White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki went back and forth with Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy over voting restrictions.
During a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Psaki mentioned the Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled the state earlier this week to stop a voting bill.
“I think that the president’s view is that these Texas legislators were making a statement through action in opposition to efforts in their state to oppose restrictions on people’s fundamental rights and their rights to vote in their state,” Psaki said.
She added, “The president certainly applauds their actions and their outspoken opposition to efforts to put in place restrictive measures in their state.”
Doocy replied, “Maybe it is funny to think about it that way.”
Psaki interrupted, “I don’t think anything about this is funny. I think what is important to note though here is that there are 28 states, including Texas where there are laws in place or in process to make it harder to vote.”
Watch the press briefing below:
Biden voiced his opposition to voting restrictions during his speech on Tuesday, as IJR reported.
“They want to make it so hard and inconvenient that they hope people don’t vote at all. That’s what this is about,” Biden said.
He added, “The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It’s unrelenting. And we’re gonna challenge it vigorously.”
The president also promised to sign the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act as soon as Congress passes the bills.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) accused Biden of spreading misinformation about the state’s voting bill, as IJR reported.
“Now President Biden is calling Texas names again. This time he is chastising us for making it easy to vote but hard to cheat. Once again, President Biden ignores the facts,” Abbott said.
He added, “The fact is that Texas is passing a law that expands — not reduces — the hours of early voting. That’s more than many states, including President Biden’s home state of Delaware, which has zero hours of early voting.”