The Biden administration has restored the daily White House press conferences with White House press secretary Jen Psaki holding a briefing pretty much every weekday. However, President Biden himself has yet to hold a solo press conference.
CNN’s Brian Stelter pointed out that Biden is seen in public at various announcements, but he asked New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers on “Reliable Sources” about Biden not being available so far in a traditional press briefing.
“They don’t have sort of the legislative margins to really let him hold a solo press conference at a time where they need to pass such a massive (COVID-19) relief bill,” Rogers said. “They have said that he will come out and answer questions, but they’re sort of in a precarious moment with both the relief bill and the appointments they need to pass through for his cabinet.”
Meanwhile, Politico’s Anita Kumar has a new piece out with the headline, “Biden won’t release White House virtual visitor logs.”
Kumar writes, “Few bars have been set lower than the one Joe Biden has had to clear when it comes to bringing transparency back to the White House. Donald Trump has been an easy act to follow. But five weeks into office, Biden has fallen short of his former boss, Barack Obama, in several areas, and is under pressure to do more to restore confidence in the federal government following Trump’s chaotic term in the White House.”
Kumar notes the complaints include that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ schedules are not posted online; the White House comment line is down; there are no citizen positions on the White House website; and the White House “doesn’t plan to divulge the names of attendees of virtual meetings, which are the primary mode of interaction until the coronavirus pandemic eases.”
Kumar also mentioned the absence of a Biden press conference. Kumar adds, “For dozens of good government groups on the left and right, simply not being Trump is not enough.”
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