White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that the US Space Force “absolutely” has “full support” from the Biden government and said it “is not reviewing the decision” to establish the sixth arm of the Forces. US armed forces while cleaning up the comments from the day before.
Psaki’s comments came after she was criticized for comments she made during a press conference on Tuesday, where she apparently scoffed at a question from a reporter who asked whether President Biden would keep the scope of the Space Force.
PSAKI ACCUSED TO MAKE SPACE FORCE FUN
During Wednesday’s press conference, a Fox News correspondent pointed to the main Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Who demanded that Psaki apologize for his comments. Fox News asked Psaki if she would apologize.
“I sent a tweet last night, you may not all be on Twitter, you may not be on Twitter, who said that we invited members of the Space Force here to provide an update for all of you about the important work you are doing,” Psaki, adding that he hopes to “see continuous updates from his team”.
When asked whether the Space Force has “full support” from the Biden administration, Psaki said “absolutely”.
“They have all the support of the Biden government,” said Psaki. “And we are not reviewing the decision to establish the Space Force.”
“The Department of Defense’s desire to focus more attention and resources on increasing security challenges in space has been a bipartisan issue, informed by several independent commissions and studies conducted in various administrations,” continued Psaki, adding that “thousands of men and women serve proudly “in the Space Force.
Psaki added that the Space Force “was established by Congress and any other measures would have to be taken by Congress, not the government.”
Fox News also asked about NASA’s program to return Americans to the Moon by 2024, and what President Biden’s plan would be in the program.
EX-WHITE HOUSE OFICIALS SLAM PSAKI SPACE FORCE COMMENTS LIKE ‘BAD BLIND POINT’
Psaki said he would continue with an answer and said that he is “personally interested in space. I think it is a fascinating area of study”.
The comments came after Psaki, at the White House press conference on Tuesday, was asked whether President Biden would maintain the scope of the Space Force during his administration.
“Wow. Space Force. It’s today’s plane!” Psaki said, seeming to scoff at the question, and seeming to compare it to one made by a reporter two weeks ago, asking about Air Force One’s color scheme.
“It is an interesting question. I am happy to check with our point of contact in the Space Force,” she said after the reporter countered the validity of the question. “I’m not sure who it is. I will find out and see if we have any updates on this.”
RATCLIFFE DESIGNES SPACE FORCE AS 18th MEMBER OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
Psaki was criticized for apparently mocking the Space Force, which became the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces in 2019. Congress approved the Space Force in December 2019, which aims to protect US special interests in space capabilities.
Psaki, on Tuesday night, amid criticism, went to Twitter to highlight the Space Force’s “important work”, although the White House press secretary did not include an apology.
“We hope to continue the 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,” she said.
When created, the Space Force had a projected size of 16,000 soldiers and an annual budget of $ 15.4 billion for now.
The branch’s responsibilities include “developing military space professionals, acquiring military space systems, maturing military doctrine for space power, and organizing space forces to present to our Combat Commands”.
President Trump first called for the creation of the Space Force in May 2018. Trump signed an order in December 2019 to establish the branch.
And last month, Fox News reported for the first time that then-former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe designated the Space Force the 18th member of the intelligence community, in a move to “break down barriers” to information sharing and help inform the analysis of the threat community in space.
Ratcliffe announced the designation of US Space Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Enterprise, which is the intelligence component of the Space Force.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) called the designation “a unique event in each generation”.
The Space Force intelligence element is the first new organization to join the intelligence community since 2006, when the DEA Office of National Security Intelligence joined.
The move, according to ODNI, broke down barriers to information sharing and ensured that Space Force leaders have access to all the information they would need to succeed.
The change also allows the intelligence community to have access to all knowledge of the operational space domain that would help inform their analysis of threats in space.
Kristin Fisher of Fox News contributed to this report.