Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called out her successor, Jen Psaki, on Tuesday after providing what she called a “snarky” response to a reporter and Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy..
In a back-and-forth with the reporter, Psaki was asked for the White House’s official response to a federal court ruling earlier this week striking down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continuation of a mask mandate for airline passengers. The federal court ruled that the CDC lacked the authority to issue such a mandate in the first place, let alone extend an existing one.
Also, she refused to confirm whether or not the administration considered the mandate still in effect, though the administration has since elected to appeal the ruling.
“Just to quickly follow up on the mask mandate being voided by this judge, what is the White House’s assessment of what that means for travelers today?” Psaki was asked.
“Well, it just happened this afternoon,” she dodged. “And so, the Department of Homeland Security is over — obviously oversees the implementation of this, and they’re reviewing it as we speak.”
“So it’s still in place right now?” the reporter pressed.
“They are doing it as we speak. It just came out this afternoon,” Psaki responded. “And if there [are] any updates while I’m out here, I’m sure we can provide them to all of you.”
McEnany called that response “snarky.”
“You’re the press secretary and you know how government works,” McEnany said on Fox News’s “Outnumbered.” “That’s a snarky answer. The answer is we respect the opinion of the federal judiciary, but that’s not what she said.”
She also explained that she was on a flight Monday when the ruling came down and there was an eruption of cheers from the people on board, though the Biden White House said it was disappointed with the development.
“I hope Jen Psaki fights very hard against this ruling. I hope President Biden does and I hope they show the true autocrats they are,” McEnany continued, calling out leftists who responded by attacking the qualifications of U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was appointed by Trump.
Later, Doocy also addressed Psaki with a question about the mask mandate and the administration’s initial response to it.
“You said about this mask ruling out of a federal court in Florida that it’s a ‘disappointing decision,’ and you say you continue to recommend that people wear masks. Why is it that we can sit here in the White House briefing room with no masks, but people can’t sit in an airplane cabin with no masks?” Doocy pressed.
“Well, Peter, I’m not a doctor,” Psaki snapped. “You’re not a doctor — that I’m aware of. If you’re a doctor, I wasn’t aware of that today — until today.”
“Can confirm,” Doocy replied.
“Okay, not a doctor. Just making sure,” the press secretary said. “I don’t know.”
Following the ruling later Tuesday, the Biden administration said an appeal of the ruling was in the works.
“The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal,” the DOJ said in a statement, “subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health.”
“If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public’s health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court’s decision,” the DOJ said.
