White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre deflected questions about Democratic lawmakers’ complaints surrounding Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s continued busing of migrants apprehended at the southern border to cities along the East Coast.
The White House had accused Abbott of using the migrants as political pawns, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser in requesting federal aid to deal with the migrant influx.
NYC MAYOR REQUESTS FEDERAL AID AS TEXAS BUSES IN MIGRANTS
“We need help, and we’re reaching out to the federal government to tell them that we need help,” Adams said over the weekend. “We’re going to get through this.”
The Department of Defense recently denied a request from Bowser to mobilize National Guard units to help with the migrants in Washington.
Jean-Pierre, pressed on why the Biden administration isn’t doing more to help New York and the district, flipped the question back on Abbott during a gaggle with reporters on Monday.
“Well, the question is to Gov. Abbott, why is he using migrants as a political pawn in doing what he’s doing?” she said. “There’s a legal process here, and he’s not using that legal process.”
Jean-Pierre proceeded to outline how Abbott’s actions are costing Texas taxpayers $1.5 million and bristled when a reporter asked: “Why isn’t the federal government doing more?”
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“FEMA has been involved. I said this last week. It makes grants of funding available to local NGOs assisting migrants,” she said. “We have been in close regular touch with Mayor Adams and his team and are committed to working with them as we do effectively with other local leaders.”
You can listen to Monday’s gaggle in full below.
