Pool Reports of June 6, 2023

Pool report #1: Lid until 12:45pm

Good morning! I'm your pool reporter for today.

A lid has been called until 12:45.

Pool report #2: press briefing delay

The press briefing has been delayed slightly. It is now scheduled to begin at 1:15.

Pool report #3: briefing guest

One more briefing update: NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby will join press secretary Karine Jean Pierre at the podium.

Pool report #4: 2 minutes

2 minutes to briefing time.

Pool report #5: briefing ends

After opening announcements, Kirby took questions from 1:34 to 1:54.

Jean-Pierre then took questions from 1:55 to 2:11, when the briefing ended.

Next up is President Biden's cabinet meeting.

Pool report #6: Headed to meeting

We're heading to the president's cabinet meeting, which includes the vice president and will have a spray at the top. More soon.

Pool report #7: Biden speaks and Ukraine question

Biden began the meeting by praising the debt ceiling deal and bipartisan compromise. "Our historic recovery continues."

He also mentioned 13.1 million jobs created since he took office and billions of dollars worth of investment. Also spoke about deficit reduction.

The president then plugged the new Investing in America website, invest.gov.

Following those brief remarks he answered a few shouted questions.

When asked, "What is your message to Russia on the dam explosion in Ukraine?" Biden said, "We are not leaving. We're gonna help Ukraine." Though it was unclear if he fully heard the question.

When asked about the PGA/LIV Golf merger, Biden made a small swinging motion and said, "I'm planning on playing in the PGA."

We were in the room from 2:32 to 2:38 before being kicked out.

Per the WH, participants are as below:

Participants
The Vice President
Secretary Janet Yellen, Department of the Treasury
Attorney General Merrick Garland, Department of Justice
Secretary Debra Haaland, Department of the Interior
Secretary Thomas Vilsack, Department of Agriculture
Secretary Gina Raimondo, Department of Commerce
Acting Secretary Julie Su, Department of Labor
Secretary Xavier Becerra, Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Marcia Fudge, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Department of Transportation
Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Department of Energy
Secretary Miguel Cardona, Department of Education
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security
Jeff Zients, Assistant to the President & Chief of Staff
Administrator Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency
Director Shalanda Young, Office of Management and Budget
Director Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence
Ambassador Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Administrator Isabel Guzman, Small Business Administration
Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Assistant to the President & Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy

Pool report #8: More from meeting

A few more Biden quotes below. Check against transcript, as always.

One more shouted question and response:

"Why has the administration not put out a statement of any kind concerning the 79th anniversary of D-Day? It is an extremely important day in our nation's history and in the world's history."
Biden replied "It's coming."

Biden quotes:

"This could have been the week that catastrophic default happened, putting millions of people's jobs in jeopardy. Instead we prevented default, and our historic recovery continues."

"Through bipartisan agreement, we proved once again that American democracy can function, and I think that it's impossible for it to be able to function unless you can have compromise and consensus."

"We got another piece of good news on Friday. We learned that our economy produced 339,000 jobs last month, that's up to 13.1 million jobs since we came into office. Today, I'm here with my cabinet to continue to focus on getting the job done for the American people, continuing to invest in America."

"For the first time in a long time, America is actually investing in itself, and it's beginning to pay off. Today, we're going to be discussing the progres we're making investing in America, and the steps each agency seated around the table here has taken to build our progress and finish the job, because we're not finished yet."

Biden said the debt ceiling deal "reduces the deficit nearly $1 trillion, on top of the $1.7 trillion we already reduced it under the first two years of our administration."

"My predecessor, the last guy who sat in this chair, he actually increased the national debt by $8 trillion in four years. Our agreement protects Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, veterans' care, and economic progress like the $470 billion in private investment we've attracted to the United States in manufacturing, clean energy, and our historic investments to fight climate change."

"Our administration, led by the folks in this room, is focused on implementing the laws we passed and continuing to invest in America. We're focused on securing our border, combating the climate crisis, and protecting the fundamental rights of Americans."

Pool report #9: Lid

A lid was called at 4:59.

Until next time,