ensure we are assisting u. S. Citizens who want to leave israel and providing them with a safe means to do that. Beginning tomorrow, the United States government will arrange charter flights to provide transportation from israel to sites in europe. They are still working through some of the details of that to assist u. S. Citizens and their immediate Family Members who have, for whatever reason, not been able to provide commercial transit out of the country. And i would add that we are also exploring other options to expand the capacity of doing this. Including exploring whether its possible to help americans leave by land and by sea. Again, we are working hard on this. We know there is a demand out there and we are going to try the bets to meet t i encourage any american citizens in need of assistance to complete the intake form that you can find on travel. State. Gov. Its very simple. Go to that site, there is an intake form. Fill it out. It helps the state department process the requests. It helps us get a sense what the scope of the need is. And i would refer you to state on that. Im sure you guys are going to ask me that. I dont have hard figures handy with me. We do know there are certain american citizens that want to go. Its all available through the state departments website. I encourage them to look there. Reporter the power plant has run out of fuel. The humanitarian situation has become quite dire. Have there been communications about allowing shipments of food, fuel, electricity to help lessen civilian casualties and suffering there. John yes, there have been ongoing conversation was our israeli counterparts about the need for continued humanitarian assistance. Reporter hi a couple questions on the american i had a couple questions on the american hostages. Is it still the case that the administration doesnt know anything about the condition of the american hostages. Is the number still believed to be unkpwbl . John yes. Reporter you have been open about the fact that the relation about the hostages vary hard to ascertain at this moment. The limited information you do have, is that coming mainly from the israelis or is there another source of information . John families. As i mentioned yesterday some of these families actually saw their loved ones being abducted and taken away. So they have been a significant source of information as well. Reporter one other quick thing. The assumption that the hostages may not necessarily be in one place, was there specific intelligence to point the administration to not make that assumption . Or is that based on Something Else . Speaker i move that the house due now adjourn. The question is on the motion to adjourn, those in favor say aye, the house stands adjourned until 9 00 a. M. Tomorrow. House members failed to hold votes for a speaker election today, House Majority leader Steve Scalise announced this evening that he has withdrawn his nomination after lacking the full support of his party. This comes after House Republicans were behind closed doors for a private meeting. For more coverage of the house, watch cspan. E even thoeld from iran hold it from iran . John none of that money has been spent. I have no updates to provide today. Reporter was the decision to reach a quiet understanding with qatar about whether or not it would be accessed by iran made because of the attack or political pressure . John im not going to talk about diplomatic conversations one way or another. Every single dime that have money is still sitting in the qatari bank. Not one dime of it has been spent. I also remind, in certain audiences inconvenient facts are easy to forget. The regime was never going to see it. And this account, although its moved from south korea to qatar, was set up by the Previous Administration for this exact purpose. It was back in 2018 the former secretary of state, mike pompeo, talked in quite some detail about how this money and these accounts could only be used for humanitarian purposes and there would be oversight. We have done nothing different. It is the same process. All we have done is move the funds from south korea wherefore technical reasons it wasnt accessible to qatar where it is more accessible. All that said, none of it has been accessed by iranian by iran at all. And even if they had accessed it, it wouldnt go to the regime. It would go to approved vendors that we approved to go buy food, medicine, and medical equipment, Agricultural Products and ship it into iran directly to the benefit of the iranian people. Reporter let me ask you one other. Has the United States independently verified the photos released by the israeli Prime Minister today showing the images of dead children . John i dont think well be in the business of having to validate or approve those images. They are coming from the Prime Minister of israel. And we have absolutely no reason to doubt their authenticity. Reporter followup on the questions about the 6 billion. I understand iran hasnt accessed any of this. Its for humanitarian purposes. There have been reports of this agreement. Yes or no if iran wanted to access it today could they . John im not going to speculate one way or another about future transactions. What i can tell you is, none of it has been accessed. We are watching every dime. As you would expect we would. We are watching it very, very closely. Im not going to im not in a position to speak about these press reports. Ill telling you nothing has been accessed. We have oversight. We have oversight over what can be accessed and for what purposes. Reporter another topic. The president said yesterday he told netanyahu its important even with the emotion, arranger, and