White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is clarifying that President Joe Biden‘s administration supports the Space Force.
Amid accusations that Psaki was making fun of the newest branch of the military, Psaki was asked during a press conference on Wednesday if she would apologize.
“I did send a tweet last night… that said, ‘We invite the members of Space Force here to provide an update to all of you on all of the important work they’re doing.’ And we certainly look forward to seeing continued updates from there,” Psaki responded.
We look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) February 3, 2021
When pressed on whether the Space Force has the support of the Biden administration, she said, “They absolutely have the full support of the Biden administration, and we are not revisiting the decision to establish the Space Force.”
“The desire of the Department of Defense to focus greater attention and resources on the growing security challenges in space has long been a bipartisan issue informed by numerous independent commissions,” she added.
Psaki noted that the agency was established by Congress, and it would take an act of Congress to scrap it.
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1357045851563122690
During a press conference on Tuesday, Psaki was asked if the administration planned to keep the “scope” of the Space Force.
“Wow. Space Force. It’s the plane of today,” she responded. “It is an interesting question.”
She continued, “I am happy to check with our Space Force point of contact. I’m not sure who that is. I will find out and see if we have any update on that.”
Her comments sparked criticism from Congressional Republicans who claimed she was making fun of the Space Force.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said, “It’s concerning to see the Biden administration’s press secretary blatantly diminish an entire branch of our military as the punchline of a joke, which I’m sure China would find funny.”