Washington Post White House reporter Tyler Pager asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if it was a “coincidence” that President Joe Biden’s successful week occurred during his isolation period.
In the briefing held Tuesday afternoon, Pager pointed to the variety of legislative successes achieved by the administration during the past week, despite the president returning to isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 for a second time recently in a rebound case.
“This has been one of the most successful weeks of the president’s tenure in the White House so far. I’m wondering if it’s just a coincidence that it’s happening while he has largely been isolating in the White House?” Pager said.
“Oh my gosh, what are you trying to say there?” Jean-Pierre said, laughing.
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“I’m just wondering if the White House finds it… I mean, the president had a successful 2020 campaign where he was mostly working from his home. Work from home has seemed to be successful for the president,” he continued.
“Tyler, my goodness,” the press secretary said. “Geez, oh my gosh, the cynicism. Look, the president is going to continue to work for the American people, regardless. It doesn’t matter where he is. I hear what you’re saying, but, you know, we’ve had successes over the last 18 months, it’s not just been this week.” (RELATED: ‘That Is Incorrect’: Jean-Pierre And Doocy Spar Over Tax Increases)
The press secretary listed the passage of the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill as major successes of the administration. She also touted the recent agreement made between Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer regarding the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a reconciliation spending package aiming to lower the costs of prescription drugs and promote an all-of-the-above energy policy to tackle inflation.
Congressional Democrats, with the help of 24 House Republicans, sent the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to Biden’s desk Thursday. The bill intends to include $52 billion in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturers and $200 billion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research. Its companion legislation passed the Senate on Wednesday with the help of 17 Republicans.
“What we’re seeing right now is because of the hard work of this administration,” Jean-Pierre said. “It’s because of the work we have been doing for some time now. It just happens to be coming down at this time. But, I wouldn’t put it all together in one week or two, I’m just saying this is the work that we have been working towards. This is the hard work of this president, this is the hard work of this administration to continue to do the business of the American people.”
Pager called it an “interesting phenomenon” that the administration has witnessed a “string of successes” during the president’s isolation period. The press secretary said they should be “thrilled” and “excited” about the recent achievements.