frustration they operate by the rules of war. Why does the president feel to underscore this point . John the president feels strongly about the law of Armed Conflict and the proper respect for innocent life anywhere in the world. No matter where it is. That certainly includes maybe even especially includes our own military operations. Reporter is the president worried israel may have already violated the rules of war and they might Going Forward . John its part of the conversations we have been having with our israeli counterparts about the prosecution of these military operations. The Palestinian People are likewise innocent civilians. They didnt ask hamas to come in and do this. Its always on the president s mind the protection of civilian life. Reporter im wondering what you made of the former president last night calling the Israeli Defense minister a jerk. Saying h e hezbollah was john im not going to comment about a comment on the campaign trail. Reporter can you give us an update on the intelligence about irans role in this . Anything changing in terms of what you are seeing. John i dont have any updates. We are still looking into this. Again, no direct evidence that iran was a participant in these attacks in any way. We are still monitoring t we are still looking at t if can i go back, while im not going to comment, i will just add that we take seriously our bilateral relationship with israel. We dont get to decide who the cabinet officials are. That wouldnt be our business. We have strong relationships with them. And its important now that those relationships continue to improve and grow particularly in this time of crisis. We are focused on getting things down and supporting israel. Reporter admiral, speaking of iran, what did President Biden mean yesterday in his remarks when he said he, quote, made it clear to iranians, be careful. What was that referring to . John precisely to his comment the day before about not wanting to see any third party, be it a terrorist group or nation state, that might have hostile feelings toward israel thinking this might be a good time to take advantage of that and to widen and expand the conflict. Very much in keeping with what he said the day before. Reporter was that message communicated john the president of the United States said it publicly. Thats pretty good communication. Reporter just wanted to explain to us about how the president came to say yesterday he had seen pictures with militants battling children. How did they end up john hes referring to images many of you have seen. Our colleagues have reported on. Obviously israeli officials have spoken to. We know that secretary blinken was shown additional images by Prime Minister netanyahu. The thing i think, just allow me a second here, we all need to be prepared for the fact that theres going to be additional gruesome images coming out. There will be pretty tough reports for all of us to swallow. This is not over. All that is, and certainly the president s comments yesterday, to underscore the utter depravity and barbaric nature with which these terrorists murdered and butchered innocent israeli civilians. And that further underscores why, this is what the president s specific point was yesterday, that we got to stay with israel. We have to continue to make sure they have the support that they need. Reporter has the president reporter a couple of followup questions what mary had been asking. Regarding israel news to halt aid materials to gaza. Im wondering if the u. S. Feels thats an appropriate action by the israelis . Have you made any concerns about that to the Israeli Government . John we are having conversations with the israeli officials about the continue need for humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian People who are victims as well. Reporter the u. S. Consider tha john im not going to stand up here an put a Bumper Sticker on it. We are having active conversations as we would. Reporter regarding the former president s comments. Setting aside the politics of it. Do you have any concern he may have revealed confidential information as it relates to john im not in a position to comment on that right now. Reporter charter flights. Are those free of cost to american citizens . John i refer you to the state department. Typically they are. I dont have they are still working through the details how they are going to coordinate these. Reporter on the 6 billion, we know that 100 senators were told on tuesday night that the plan was basically to leave any requests for withdrawals indefinitely. And now we know that House Democrats were told by the deputy treasury secretary behind closed doors this morning the same with one added layer that there is an agreement with qatar not to let those funds be disbursed. Why is it you wont come out and say the u. S. Does not intend to let this money go to iran . John we have always had since the beginning, we have always had the ability to provide oversight over the disbursement of these funds. We always had the option if we wanted it to look at transactions and to make a call about whether we found it valid or not. That has not changed. Even now as you and i are speaking, none of that money has been accessed by anybody. Its still all there. Reporter is it because we think that freezing it essentially again would complicate any negotiations with iran or our ability to get americans home in the future . John im not going to go into any more detail. Reporter on the observerland over land and by sea effort, why is it that we find ourselves in so many situations trying to get americans out . And its largely happening not through a government