White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds the day by day press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, June 28, 2021. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP by way of Getty Images
Jen Psaki on Wednesday referred to as out Gov. Ron DeSantis over his dealing with of COVID-19 in Florida.
“Our war is not on DeSantis – it’s on the virus, which we’re trying to kneecap,” she mentioned.
DeSantis has signed an order banning masks mandates from being carried out in Florida’s colleges.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday referred to as out GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida for his dealing with of COVID-19 in the Sunshine State, saying that he “does not seem to want to participate” in the combat in opposition to the virus.
During a press briefing, Psaki was questioned a few latest New York Post opinion article titled “Team Biden’s war on DeSantis is all about kneecapping a successful GOP governor,” which credited DeSantis for rejecting COVID-driven lockdowns and restrictive measures taken in different states throughout the pandemic final 12 months.
The press secretary was agency in the administration’s view of DeSantis, who simply weeks in the past was working carefully with the president in the restoration efforts of the Surfside condominium collapse in South Florida.
“Our war is not on DeSantis – it’s on the virus, which we’re trying to kneecap, and he does not seem to want to participate in that effort to kneecap the virus, hence our concern,” she mentioned.
DeSantis, a former congressman and potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate, has pursued COVID-19 insurance policies which have endeared him to conservatives, opening up the Florida financial system sooner than many different states final 12 months, reopening colleges when many districts round the nation opted for full distant studying, and rejecting any form of lockdown that would probably come from the Democratic-led Biden administration.
Read extra: How Jen Psaki can money in on her White House expertise
In latest weeks, DeSantis has clashed with the Biden White House.
Earlier this month, Biden referred to as out Florida and Texas for not doing sufficient to fight the elevated wave of infections brought on by the extremely contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
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“Some governors aren’t willing to do the right things to make this happen,” Biden mentioned at the time. “I say to these governors, please help. If you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”
When requested about DeSantis and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas that day, the president mentioned that “their decisions are not good for their constituents.”
In late July, DeSantis signed an govt order blocking colleges from mandating masks, and Abbott signed an order that stops native governments and state businesses from making vaccines necessary.
DeSantis blasted Biden’s feedback, accusing the president of attempting to “single out Florida over COVID.”
Just this week, DeSantis pledged to withhold the salaries of college board members who flouted his ban on masks mandates, with a Broward County faculty official even telling the governor to “bring it” over his risk.
In a Tuesday interview on “CBS This Morning,” former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who served underneath former President Donald Trump, criticized the push to ban faculty masks mandates.
“As a father, I quite frankly think it’s unconscionable,” Adams mentioned. “You can’t tie the hands of school and public health officials based on what you perceive to be the reality, when your public health officials are telling you they need these tools.”
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