Pool Reports of March 10, 2023

White House In-Town Pool Report #1 — Checking in

Good morning all,

I will be your in-town pooler on this chilly Friday. As noted in a press release a few minutes ago, remarks from POTUS on the February jobs report have been added to the schedule at 10:45 AM in the ?Roosevelt Room.

Updated daily guidance below—please feel free to reach out with any questions!

9:00 AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Closed Press

10:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time

10:45 AM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks on the February Jobs Report
Roosevelt Room
In-House Pool (Gather 10:35 AM – Brady Press Briefing Room)

12:15 PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT have lunch
President's Private Dining Room
Closed Press

2:00 PM THE PRESIDENT holds a bilateral meeting with President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission
Oval Office
In-House Pool Spray (Gather 1:50 PM – Brady Press Briefing Room Doors)

5:00 PM Out-of-Town Pool Call Time
Joint Base Andrews Overhang

5:55 PM THE PRESIDENT departs the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews
South Lawn
Open Press (Gather 5:45 PM – Palm Room Doors)

6:15 PM THE PRESIDENT departs Joint Base Andrews en route to New Castle, Delaware
Joint Base Andrews
Out-of-Town Pool

6:50 PM THE PRESIDENT arrives in New Castle, Delaware
Delaware Air National Guard Base, New Castle, Delaware
Out-of-Town Pool

Briefing Schedule

2:30 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, and Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse

White House In-Town Pool Report #2 — Gathering

Pool has been called to gather in the briefing room. Remarks slated to begin at 10:45.

White House In-Town Pool Report #3

Two minute warning on president's remarks.

White House In-Town Pool Report #4 —

POTUS began his remarks at 11:08 and ended at roughly 11:19. He wore a navy-blue suit with a blue-and-yellow striped tie. He was joined by:

Cecilia Rouse, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President & Director of the National Economic Council

POTUS spoke fondly on the February jobs report, the policy impact of the American Rescue Plan, which he says "led the fastest recovery of any major economy in the world," in addition to remarks on other policy wins.

Spoke on his budget + debt limit. Responded to new House Freedom Caucus demands on debt limit. Hit their proposed cuts to discretionary spending and saying it doesn't match his values set

He took a question on interest rates, and one shouted question on Saudi Arabia and Iran reestablishing diplomatic relations — responded by saying better relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors are better for everyone. Did not take a shouted question on a House Covid bill

White House In-Town Pool Report #5 — Lunch lid

A lunch lid has been called until 1:45 pm.

White House In-Town Pool Report #6 — Gathering

Lunch lid has been lifted. Reporters are being called to gather in the briefing room ahead of POTUS' meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which is slated to occur in the Oval Office at 2 PM.

Also, correcting a small typo from report #4

POTUS' remark that the ARP "led the fastest recovery of any major economy in the world" should be "led to the fastest recovery of any major economy in the world"

White House In-Town Pool Report #7 — Bilat

President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who wore a soft pink blazer and pink shirt, are together in the Oval Office for their bilateral meeting.

They both spoke on the relationship between the US and the Commission and their plan to continue strengthening it. President von der Leyen noted the shared support for Ukraine and making "Russia pay for its atrocious war"

Neither took shouted questions at the end of the brief spray

Manifests for both groups:

U.S. Manifest

The President
T.H. Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
T.H. Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury
T.H. Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
T.H. Mark Gitenstein, Ambassador of the United States to the European Union
T.H. John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation
T.H. Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council
T.H. Mike Pyle, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs
T.H. Karen Donfried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
T.H. Amanda Sloat, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Europe, National Security Council
Ms. Joanna Pritchett, Director for European Union Affairs, National Security Council

European Commission Manifest

H.E. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Mr. Björn Seibert, Head of Cabinet of the President
Mr. Fernando Da Costa Cabral Andresen Guimaraes, Diplomatic Advisor to the President
Mr. Tomas Baert, Trade Advisor to the President
Ms. Martina Lodrant, Policy Officer on External Relations
Mr. Eric Mamer, Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission
H.E. Stavros Lambrinidis, EU Ambassador to the US
Mr. Michael Curtis, Deputy EU Ambassador to the US
Ms. Claire Fitzgibbon, Head of Political, Security and Development Section

White House In-Town Pool Report #8 — 2 min warning

Two-minute warning on today's press briefing

White House In-Town Pool Report #8 — Gathering time shifted up

[APP Note: This should be numbered as Report #9.]

