White House's Jen Psaki fires back after the Texas governor's attack: 'We're about facts around here'

White House's Jen Psaki fires back after the Texas governor's attack: 'We're about facts around here'
Jen Psaki // White House
Bank

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott is attacking President Joe Biden, falsely claiming he is "importing Covid" by allowing migrant children to enter the country.

"The Biden administration must stop importing Covid into our country," Abbott told CNBC.

Abbott also says the Biden administration is "refusing to test" the immigrants, but on Thursday CNN reported Governor Abbott is the one actually causing the problem.

"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is stalling efforts by the Biden administration to provide federal funds for Covid-19 tests for migrants released from custody."

Abbott, after announcing on Wednesday he was removing all coronavirus restrictions, including mask mandates, "alleged, without evidence, that migrants coming into Texas are exposing the state's residents to the coronavirus," CNN adds.

He also posted this tweet, which is false.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki smacked down Abbott's claims when asked on Thursday, in a generous and educational manner as only she can.

"That is not factual," Psaki told a reporter. "We're about facts around here."

Psaki went on to tell reporters, "our policy is is to have that [testing] be done, concluded before they are even moved to go stay with family members or others they may know while their cases are being adjudicated."

As it turns out, Texas, not the federal government, is responsible for testing migrants coming into the country. The federal government, as Psaki explained, partners with the states and non-governmental organizations (NGO's) to pay to get that done.

Understand the importance of honest news ?

So do we.

The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. For all of us independent news organizations, it’s no exception.

We’ve covered everything thrown at us this past year and will continue to do so with your support. We’ve always understood the importance of calling out corruption, regardless of political affiliation.

We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, no matter the amount, makes a difference in allowing our newsroom to bring you the stories that matter, at a time when being informed is more important than ever. Invest with us.

Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.

Click to donate by check.

DonateDonate by credit card
Donate by Paypal
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}
@2023 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com.