effort but we are telling civilians to find their way across a war zone. Happened in ukraine. Why is it we find ourselves in that position . John in what position, exactly . Reporter where we are directing american citizens to basically find their way, their own way to u. S. Help on the other side. Where you have other countries that are sending their military in or dock evacuations in a more formal way. John first of all, americans and dual passport holders live all over the world. Sometimes they choose to live in places where bad things happen. We are not in a position of lecturing to americans where they can go live, work, or travel, recreate. Number two, they dont have to tell us they are there. Sometimes its hard to get a sense of what the population is. In places like israel, there are a lot of americans. Most of them maybe not most. A lot of americans are there. Other nation vs. Smaller populations nations have smaller populations. Maybe they have to make their own decisions how theyll handle those. We have to be respectful of the needs and desires of americans who live there. We know that some want to leave. We also know a lot want to stay its home. They dont want to g we have to respect that as well. We tailor the approach based on whats going on. And whats going on geographically inside the country. Some parts of countries that are in distress are safer than others and people are less likely to want to go. You have to take all that into consideration. The other thing i would say to your question is, as this situation evolves, you should expect that so, too, will our approach evolve. And if there is a need to do more or do it differently, well do that. Right now in the early hours there was still ample commercial flights going out of the airport and some viable land routes. Part of the reason why we are doing this is because we have such good communication with americans. We are having these conversations. We realized that as the situation has evolved more and more americans were express ago desire to leave. And expressing a desire to leave. Because not all carriers are acting out of the airport this is our best move. Reporter are we doing anything to fortify the u. S. Against any potential activity against americans domestically or abroad given the calls for a day of jihad. And your statement yesterday that now is not the time to go back and look at any intelligence gaps. Is it the time seeing that tomorrow is supposed to be the day of john yesterday was we are focused on making sure our intelligence sharing with the israelis is as sharp and good as possible for the operations that day. I saw some reporting that made it sound like i blew it off. That is not the case. We understand there will be a need to go back and look at what was missed by whom and when. Of course we are going to do that. We have to stay focused on the task at hand right now. As for your second question, absolutely. We are constantly in touch with local Law Enforcement, state, federal officials across the country to make sure that we are as vigilant as we can be to be able to identify and disrupt any threats to the American People. We are absolutely going to stay focused on that. Reporter is the concern about publicly addressing the 6 million is now being frozen a concern that it would show culpable pablt on the part of iran on these specific events and is that volatile a statement for the u. S. Government to make publicly . Its being communicated privately to lawmakers. John i dont have anything more to add on this all can i tell you is we havent seen any specific evidence that iran was involved specifically with these attacks. As we have said broadly, yes, they are certainly complicit. We are not talking away from the fact that iran has supported hamas and other terrorist networks. This is not about being unwilling to speak to culpability. We have spoken to that and complicit of iran with respect to support to terrorist groups. Im not able to go into more detail. I would tell you again, i know i sound like a broken record, but not a dime has been accessed. We are watching it very, very closely. Reporter the president spoke about the hostage situation in yesterdays event with Jewish Community leaders that he didnt want to say too much publicly for obvious reasons. Could you just speak to what his view is about an American Military role in another country when americanslives are at stake . How woo he view the calculus there . Is it deferring to the israeli the idea . Working in partnership. How would you describe as commander in chief what his priorities are with that kind of potential . John as commander in chief his First Priority is always the safety and security of the americans overseas, as well as our own National Security interests. We have National Security interests throughout the region. Moving the care ter strike group to the eastern med is part parcel of that concern. The israelis have made it very clear that they dont want foreign troops on their soil. They want to prosecute these operations on their own. They have every right to want to do that. We had some experts that were already in country providing advice and counsel on hostage recovery. We have intelligence sharing relationship with israel. We are working to improve that. Certainly we have a Strong Defense relationship with when it comes to providing weapons and munitions. We are doing that. There are no intentions, no plans to put american troops on the ground in combat. Reporter he hasnt been given john there is no interest by the israelis. Reporter options to that effect since saturday. John there are no plans or intentions to do that. There are no active