In one of the week's final White House press briefings before President Joe Biden departs the White House for yet another long weekend, the president's Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made what is on its face a laughably false claim.
When asked about Biden's planned travel to Ireland and who would be covering the travel costs of family members set to join him, Jean-Pierre didn't have an answer. All she could say is that Biden handles family travel on official trips like "other families."
Continuing, Jean-Pierre claimed that "of course, the president is a president [who] follows the law and does these type of things in the appropriate fashion and the appropriate way." Is this Jean-Pierre's idea of a delayed April Fools' Day joke? And why did she let out a chuckle when she claimed that Biden is Mr. Law and Order? Watch:
KJP: Joe Biden "is a president who follows the law." pic.twitter.com/7xD6HVvgTA
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 5, 2023
Here's the thing: Biden has frequently not followed the law. And he's repeatedly done so in a way that was found to be in violation of the United States Constitution by the Supreme Court of the United States. You know, the United States' foundational law Biden swore at his inauguration to "preserve, protect, and defend."
When Biden tried to leverage OSHA to enforce a nationwide federal vaccine mandate for all businesses with more than 100 employees, the Supreme Court said "not so fast" and invalidated the majority of the policy while allowing the mandate for health care workers to remain.
Before that loss, Biden was told by the Supreme Court that his decision to extend a federal eviction moratorium was done without lawful authority reserved for Congress. In another slap-down, Biden's attempts to get rid of the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy was a violation of federal law.
Those are just a few examples that show, at the highest levels of the U.S. government and federal law, Biden can't seem to help himself from notably not following the law, contradicting Jean-Pierre's claim.
The question that prompted Biden's press secretary to give a reality-defying answer is one that has been asked before — with no real response from the White House. As Townhall reported in March, Jean-Pierre was asked whether the taxpayers were being reimbursed for travel costs related to the president's granddaughter, Natalie, tagging along for a spring break trip with the president to California.
"That's a good question," Jean-Pierre responded to the question. "I would have to look into how it works for members of the president's family, I actually don't know," she added. "I actually don't know how that works," Jean-Pierre reiterated.
Well, it's been weeks and the press still has not received an answer from Jean-Pierre on "how that works" when Biden family members accompany the president on official travel. It seems like Biden's spokeswoman is trying to simply avoid providing an answer, which only raises more questions about who's funding the Biden family's vacations. Is it taxpayers?
Until the White House provides an actual answer, Americans will be left to wonder.
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