Pool Reports of April 20, 2023

In-town pool report #1 — brunch lid

Good morning and happy Friday from the White House, where it's sunny and 68 degrees.

The White House has called a brunch lid until 12:30pm.

President Biden will deliver remarks this afternoon at 2:15pm in the Rose Garden on "building healthy communities" and will announce "new actions to advance environmental justice" before departing for Camp David in the 4:00pm hour.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will also brief at 1:00pm.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and see today's full schedule below.

EDT

9:30 AM THE PRESIDENT receives the President's Daily Briefing
Closed Press

10:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time

2:15 PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks about building healthy communities and announces new actions to advance environmental justice
Rose Garden
Open Press (Preset 12:00 PM, Gather 2:00 PM – Palm Room Doors)

4:10 PM THE PRESIDENT departs the White House en route to Camp David
South Lawn
Open Press (Gather 4:00 PM – Palm Room Doors)

Briefing Schedule

1:00 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

In-town pool report #2 — briefing delayed until 1:15pm

A reminder that you can stream today's briefing here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

In-town pool report #3 — 2 min warning at 1:27pm

Watch here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

In-town pool report #4 — briefing starts

... at 1:29pm. This could be a short briefing, as POTUS is scheduled to being his Rose Garden remarks 2:15pm

Watch here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

In-town pool report #5 — briefing over, gathering for Rose Garden remarks

The briefing ended at 2:10pm. Pool will soon gather for Biden's remarks, which you can watch here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-7WtWdGDkSU

TKTKTK

In-town pool report #6 — 2 min warning

… at 2:17pm

Pool appreciates the smooth jazz organ that serenaded press and attendees ahead of Biden's remarks.

In-town pool report #7 — remarks begin

POTUS, sporting a UD blue tie, entered the Rose Garden from the Oval Office at 2:23pm

Watch here:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-7WtWdGDkSU

In-town pool report #8 — background and attendees

Passing along from the White House

In attendance for the President's remarks about building healthy communities and his announcement on new actions to advance environmental justice in the Rose Garden:

Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Department of Energy
Administrator Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency
Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL)
Senator Ed Markey (MA)
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At-Large)
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07)
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01)
John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation
Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor
Brenda Mallory, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality
Environmental justice leaders, community members, and allies

Speaking Program
Catherine Coleman Flowers, Introducer & Founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
The President

Background on Introducer
Catherine Coleman Flowers is the founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ) which seeks the implementation of best practices to address the reduction of health and economic disparities, improve access to clean air, water, and soil in marginalized rural communities by influencing policy, inspiring innovation, catalyzing relevant research, and amplifying the voices of community leaders. This is done within the context of climate change and through the lens of environmental justice. Catherine is a vice chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

A member of the Board of Directors for the Climate Reality Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), she is employed as the Rural Development Manager for the Equal Justice Initiative. She also serves as a Senior Fellow for the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. Her goal is to find solutions to raw sewage that exist in rural communities throughout the United States. Catherine is also an internationally recognized advocate for the human right to water and sanitation and works to make the UN Sustainable Development Agenda accountable to front-line communities.

In-town pool report #9 — remarks over, EO signed

POTUS, who put on his trademark aviators roughly 5 seconds after taking the podium, concluded his remarks at 2:43pm before signing the executive order and posing for photos.

Pool is currently holding in Rose Garden

In-town pool #10 — EO signing participants

Passing along from the White House

The President is signing an Executive Order on new actions to advance environmental justice.

Participants

Administrator Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency
Chair Brenda Mallory, Council on Environmental Quality
Members of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council

In-town pool report #11 — lunch lid until 4:15pm

POTUS was previously scheduled to depart the WH at 4:10pm.

In-town pool report #12 — new departure time

The White House advises that POTUS will now depart for Camp David at 4:40pm.

In-town pool report #13 — mayors on pebble beach

Daily Mail's Geoff Earle mentioned to your pooler that a small number of mayors who attended today's climate justice event in the Rose Garden were conducting interviews on the WH driveway in the 4:00pm hour, though aides shepherded them away from extended questions from reporters.

It is unclear if POTUS met with any mayors either before or after his remarks (no such meetings were on the schedule).

In-town pool report #14 — Biden meets with African American Mayors Association

An update on pool report #13... Passing along from the White House:

The President dropped by a meeting with five mayors from the African-American Mayors Association in the Roosevelt Room.

Participants
Julie Rodriguez, Assistant to the President & Director of the Office of Inter-Governmental Affairs
Stephen K. Benjamin, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of the Office of Public Engagement
Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Mount Vernon, NY & President of the African American Mayors Association
Mayor Steven Reed, Montgomery, AL
Mayor Byron Brown, Buffalo, NY
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, Baton Rouge, LA
Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles, CA
Phyllis Dickerson, CEO, African American Mayors Association

In-town pool report #15 — gathering for departure

... as of 4:49pm

TKTKTK

In-town pool report #16 — departure

POTUS exited the residence at 4:52pm and walked over to visit with supporters along the East rope line.

At 5:01pm, POTUS walked directly to Marine One and boarded without fielding questions from the press. M1 was wheels up at 5:04pm.

One odd moment of color.

As pool was walking through the rose garden to the south lawn, we briefly intersected paths with POTUS, who was walking from the West Wing back to the residence.

AFP's Sebastian Smith asked if and when he would announce his re-election bid, and the president appeared to say "I don't know," but was nearly impossible to hear over M1. There were no TV cameras present in the Rose Garden so also impossible to check the tape.

In-town pool report #17 — M1 travelers

Passing along from the WH

Traveling with the President aboard Marine One en route to Camp David:

Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of Oval Office Operations
Anthony Bernal, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the First Lady
Josh Geltzer, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Homeland Security Advisor
Ashley Williams, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations

In-town pool report #18 — travel/photo lid

Called at 5:38pm.

Have a great weekend, y'all!