Planning Efforts under way to do that. The israelis have made it clear that they would not welcome that in any event. What we are going to do this is a small but capable military, we are going to do everything we can to improve those capabilities. Reporter is the u. S. Contemplating declaration of humanitarian Parole Program like ukrainians for people of israel or people on the ground . John im not aware of any such plans. Reporter withhold military aid to israel until they create human corridor . John we are providing them military aid as we speak. So, no. There are no plans of holding back military assistance. We wouldnt do that. The president has been talking for three days about how we are going to keep giving them the capabilities they need. Doesnt mean well have conversation was them as i have answered three or four times, about humanitarian assistance and the importance that have getting into the people of gaza. Reporter do you believe the creation of these corridors as advantage for israel . John what . Reporter advantage for israel, creating the corridor . John its the right thing to do for humanitarian assistance. Its the right thing to do for innocent victims who are being held hostage literal as well by hamas. Reporter the oil sales coming out of iran has increased over the last year. Is the u. S. Looking what it can do with the existing Oil Sanctions to decrease the amount of barrels coming out of iran . John without getting into specifics i can tell you we are constantly reviewing our regime sanctions against iran. Well continue to do that. Reporter do you expect an announcement . John im not going to do anything. Reporter thank you, john. I have a few questions for you. First question, regarding hamas and north korea, hamas used north korea rockets to attack israel. Can you tell us about the expectation where north korea is providing funds to hamas . And second question, how does the middle east crisis affect the United States or the korean peninsula. John i cant confirm the reports about the rockets. Im happy to take that question and see if we have more information. I dont have that today. As for how whats going on in the middle east will affect our view of the security environment on the peninsula, or anywhere else in the world. We are a big enough, Strong Enough nation. We have global responsibilities to look after our National Security interests anywhere and everywhere. We are still also supporting ukraine in their i fight against russia. We are still doing amazing amount of work in the indopacific to shore up our alliances and partnerships and try to increase stability, security, and prosperity throughout the region. We are not worried about our ability to do all those things. Reporter of the 6 billion, are you saying that policy hasnt actually changed in any way or you arent willing to talk about changes that may have happened . The other question is, on morning edition we have coming on an american citizen living in gaza in the United States doing anything to help american citizens who are trapped in gaza if they want to get back to the us us . John palestinian. The first and most important thing we are trying to do is as i mentioned yesterday allow for safe passage. Right now they cant leave. We would have no physical means of permitting that transit out. Thats why we are so actively having conversation was the israelis and egyptians about a safe passage corridor so people who want to can. At that time if its onward travel they might need, we would be more in a position to be more physically involved. Does that make sense . I was going to address your first question, but ill leave it. Reporter you could. Reporter the president s comments yesterday about the pictures, he said he never thought he would see confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. At that point in time had he seen such photos . What made him say that . John i dont have anything to add to what he said. You guys have all reported on these atrocities. Some of your outlets have run some of these images. They are plain for everybody to see. The Prime Ministers office has spoken to that even before today they have spoken to these atrocities. Again today the Prime Minister showed secretary blinken some additional grotesque imagery. Reporter one more. On the aid package, is there anything you can tell us about what it would look like . Reporter can you specify whether or not taiwan funding is possibly or security funding could be a part that have request . John nope. Reporter hamas will treat hamas prisoners, any prisoners, including the United States, they specifically said the United States has traded prisoners before citing the iran deal just made s that something United States would consider doing in the case of americans . John i havent seen that particular report. Im going to be low to tkphepbt loathe to comment on it. I will tell you broadly speaking is we obviously take seriously our responsibilities to get americans held overseas back with their families. We have in the past. Entered into negotiations to do exactly that. And we have not foreclosed any option right now in terms of these particular hostages. Obviously if their return to the families can be arrived at in a peaceful way, without additional risk to their lives, that is certainly something we would take very, very seriously. Reporter release of people who john even if i had more knowledge about this offer than do i today, my answer to you would the same. Did would be the same. Its never a good idea to negotiate for the transfer of possages or detainees in public lest you torpedo the actual success you are traoeufg to achieve. I dont have a