White House press secretary Jen Psaki was criticized on Tuesday for what a leading Republican lawmaker called a “shameful comment” about the US Space Force.
Psaki was asked by a reporter during her daily press conference whether President Biden had decided on the future of the newest branch of the armed forces, established by former President Donald Trump when he signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.
Psaki seemed unprepared for the question and responded apparently by comparing it to repeated questions from reporters last month about whether Biden planned to change Air Force One’s color scheme.
“Wow! Space Force – it’s today’s plane,” said Psaki.
“It’s an interesting question. I’m happy to check with our point of contact in the Space Force. I’m not sure who it is. I’ll find out and see if we have any updates on this.”
US Representative Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), The leading Republican Party member of the House Armed Services Committee, asked Psaki to “immediately apologize to the men and women of the Space Force for this shameful comment.”
“It is worrying to see the press secretary of the Biden government shamelessly shrink an entire branch of our armed forces as a joke in a joke, which I’m sure China would find funny,” Rogers told Politico.
“The Space Force was passed with almost unanimous support in Congress, the same type of ‘unity’ that President Biden is allegedly working on.”
US Representative Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Founding Member of House Space Force Caucus, also criticized Psaki’s comments.
“This is just another example of the Biden government that does not take China seriously while demeaning the incredible work of Space Force personnel,” Waltz told Politico.
Psaki then tweeted, apparently in response to the uproar, “We are looking forward to the continued work of the Space Force and invite team members to visit us in the instruction room at any time to share an update on their important work.”