Pool Reports of June 8, 2023

In-Town Pool Report #1 --- Checking in

Greetings from a very hazy, acrid Washington, D.C. where you can smell fire in the air. Stil, the temperature is going to get up to 80 degrees, so there' s that.

It's a busy day at the White House and your pool has received no indication that POTUS' schedule has changed. Tonight's pride event is still scheduled for outside. Your pooler has asked if it has been moved indoors, but has not received a response.

Here's the schedule for today, which includes a rare joint press conference.

EST

10:00 AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Closed Press

10:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time

11:30 AM THE PRESIDENT holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom
Oval Office
In-House Pool Spray (Gather 11:20 AM – Brady Press Briefing Room)

1:30 PM THE PRESIDENT holds a joint press conference with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom
East Room
Pre-Credentialed Media (Gather 1:10 PM – Palm Room Doors)

7:00 PM THE PRESIDENT hosts a Pride Celebration with Betty Who
South Lawn
Open Press (Pre-set 3:00 PM, Gather 6:45 PM – Palm Room Doors) [RSVP here by 7:00 AM]

In-Town Pool Report #2 — Gathering

Your pool has gathered in the briefing room ahead of Oval Office pool spray with POTUS and Prime Minister Sunak.

In-Town Pool Report #3 — Quotes

Here are some quick quotes from the Oval Office bilat with POTUS and PM Sunak. As always please check against the transcript

POTUS responded to one question about the relationship between the U.K. and U.S. by giving a thumbs up.

He also mouthed a response about the wildfires, but the pool was unable to hear the POTUS of the whirl of the cameras and the WH staff ushering us out.

POTUS welcomed PM Sunak by talking about the history between the U.S, and U.K. noting that previous presidents and prime ministers had conversations. He referenced conversations between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt

"Together we are providing economic and humanitarian aid and security systems to Ukraine in their fight against a brutal invasion from Russia," POTUS said

"The global economy is undergoing the greatest transformation that has occurred since the industrial revolution," POTUS said.

"As NATO allies we are working together to help provide the collective defense," he said.

PM Sunak -- Thanked POTUS for welcoming him to the WHite House and allowing him to stay in Blair House.

"It;s daunting to think of the conversations our predecessors have had in this room, when they had to speak of wars they fought together, peace they won together and incredible change in the lives of our citizens. And again for the first time in over a half century we face a war in the European Continent. And as we've done before, the U.S. and the U.K. have stood together to support Ukraine and stand up for the values of democracy and freedom and make sure they will prevail as I know they will."

"I completely agree with what you said. Our economies are seeing perhaps the biggest transformation since the Industrial Revolution as new technologies provide incredible opportunities but also give adversaries more tools for harm. The one thing I know won't change. I'm confident wont' change is the strength of our partnership, our friendship. We will put values front and center as we've always done to deliver for the British and American people."

In-Town Pool Report #4 -- Manifest for bilat

Per White House

The President is participating in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom.

U.S. Manifest

The President
T.H. Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury
T.H. Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
T.H. Jane Hartley, Ambassador of the United States to the United Kingdom
T.H. Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
T.H. Mike Pyle, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs
T.H. Amanda Sloat, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Europe, National Security Council
T.H. Christina Segal-Knowles, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economics, National Security Council
Mr. Benjamin Canavan, Director for European Affairs, National Security Council

United Kingdom Manifest

T.R.H. Rishi Sunak MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
H.E. Dame Karen Pierce DCMG, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United States
Sir Tim Barrow GCMG LVO MBE, National Security Adviser
Mr. Liam Booth-Smith, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
Professor John Bew PhD, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister
Ms. Fiona McIlwham, Senior Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
Mr. Toby Parker, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
Ms. Amber De Botton, Director of Communications, Office of the Prime Minister
Mr. Max Blain, Prime Minister's Spokesperson

In-Town Travel Pool Report #5 — Pride event postponed

Per the White House

Today's Pride event on the White House South Lawn will be postponed until Saturday based on the projected air quality in the region. Additional details to follow.

In-Town Pool Report #6 -- Additional POTUS Qoutes

Following up on last pool report, when POTUS gave a thumbs up he also said the relationship between UK-US is in "real good shape."

When asked about the wildfires, POTUS said: "You'll have a chance to ask me questions at the press conference."

PM Sunak recalled when Winston Churchill was at the White House and wondering around at three in the morning and "bothering Mrs. Roosevelt."