lot more tkpwrapb late or context tkpwrapb aou late granularity on this. Well do Everything Possible we can to get the americans back home. I would remind, peter, we still dont have a lot of information about exactly how many, where they are. Not even all who they are. There is an awful lot of information we need to gain before we come up with any concrete policy options. Reporter how did the israeli strike on the syrian airport change the situation . And then can you also address reports that the egyptians warned the israelis prior to the attack . John i have answered that question about the egyptians. I dont have anything on that. You have to talk to them. I dont have anything. I dont want to talk about intelligence matters. Your first question, thats a better question put for the Israeli Defense forces no the United States. We are focused on helping them go after hamas. Reporter hezbollah is continuing operating against the israeli fighters at the border. Is there concern that hezbollah is taking part in this war . John sure. Yeah. Absolutely. Reporter any further information about the capability of hezbollah that they have been invading. We know the capability is way stronger than hamas . John they are a potent terrorist group, no question about it. We watch them closely. The israelis watch them closely. We dont want to see this conflict widen. We dont want to see hezbollah make that kind of decision. I would remind, again, that we take our National Security interest very seriously in the region. The reason why we moved the Terror Strike group to the eastern med to act as a deter rent, for any other actor, including hezbollah, thinking widening this conflict is a good idea. Reporter join the war of hezbollah made a difference . John policy decision . Reporter change the game and make made it looks another surprise, maybe. John i appreciate the effort to get me to confirm a hypothetical. Im not going to do that. There is no intention or plan to put american troops on the ground in israel. There is no desire by the israelis for that outcome. Im not going to get ahead of where things are. Reporter one of your priorities has been to kept war confined to israel and gaza. Are you concerned that will be more difficult as things grow. John the prospect of widening is going to defend a lot on depend on allot on other actors outside of israel. Reporter p. D. M. s that israel paid for and potentially considering send morgue after that. Have there been any restrictions put on how israel uses those weapons . If not why not . John i wont speak about that for Israeli Operations for security reasons. I wont get into detailing the munition that is are being provided to them. The israelis have a right to have that information protected for their own ability to conduct operations. Reporter this administration natt very hard against misinformation. Again, whether its a story with the babies or the rape, i want to make sure that you are 1 herz sure of the stories. I have in mind the iraq war where notable outlets, including many here, had disseminated misinformation about the war. John there is no comparison whatsoever. Reporter i dont take some of the information if you dont verify yourself, are you saying there is no need to verify yourself because my question to you is how do you separate between fact and fiction . John boy, thats a thats a whole class at georgetown on that. We could talk about this for hours. Obviously we take seriously register for the class. I dont know if you can handle the reading list. We take it very, very seriously. The need to be as factual and certainly truthful as we can possibly be. If you are suggesting somehow that we are taking that lightly, i again refer you to many of the reporting many of your colleagues have done about the atrocities that have already taken place in the last few days. And comments made by israeli officials themselves. Its obviously, sadly, its obvious what had a last is willing to do to innocent israeli citizens. We are not going to shy away from talking about the grotesque nature here of what these terrorists have done. I also think its important that we all, im not i dont mean this in a chastising way, we all have to keep the larger picture in mind here of whats going on. And how important it is for israel to be able to eliminate this very real, very tangible, very demonstrable threat to the lives of their own citizens. Reporter if you manage to open Border Crossing with egypt, can you keep the palestinian from gaza who are existing . Go back to gaza after the war ends. When people leave they dont come back. Are you worried about the ethnic cleansing when people leave . John other focus making sure not all want to leave. Those that do want to get out they can. Thats the First Priority. If there is a concern about getting back in at the appropriate time, well do with that as a policy issue Going Forward. The bottom line here we know that gaza is home for these people. And if they want to go back home, they should absolutely be allowed to go back home. They should be able to make those decisions just like citizens anywhere should be able to make those kinds of decisions. Reporter today senator menendez was accused of being a Foreign Agent. Is the white house considering being a National Security john i have nothing to update or comment on that. Reporter are you the white house concerned or have any response to the court order in kenya for the deployment of Security Officers on the Multinational Mission to haiti . And is this legal challenge successful, is that concerning, could that change the u. S. pledge in this mission . John i have to take that question. I wasnt i