White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre snapped at Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy as he pressed her on President Joe Biden flip-flopping on the border wall.
The Biden administration waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to permit construction of more border wall in the state’s Rio Grande Valley sector, where border officials encountered more than 245,000 migrants attempting to enter the country illegally in fiscal year 2023, according to a filing from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“As a candidate, President Biden didn’t say ‘There will not be another foot of wall constructed, except for what was appropriated in 2019.’ He said, ‘There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration.’ So, something changed. What?” Doocy asked.
“You want us to break the law,” Jean-Pierre said. “Is that what you want? You want us to not comply with the law.”
“I’m not — I’m asking about, he was —” Doocy began.
“But you want us not to comply with the law,” the press secretary said. “You want us not be an administrations [sic] that follows the rule of law.”
“You guys do this all the time. The student loans, the student loan forgiveness program. You went to court to fight for that. If this is such a problem, building 20 miles of wall, why not just go to court?” Doocy asked. (RELATED: CNN’s John Berman Calls Out Biden For Breaking Promise On Border Wall)
The DHS waived a number of federal laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act, in order to use money from appropriated congressional funds earmarked since 2019 for border wall construction, according to the Associated Press (AP). During an unprecedented crisis, the administration accepted the use of the border wall construction funds while under a deadline to use or ignore the funds.
The press secretary said Congress denied the administration’s request to reappropriate the funding away from border wall construction.
Doocy then questioned if the administration would tear the wall down if they believe it does not work. The press secretary refused to get into “hypotheticals,” and reiterated DHS is complying with the law.
During his presidential run, Biden repeatedly promised his future administration would not add any additional construction to the unfinished wall begun during former President Donald Trump’s administration. In an Aug. 5, 2020, interview, Biden vowed there would “not be another foot of wall constructed” along the southern border.
The Biden administration halted construction of the wall after assuming office in January 2021. Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sued the administration in April over the halt, and 40 Republican senators accused Biden of violating federal law.