"Don't worry you won't see me doing that," PM Sunak said.

In-Town Pool Report #7 — gathering for joint press conference

The pool has gathered at the Palm Room doors for the joint press conference between POTUS and PM Sunak. You can watch here at

www.whitehouse.gov/live

In-Town Pool Report #8 -- Two Minute Warning

We have a two-minute warning until the start of the joint press conference between President Biden and Prime Minister Sunak.

In-Town Pool Report #9 -- Remarks begin

President Biden began his remarks at 2:16 talking about the Canadian wildfires and his conversation with Prime Minister Trudeau.

In-Town Pool Report #10 -- Press conference Ends

The press conference ended at 2:58

POTUS and PM Sunak took two questions each from four reporters on topics ranging from support for Ukraine, LGBTQ rights, Artificial Intelligence and a free trade deal.

At the start of the press conference, both the PM and POTUS announced economic plan to focus on strengthening the supply change, develop technology and invest in each other's industry. They pitched it as an unprecedented economic agreement between the two nations.

POTUS also took two additional questions. One about the bribery allegations that James Comer has raised, which POTUS dismissed as "malarky" and another about the Justice Department.

The press conference was broadcast on White House Live as well as most major news outlets, so I'm sure by now you all have exact quotes.

In-Town Pool Report #11-- Lid

We have a lid as of 3:22!! Stay safe out there!!

Foreign Pool Report #1 - Background

Hello all,

I'll be your foreign pooler for the UK Prime Minister's official working visit to the White House.

Rishi Sunak will have a bilateral meeting with POTUS, scheduled for 11:30am, and participate in a joint press conference at 1:30pm.

Previous meetings:

This will be the 4th meeting between the 2 leaders since Sunak became PM in October 2022.

They had a bilateral meeting in Bali on the margins of the G20 last November, then in San Diego in March for the AUKUS partnership and in April in Belfast during POTUS' trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Priorities for the bilateral

In a statement ahead of the trip, Sunak said: "The U.S. is our closest ally. We are one another's partner of first resort when it comes to everything from keeping our people safe to growing our economies… That's why it is so important for a U.K. prime minister to forge a close and candid relationship with the President of the United States — on every global problem, you will see us working side-by-side."

According to the UK embassy spokesperson, Ukraine will be a significant part of the conversation given the latest concerning developments. But one of the main focuses of the visit will be economic security (with several announcements expected)

PM is expected to express the UK's "desire to prioritize economic security in a way that we have historically prioritized hard security, defense, intelligence sharing etc." (protecting supply chains, preparing economies against coercion)

The PM is also hoping to discuss AI regulation.

The UK announced it would be hosting the first global AI summit in the fall.

According to the statement, "the Summit will bring together key countries, leading tech companies and researchers to agree on safety measures to evaluate and monitor the most significant risks from AI."

On his way to Washington, Sunak told reporters that "subsidy races" were not a solution to hitting climate goals in reference to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which many countries, including the UK, have criticized. Not clear whether that will be brought up during this visit, but the UK says it is confident the US understands their position on that issue.

There have also been reports about a possible critical minerals agreement (similar to the one signed with Japan and being discussed with the EU).

On the flight to DC, the PM said about reviving UK-US free trade talks: "for a while now, that has not been a priority for either the U.S. or U.K." But there is a focus on working around that and still deepening the economic partnership.

"A free trade deal is not your only tool in the tool kit"

Another issue that could come up (though it hasn't been mentioned by either the US or the UK side) is the next NATO Secretary General. The UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is seen as a potential successor to Jens Stoltenberg. Just like the Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, who was at the White House meeting with POTUS on Monday.

Gifts (per UK embassy)

There are 2 gifts from the PM to POTUS: a personalized Barbour jacket and a copy of a book written by Biden's great-great-grandfather Christopher Biden written in the mid 1800s.

Schedule:

The British PM arrived in Washington on Tuesday night and is staying at Blair House, the first British PM to stay there since David Cameron in 2015.

On Wednesday morning, he laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

He then met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Capitol Hill.

Besides his meeting with the Speaker, the PM also met with a bipartisan group of a dozen senators, including Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer and minority leader Mitch McConnell. In his meetings with congress, the PM focused on economic and defense partnership as well as Ukraine. While free-trade discussions are on ice at the White Hosue, there have been bipartisan bills put forward in both the House and the Senate pushing for these discussions to be revived.

