White House press secretary Jen Psaki came under fire on Tuesday over what one of the top Republican lawmakers calls her “disgraceful remark” about the U.S. space force.
During a daily press briefing, Psaki was asked by a reporter whether President Biden had decided on the future of the latest branch of the military, which was founded by former President Donald Trump when he signed the 2020 National Defense Act.
Psaki appears unprepared for the question and responds by apparently comparing it to repeated inquiries from reporters last month as to whether Biden intends to change the color scheme of Air Force One.
“Wow! Space Force – this is the plane of today,” Psaki said.
“It’s an interesting question. I’m glad to check out our contact point at the Space Force. I’m not sure who it is. I will find out and see if we have any update on it. ”
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), The top member of the GOP of the Armed Services Committee, called on Psaki to immediately apologize to the men and women of the Space Force for this shameful comment. ‘
“It’s worrying to see the Biden government’s press secretary blatantly take down an entire branch of our army as the point of a joke, which I’m sure China will find funny,” Rogers told Politico.
“The space force has been adopted with almost unanimous support in Congress, and the same kind of ‘unity’ that President Biden apparently works for.”
U.S. Representative Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), A founding member of the House Space Force Caucus, also blew up Psaki’s remarks.
“This is just another example of the Biden government not taking China seriously while humiliating the incredible work of the Space Force personnel,” Waltz told Politico.
Psaki tweeted laterapparently in response to the uproar: “We look forward to the continued work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to always visit us in the information hall to share an update on their important work.”