In keeping with the Biden administration’s pledge to offer more transparency into the inner workings of the federal government, officials have held daily White House Press Briefings to field questions from reporters, as well as regular briefings from the White House COVID-19 Response Team.


What You Need To Know

  • White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said Space Force has the "full support" of the Biden administration

  • The president is open to negotiating with Republicans on further targeting the income brackets for people to receive direct stimulus payments in a new relief package

  • Psaki on Wednesday said the U.S. government is conducting a review of domestic extremist threats, including a review of the Proud Boys

  • The Canadian government designated the Proud Boys group as a terrorist entity on Wednesday, noting they played a pivotal role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6

The effort has not come without its hiccups. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the newly-formed Space Force has the “full support” of President Joe Biden on Wednesday, an attempt to smooth over some waves she inadvertently caused when answering a similar question about the newest branch of the military on Tuesday.

Psaki fielded a number of other hot-button questions on Wednesday, chief among them being the president’s continued negotiations with both Democrats and Republicans on another coronavirus relief package.

Reporters were also curious about the federal government’s response to the violent insurrection on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, in particular the administration’s ongoing review of domestic terror threats. 

Here are the top lines from the White House briefing on Wednesday, Feb. 3:

Space Force

Psaki on Tuesday was asked whether Biden plans on keeping the Space Force, which was launched under former President Donald Trump in December 2019 as the first new military service since establishment of the Air Force as an independent entity in 1947. 

"Wow, Space Force. It's the plane of today," Psaki replied on Tuesday, adding: "It is an interesting question. I am happy to check with our Space Force point of contact. I'm not sure who that is. I will find out and see if they have any update on that."

Although some see it as a Trump vanity project, Space Force is not the farcical force of the public imagination. In the military, it’s seen soberly as an affirmation of the need to more effectively organize for the defense of U.S. interests in space — especially satellites used for civilian and military navigation, intelligence and communication.

Several Republican lawmakers seized on Psaki’s comments as making light of the military, with Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama — the House Armed Services’ top Republican member — calling on Psaki to “immediately apologize to the men and women of the Space Force for this disgraceful comment."

While not an apology, Psaki did tweet on Tuesday evening that Space Force personnel were invited to the briefing room to update the public on their work.

“We look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work,” Psaki wrote. 

It was a message she reiterated Wednesday, confirming to reporters that the administration is "not revisiting the decision to establish the Space Force.” 

“The desire for the Department of Defense to focus greater attention and resources on the growing security challenges in space has long been a bipartisan issue, informed by numerous independent commissions and studies conducted across multiple administrations,” Psaki said. 

“Thousands of men and women proudly serve in the Space Force,” she added. “As you know, it was established by Congress, and any other steps would actually have to be taken by Congress, not by the administration.”

Stimulus Negotiations

Biden’s focus remains on delivering direct payments to Americans “as quickly as possible,” Psaki said Wednesday. The president has pledged to give $1,400 to individuals making up to $75,000, with the payments decreasing for higher earners with a cap of $95,000. 

A plan put forward by a group of ten GOP senators — who Biden met with on Monday — does not include the same provisions. Instead, the Republican’s proposal offers a $1,000 direct deposit to individuals making up to $40,000 with an upper cap of $50,000.

Psaki on Wednesday said that the president has agreed to “continue to keep working to find areas of bipartisan agreement,” and compromise may come in the form of deciding who gets to receive direct deposit payments in the next stimulus. 

While the president has not publicly said that he supports stricter income limits in the stimulus package, Biden did say he was open to negotiating targeted relief payments in a discussion with Senate Democrats on Wednesday. 

“We did have a conversation about the direct payments and how those might be modified in a way to ensure they’re targeted,” Sen. Chris Coons confirmed after his in-person meeting with Biden on Wednesday.

But Psaki clarified that Biden’s definition of further targeting “means not the size of the check but the income level of the people receiving the check." 

Another compromise could come in the form of allocations to state and local governments, to which Biden’s plan currently alots $350 billion; the GOP proposal offers none. 

"We would certainly welcome an offer from them on what state and local aid they would support," Psaki said Wednesday, noting that such an offer has yet to come from the GOP.

Capitol Insurrection

Psaki was also asked about the federal government’s review of terrorist organization designations, an ongoing effort announced in the first days of Biden’s administration.

The question came hours after the Canadian government designated the Proud Boys group as a terrorist entity, noting they played a pivotal role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Proud Boys is a far-right, male chauvinist extremist group known for engaging in violent clashes at political rallies. America's neighbors to the north became the first country to designate the group as a terrorist entity.

Psaki on Wednesday said the U.S. government is conducting a review of domestic extremist threats "to look at violence and this type of concerning activity," adding that there are no imminent plans for the group to be designated as a terrorist organization. 

“We will wait for that review to conclude before we make any determinations,” Psaki said.

Senior officials speaking on a technical briefing said authorities had been monitoring and collecting evidence about the Proud Boys before the Capitol Hill insurrection, but confirmed that the event provided information that helped with the decision to list the organization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.