In the afternoon, he visited a school where students print their own chess sets in 3D. He also watched a drone being flown, planted jalapeño seeds and helped with a science experiment.

In the evening, he was the guest of honor at a Nationals game, celebrating UK/US friendship day. There was a flyover involving both British and US jets and the Start Spangled Banner and God Save the King where played.

Despite the rumors in the lead-up to the event, he did not throw the 1st pitch. The PM asked a British veteran living in the US to do so on his behalf.

This morning, he took part in a Business Roundtable event.

Your pooler saw the PM's motorcade return to Blair House just before call time.

After his White House visit, the PM will be taping an interview with CNN (airing at 9pm) at Blair House before leaving Washington.

Bio:

Rishi Sunak is 43 years old and has been UK Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party since October 2022.

Before becoming PM, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson from 2020 to July 2022.

Sunak ran for the Conservative party leadership position to succeed Johnson but lost to Liz Truss. When she resigned just weeks after taking office, he won the race to replace her and became the first Asian & Hindu PM in British history.

He has been a member of Parliament since 2015.

Before getting into politics, Sunak had a career in banking and finance, working for Goldman Sachs and later several hedge funds.

Sunak spent some time in the US, earning an MBA from Stanford.

Foreign pool report #2 - Sunak quotes

Pool was brought into the oval at 11:44am.

The UK PM spoke after POTUS.

He started his remarks by thanking Biden for letting him stay at Blair House, joking that "the spare room in the flat in Number 10 Downing Street doesn't quite compare."

"For the first time in over half a century, we face a war on the European continent and as we've done before the US and the UK have stood together to support Ukraine and stand up for the values of democracy and freedom and make sure that they prevail as I know we will."

THe PM said economies were seeing the biggest change since the industrial revolution, saying "new technologies provide incredible opportunities but also give our adversaries more tools for harm."

"One thing I'm confident won't change is the strength of our partnership, our friendship and we will put our values front and center, as we've always done, to deliver for the British and American people.

A member of the UK pool asked POTUS: "Is the special relationship in good shape Mr. President?"

To which POTUS gave a thumbs up and said "real good shape."

Pool was ushered out at 11:50pm

Foreign pool report #3

The joint press conference began at 2:16pm

From the UK embassy

UK AND US LAUNCH FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

· 'Atlantic Declaration' agreed by the PM and President at the White House today lays out a new action plan for cooperation on biggest economic challenges of our time

· Declaration recognises the close UK-US relationship and establishes a new approach which will allow both countries to move faster and co-operate more deeply

· New action plan will see the UK and US strengthen our supply chains, develop the technologies of the future and invest in one another's industries

The Prime Minister and President Biden have agreed an innovative economic partnership today (Thursday), which will see our countries work together more closely than ever before across the full spectrum of our economic, technological, commercial and trade relations.

The 'Atlantic Declaration' heralds a new era for the thriving economic relationship between the UK and US, and builds on decades of very close cooperation on defence and security. It applies the same principle – that the UK and US will work together in the face of new challenges – to our economic partnership as we long have to our defence alliance.

This unprecedented bilateral partnership takes a different approach to our economic relationship than we have taken before, recognising that our economies must move with speed and agility to address the challenges we face.

Following their meeting at the White House today, the Prime Minister and President Biden have announced new measures under the Atlantic Declaration – an action plan for the future of our partnership. This includes:

· Working together to reduce our vulnerabilities across critical technology supply chains, including by sharing analysis, developing and deepening our channels for coordination and timely consultation during crises. To support the critical clean energy industry, our net zero ambitions and to keep Russia out of the global civil nuclear power market, the UK and US will launch a new civil nuclear partnership.

· An innovative approach targeting specific areas for economic advancement. This includes a commitment in principle to a new UK-US Data Bridge which would make it easier for around 55,000 UK businesses to transfer data freely to certified US organisations without cumbersome red tape – translating into an estimated £92.4m in direct savings per year. It also includes the immediate launch of negotiations on a Critical Minerals Agreement.

· Stepping up international efforts to ensure the safe and responsible development of AI, starting with an international summit on AI safety which will be hosted in the UK later this year, welcomed by the US.

· Enhancing cooperation on measures to stop our adversaries from developing and acquiring sensitive technologies that can be used to do us harm.

· Research collaboration to entrench UK and US leadership in the most important future technologies – AI, future telecoms (5G & 6G), quantum, semiconductors and engineering biology.