dont want to speculate. Reporter follow up question on social media and misinformation. The house removed hundreds of hamas affiliated accounts and taken down thousands of posts have been taken down. Is enough being done about misinformation surrounding this war . How concerned are you about this . John we have seen the reports that x has taken down quite a bit of misinformation. We certainly support those decisions. That kind of information has no business being out there. Certainly when you know its absolutely no ones fault. We are grateful and its important that was obviously a corporate decision they made. Again we think it was done in the right vain. Reporter one more question on sending u. S. Troops. You said there is no intention and no plan to do so. Has it been ruled out . Is that still an option . John there is no intention, no plan, and frankly no desire by the israelis for u. S. Combat troops to be involved in this conflict. Reporter thank you very much. Two questions on the middle east crisis. 27 americans killed is a very large number. That is larger than the number of americans who were killed by terrorists during our withdrawal from afghanistan. Larger than the number of americans killed at the u. S. S. Cole. Larger than the number of americans killed at benghazi or beheaded by isis. I believe its accurate to say after all of those events, direct u. S. Military action was ordered by the commander in chief. 27 americans killed, why is it the posture of the Biden Administration to just let israel handle this job instead of u. S. Forces going in and getting the guys that killed our people . John we will do, as jake said, everything we can to get those american hostages home with their families. We recognize that they are not the only people being held hostage. Other nationalities are included in that group. We dont have enough information right now to make a policy decision about how to do it. I can appreciate the sense of urgency in your question. Believe me, we share it. We are arent going to act one way or another until we have enough information to act upon. Reporter the hostage issue, you have suggested its a very small number of american hostages being held in gaza. Less than a handful. And i assume that is has there been any discussion amongst President Biden and his aides about how to avoid the fate in this situation where we actually saw the president of the United States and his administration become, in effect, hostages themselves to a Foreign Terrorist Organization . John with all receipt spebgt President Biden has for president carter, i can assure you hes not focusing on history here. Even domestic history. Hes focusing on whats going on now. And making sure that we are doing everything we can to support israel and look after our National Security interest in this moment. Because this is not 1979. Its 2023. And hamas is an organization that has existed for many years with the support of iran. We have got enough challenges just dealing with this that we are focused on that and that alone. Thank you, everybody. Karine thanks, everybody. Thanks, admiral. Go ahead. Reporter is the president ok with having a lawmaker accused of conspiring to act as abagent of a Foreign Government remain as a member of congress . Karine the admiral was just asked this question. Dont have anything to say. Reporter bob menendez karine he was asked this question. Im not going to say anymore to what he just said. Reporter does the president feel by Democratic Party writ large at lawmakers, by his party for his actions now regarding israel . Karine the president is very much to what the admiral just said about the moment that we are in, about what we are seeing. This terrible event that happened this past weekend within israel is that who is an ally, a friend, is what we saw this terrorist organization do, hamas. Which is kill hundreds of take hundreds of lives, murder people. And we believe, the president believes, it is the right thing to do to continue to assist the people of israel. As they are dealing with this devastating horrific time. The president , as president as commander in chief has difficult decisions to make. Difficult decisions to make on behalf of the American People. The admiral talked about how there is a National Security piece to this as well. We have, as we all know, americans, 27 americans, who have sadly perished. And many are still missing. 17 are still missing. It is the president s duty as commander in chief to do everything that he can to protect us and to also assist in this horrific, horrific event we saw this weekend. Reporter my question is more does he feel his party is supporting him . Or does he sense division . Karine i cant speak to we are not sensing division. The president is focusing on the job at hand. The president is going to always focus and make sure that americans and our National Security is front and center. This is part of that. But also israel is a friend. What they have gone through, the people of israel have gone through these past couple days is horrific. We are going to stand by them as the president has said. As they go through this terrible time. Remember, they were, as you know, as you all have written about, attacked by a terrorist organization. A terrorist organization. The president s going to continue to do his duty as commander in chief and president. Reporter do you have an estimate on how Many American citizens are trying to leave israel . Karine i dont. As you just heard from the admiral, we announced the charter that the state will be running. Just dont have any intel. The commercial flights are still ongoing in israel. There are opportunities