New gathering time for Biden's departure is 5:15 PM at the Palm Room doors.

White House In-Town Pool Report #10

The president exited the White House at 5:18 and took one question on whether he will sign the Covid bill that passed the House — POTUS says, "I haven't made that decision yet."

Marine One lifted off at 5:24 with a slight drizzle of rain in the air.

White House In-Town Pool Report #11 — Passing off to travel pool

Passing off to travel pool.

And adding to the previous report, POTUS was joined on board Marine One by:

Natalie Quillian, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff

Marc Gustafson, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for the White House Situation Room

Have a good weekend, all!

Foreign pool report #1 - Background

Hi,

I'm your foreign pooler today (RTBF TV).

President Biden is meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen at 2pm in the Oval Office (In-House Pool Spray.)

Per the EU delegation to the US, she is expected to speak at the stakeout position after the meeting, and after the press briefing.

- Priorities for her visit per the EU side:

"EU-US cooperation on global and geostrategic priorities will be at the center of the discussions. In this context, both sides will also discuss ways to maintain transatlantic leadership in clean tech and ensure collaboration between the EU and US on innovation and secure supply chains for clean tech while rallying the world behind a global net zero emissions goal."

Per EU officials, main topics will be: IRA, Ukraine, China

The President of the European Commission tweeted yesterday about her call with President Zelensky (>https://twitter.com/vonderleyen<)

In November 2022 von der Leyen announced that her Commission will work to establish an International Criminal Tribunal for the Russian Federation.

According to US and EU officials, the leaders will announce that they are starting negociations on a limited trade agreement focused on critical minerals for electric car batteries (it could be an executive agreement that doesn't require Congressional approval.)

In a speech in January (at the World Economic Forum), Ursula von der Leyen spoke about building "a critical raw materials club working with like-minded partners", in a bid to reduce dependence on China.

Usrula von der Leyen and Joe Biden last met in November 2022, at the G20 in Bali.

von der Leyen last traveled to Washington to meet with President Biden in November 2021.

Delegation joining Ursula von der Leyen at the White House:

· His Excellency Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States

· Mr Björn Seibert, Head of Cabinet of the President

· Mr Fernando Andresen Guimarães, Diplomatic Advisor to the President

· Mr Tomas Baert, Trade Advisor to the President

· Mr Eric Mamer, Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission

· Mr Michael Curtis, European Union Deputy Ambassador to the United States

· Ms Claire Fitzgibbon, Head of Political, Security and Development Section, European Union Delegation to the United States

Schedule:

Ursula Van Der Leyen arrived in Washington DC on March 8. According to the EU delegation, she is focusing during this trip on her meeting with President Biden. The EU delegation did not communicate about any other meeting.

Background:

Ursula von der Leyen has been President of the European Commission since December 1, 2019, becoming the first woman to hold the office.

Von der Leyen was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and again in 2022, and was named the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2022.

Prior to her role as the President of the EC, she served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding successive positions in Angela's Merkel cabinet, most recently as minister of defense. She is a member of the center right CDU in Germany and its EU counterpart, the European People's Party (EPP).

She was born and raised in Brussels, to German parents. She was brought up bilingually in German and French. She studied at the London School of Economics in the late 1970s and lived under the name Rose Ladson, the family name of her American great-grandmother from Charleston, South Carolina. As a mother of seven children, she was a housewife during parts of the 1990s and lived for four years in Standford, California, while her husband was on the faculty at Standford University, returning to Germany in 1996.

Foreign pool report #2

Here is the full quote of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking in the Oval Office, after President Biden.

She did not take any shouted questions.

"Thank you very much, Mr. President. It's a pleasure to be here, to be back again. It's good to come back here because we are not only partners, the European Union and the United States are good friends. This could be felt through all of the work that we're doing together. Indeed, you helped us enormously when we wanted to get rid of the Russian fossil fuel dependency, you helped us tremendously by delivering more LNG, you helped us through the energy crisis. We are partners jointly supporting together Ukraine that fights for freedom and independence. We are making Russia pay for its atrocious war. We're strongly aligned, defending our values. And today I think we will also discuss the Inflation Reduction Act and I think it's great that there is such a massive investment in new and clean technologies. Indeed, we want to match it with the Green Deal Investment plan, so plenty of topics to discuss together. Thank you very much.-- "

Foreign pool report #3

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke from 3.39pm to 3.44pm at the stakeout and took a couple of questions .