· New opportunities for increased investment in one another's economies. President Biden plans to ask the US Congress to designate the UK as a 'domestic source' within the meaning of Title III of the the Defense Production Act – meaning British companies can benefit from US Government investment on the same basis as American firms. The act has previously been used to speed up the development of hypersonic weapons.

Our economies are going through the greatest change since the industrial revolution, with emerging technologies like biotechnology and AI transforming the way we live and work. But while those new technologies offer huge potential to save lives, grow our economies and tackle climate change, in the hands of our adversaries they could be used as tools to undermine our national security.

With our highly interconnected economies, our leadership in areas like emerging technology and our deeply entrenched shared values, the UK and US are natural partners to approach these issues together.

This new approach to our economic partnership, which puts the strength of our relationship front and centre in addressing the biggest challenges we face, will both deliver for our people and support an open international order.

The Prime Minister said:

"The UK and US have always pushed the boundaries of what two countries can achieve together. Over generations we have fought alongside one another, shared intelligence we don't share with anyone else, and built the strongest investment relationship in world history.

"So it's natural that, when faced with the greatest transformation in our economies since the industrial revolution, we would look to each other to build a stronger economic future together.

"The Atlantic Declaration sets a new standard for economic cooperation, propelling our economies into the future so we can protect our people, create jobs and grow our economies together."

Negotiations will begin immediately on many aspects of the partnership, including on a Critical Minerals Agreement. An agreement would give buyers of vehicles made using critical minerals processed, recycled or mined by UK companies access to tax credits in line with the US Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act provides a $3,750 incentive for each vehicle, on conditions including that the critical minerals used in its production – principally used in the battery – are sourced from the US or a country with whom the US has a critical minerals agreement.

The UK is already a net exporter of raw materials for EV batteries to the US and this agreement will help UK-based firms involved in the mining, recycling and refining of critical minerals who are suppling US electric vehicle and battery manufacturers – benefitting this growing industry. This is a a sector with companies all over the UK, including nickel production in Wales and lithium processing in Teesside.

With a trading relationship worth £279 billion a year, and shared investment totalling over £1 trillion, the US is already our most important trading partner. Earlier this week the Prime Minister announced £14 billion of new US investment into the UK, demonstrating the importance of this relationship to UK growth and jobs.

Teams from the White House and Downing Street will meet regularly to drive action under the Atlantic Declaration, ensuring it continues to meet the high objectives the Prime Minister and President Biden have set today.

Notes to Editors:

· The UK identified the five priority technologies (AI, future telecoms, quantum, semiconductors and engineering biology) in the refresh of the Integrated Review published in March.

· The UK and US are one of only three countries (alongside China) to have a $1 trillion technology sector

Foreign pool report #4 - Sunak Remarks

Rishi Sunak started his remarks by addressing the attack in Annecy, France: "All our thoughts are with those affected by this unfathomable attack, including a British child and their families. I've been in touch with President Macron we stand ready to offer any assistance that we have."

The PM said the "highest priority" was national security.

On Ukraine: "The UK is proud of our contribution including providing tanks, long range weapons, and training Ukrainian soldiers. That said let no one doubt US leadership and resources are the decisive contribution allowing the forces of democracy and freedom to prevail."

"And just as we collaborate to protect our national security, so we must be increasingly doing the same to protect our economic security, on which kind of prosperity developed. Countries like China and Russia are willing to manipulate and exploit our openness and steal our intellectual property, use technology to authoritarian ends or withdraw crucial resources like energy. They will not succeed."

"I know some people have wondered what kind of partner Britain would be after we left the EU. I'd say judge us by our actions. We're as committed to our values as ever, as reliable and our as ever, as attractive an investment destination as ever."

Answering a question about AI:

"it's also clear, though, that it does pose very real risks that we as leaders need to be compensated of and put in place to guardrails to mitigate again, to precedent and Biden. (…)

And we are aligned in wanting to discuss with other countries what those guardrails shouldn't be.(…)

And I think there are a series of measures that we can implement working cooperatively, as we've been discussing, that will ensure that we can enjoy the benefits of this technology involves mitigating against risks, and that's what our citizens would expect."

Asked why free trade agreement talks are currently not on the agenda.

"Be in no doubt, as Joe and I were discussing earlier, the economic relationship between our two countries has never been stronger."

Please check quotes against tape