for folks to leave. I dont have any number for you. Reporter willr there any active threats on the domestic front that Law Enforcement is tracking at this moment . Karine we are always monitoring. Clearly we are going to monitor to make sure that to make sure if there are any threats, obviously we would address those. But there is nothing active that i can announce to you. We are monitoring. But there is nothing there are no active threats at this time. Reporter now the house havent elected a speaker, does that tpheupbg at all any conversations the president may have senior house leaders, republicans, democrats, about speeding this process along . Karine which process . Reporter electing the speaker. Karine its their process to run. This is the House Republicans as i have said over and over again. It is a process. The president doesnt have a vote. What we are seeing is symbolic of chaos what we are seeing on the other side of pennsylvania avenue. They need to get their act together. There is a lot of work that needs to be done on behalf of the American People. We have said this over and over again. They need to figure this out. How are they going to select their speaker, thats up to them. Of course the president wants to continue to move forward on making sure that the business of the American People is done. That dont stop the president from continuing to do the work. We did junk fees yesterday. The president has been pretty engaged and active every day on behalf of the American People. Thats something hes going to do. We want to see the House Republicans get their act in order. Reporter understanding the unchartered territory that there is not karine it is. Reporter i understand that. Im asking there is not a role, then, that the administration sees, that the president could play here. Karine it is not for us to fix. It is not for us to fix the chaos in the House Republicans. Its not for us to fix. They have the majority in the house. It is for them to fix. We have never seen a conference behave this way, or be this chaotic. It is important for republicans who have the majority to figure this out. To figure this out and get they created the situation, and they have to figure tout and elect their speaker so we can move on. Reporter c. P. I. Inflation report came out. Higher than expected. 3. 7 year over year. Unchanged from the prior month. Talk about all the spending last year to lower costs. The last couple months how is that lowering costs . Karine what we believe is that bidenomics is an action. You are talking about lowering costs. Thats something that the president is certainly continuing to do. Inflation is falling. While unemployment remains strong. As you speak to c. P. I. , inflation has fallen 60 since last summer. And the core inflation as you are speaking to this data, fell to its lowest level in two years. That matters. Lets not forget about wages are higher than they were last year. Counting for inflation. Prices fell for core goods like cars and furniture for the fourth month in a roefplt all those pieces are in the data. The c. P. I. That came out today and that matters. Reporter people hear biden tphoplics, rent is up. Car insurance is up almost 19 . Costs are not coming down for all americans. Karine heres the thing. As we know that when it comes to housing people are still dealing with a lot. We understand how that Economic Hardship as it relates to housing specifically. Thats why the president put forth a plan to deal with on the federal level how to help people lower cost was housing. Thats important as well. When you think about wages. Wages are up. Which matters. Over the last year. Accounting for inflation. Even more for Blue Collar Workers and those not in management. That matters. As i mentioned moments ago. The president will continue tog. We see unemployment at under 4 . We see jobs created under this administration, more than 13 million jorks more than 14 million job at this point. Thats what were going to focus on. When it comes to republicans they want to slash taxes for the wealthy. Thats what theyre putting forth. Cut medicare, cut medicaid. They started talking about that again recently. The president is going to focus on whats needed for the American People to give them that breathing room. Lets not forget yesterday. Reporter sit appropriate for the president to go to philadelphia tomorrow given the americans trying to get out of israel and the ground war there . Karine the president has to do multiple things at once. Multiple things a at once. Hes going to go to philly, hell continue to talk about bidenomics, and whats hes doing to and what hes doing to bring back jobs and create manufacturing. Thats something americans want to hear nevment has been engaged in the situation were currently seeing the horrific situation were seeing in israel. Thats what hes going to continue to do. He was engaimged today. Hes been engaged for the last every day since the attacks. Were going to do everything we can, we Just Announced, state Just Announced the charter flights. Thats something thats going to help get americans out of israel and so also commercial flights are still ongoing. I want to make that very clear for the president is going to make americans a priority. He has to do multiple things at once. Thats what youre going to see the president do. Reporter i want to go back to the chairman. In another room this would be a bigger deal. A successor to the president as chairman of the Senate Foreign relations committee. Karine hes no longer chairman. Reporter but the president was once chairman. Karine i see ha what youre say, i got it, i got it. Reporter has been accused of being