She was wearing a ribbon on her jacket with the ukrainian flag colors and a small european flag in the middle.

Here are a few quotes. You can find her entire press point on her twitter account >https://twitter.com/vonderleyen< :

"It was very constructive. We discussed a lot of topics. I want to emphasize four different topics here. The first topic we discussed is the IRA."

"Today we agreed that we will work on critical raw materials that have been sourced or processed in the European Union and to give them access to the american market as if they were sourced in the american market. We will work on an agreement."

"The second topic I want to mention is Russia's atrocious war in Ukraine."

"Strong focus was on the question of sanctions."

"The focus is on enforcement and on preventing circumvention"

"The overarching message is we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes."

"The third topic that we've been discussing is economic security"

"and last but certainly not least we discussed the topic of people to people. connection between the European Union and the United States.

The best conditions for long lasting partnership and deep friendship are the people themselves."

She answered some questions:

Question on critical raw materials

"We have agreed that we will start work now. The goal is to have an agreement on critical raw materials that have been sourced or processed in the European union, that these strategic supply chains are able to access the American market as if they've been sourced in the United States. So also access to all the necessary benefits from the United States. "

Question "what do you make of the US warnings that China is considering arming Russia"

"i think that is a bilateral matter of the respective countries."

Question on IRA

"I think for us it's very important that on this topic we join forces because it is crucial for our future, for fighting climate change and limiting global warming."

Question on the Serbia/Kosovo dialogue

"Full support on both our sides for that dialogue"

Foreign pool report #4

Hi all,

I would like to add a clarification.

The EU delegation just told me that President von der Leyen misheard my question at the stakeout.

- From the EU delegation :

Here is a clarification regarding a question that was asked.

The question - "What do you make of the US warnings that China is considering arming Russia?"

We are clarifying Her answer to the question would have been:

"We have discussed the issue of sanctions and sanctions circumvention. We share concerns on this and are cooperating on a daily basis. In particular, we discussed the sensitive issue of military back-filling to Russia. We have already sanctioned third countries such as Iran for circumventing our sanctions."

You can find here the Joint Statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden following their meeting at the White House.

See this tweet from President von der Leyen for a link to her remarks.

That's it from me.

Have a great weekend,

Travel Pool Report #1 – JBA

Good evening from JBA, where it is lightly raining.

Marine One rolled to a stop at JBA at 5:37 PM.

POTUS exited Marine One at 5:40 PM and walked straight to Air Force One. He did not stop for questions but waived to the press and gave a salute before boarding.

Greeting the President upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews:

Colonel William "Chris" McDonald, Vice Commander, 89th Airlift Wing

Traveling with the President aboard Air Force One en route to Delaware Air National Guard Base:

Natalie Quillian, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
Marc Gustafson, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for the White House Situation Room

We are flying in small AF1 so no connectivity for your pooler once we board. We will be wheels up shortly.

Travel Pool Report #2

Air Force One landed at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle at 6:18 PM where it is raining heavily.

POTUS exited Air Force One holding a black umbrella and boarded the Beast at 6:29 PM.

Motorcade is rolling at 6:31 PM.

Travel Pool Report #2.5

One more note from previous report, from WH:

Greeting the President upon arrival at Delaware Air National Guard Base:

Tribhuwan Singh, Recruiting Retention Battalion Commander
Pablo Cortez, Recruiting Retention Command Sergeant Major

Travel Pool Report #3 - dinner

The motorcade stopped rolling at 6:46 pm.

Per the WH:

The President is having dinner with family.

We are all holding in the bus. We are unsure where he is having dinner but will update when we know more.

Travel Pool Report #4 - dinner details

Pool was just told that POTUS is having dinner at Hallie Biden's house.

Travel pool report #5 - rolling

The motorcade is rolling at 8:14 PM.

Travel Pool Report #6 - Residence

The motorcade arrived at President Biden's residence at 8:19 PM.

Your pooler did not see POTUS exit the beast.

Travel Pool Report #7 - lid

We have a lid at 8:27 PM.