a Foreign Agent for egypt which not for nothing is involved in the situation right now. Has the president been brought up to speed on this . If he has no comments today can we see comments on whether we has whether he has any concerns that someone with that kind of position has been accused and whether he should be running for reelection. Karine we have always said it was a serious matter. Weve always said that. Well continue to treat that as a serious matter. I dont have anything else to share beyond any statements from the president. I just dont having any outside of that. But of course, of course we see this as a serious matter. Reporter has the president requested any sort of biographies on the family or the victims families or victims in israel in order to have outreach . Would you expect with this number of americans kill head would have a letter or call or something . Anything you can share about that direct President Biden. Karine thats a great question. You know this president you know this is a president when it comes to human tragedy like this or any loss this is a president that takes it very seriously. Intends to reach out and have those conversations with Family Member who was lost a loved one. Dont have anything to read out to you at this time or to plan or anything like that to lay out. But this is of course something as the president of the United States commander in chief, to hear, you know, to hear what has 27, 27 american lives lost. This is something that affects him deeply. If and when we do outreach, we certainly would share that. This is a president who wants to hear, wants to know, wants to hear directly from the families. I dont have anything to share at this time. Reporter he attends catholic mass every week. Has he expressed any desire to go to a synagogue or a mosque for that matter or have any kind of faith experience in light of this . Karine i dont have anything to share of the president visiting a synagogue or mosque. At the of the briefing i mentioned how we are there for all faiths who are, you know, potentially going through some really difficult times in this moment. And certainly you know, when it comes to the question i was asked about homeland, were going to monitor. Keep track. But we are here for the Jewish Community. We are here for the arab community. We are here for the muslim community. Certainly it is also important for the president , for people to feel protected and to feel safe. Thats what his Homeland Security is doing. His advise yrs here. Thats why he met with them today to get an update and certainly were going sty on top of that. Reporter u. A. W. Expanded their strike. A lot of people are four week into this. How concerned is the white house about getting resolution . Karine were going to monitor this closely. The situation. The economic impact. The president says this all the time you hear me say this all the time. We respect union they right to use their options for collective bargaining. We believe that works when both sides come together and negotiate. And come together in this instance. There are multiple sides. And you know, come together in good faith to get a winwin agreement. Thats what we want to continue to see. Were not going to talk about specific tactics or the specifics in negotiations. But certainly were going to monitor. Reporter have official bns in detroit . Karine i dont have any travel information. Julie hsu has been engaged and so has director sperling. Theyre not part of the negotiation but offering assistance that might be needed to the big three and u. A. W. I dont have any specific engagement to read out or any travel at this time. Reporter has the crisis in israel caused the president s major address on the ukraine to be delay and does he still plan to deliver it . Karine i dont have any update on the president s ukraine address. Im sure that well hear, continue to hear from the president. As he said this week, next week hes going to put forth a supplemental supplemental plan on additional funding that hes going to be asking for. And dont want to get ahead of that. Certainly the best path forward. I dont have anything to share on any rashes or extensive remarks the president will be giving or might give on ukraine. But certainly you guys will continue to hear if the president on all important matters, whether domestically or foreign. Thank you so much. Cspan is your unfiltered view of vernment. We are funded by these Television Companies and more, including cox friends dont have to be. When you are connected, you are not alone. Cox supports can as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. Cspans washington journal, our life form involving you to discuss latest issues with the government, politics, and across the country. Friday morning, the chair of the Wilson Center middle east program discusses the latest in israelhamas conflict. Michael warren, Senior Editor for the dispatch talks about the House Speaker contest and future of the gop. Cspans washington journal. Join in the conversation live at 7 00 eastern friday morning on cspan, cspan now, or online at cspan. Org. Monday watch cspans series in partnership with the library of Congress Books that shaped america. We will feature the common law written two decades before Oliver Wendell holmes will become Supreme Court justice. The book is from a series of lectures on criminal and civil law and other legal issues. Controversial at the time, holmes wrote that the life of the law has not been logic but experience. Jeffrey rosen, president and ceo of the National Constitution center will join us to discuss the book. Watch books that shaped america featuring the common