Psaki Struggles to Defend Biden’s “Nobody Saw It Coming” COVID Testing Claim, Biden Opens Door to Filibuster Exceptions

On 12/23/2021, Press Secretary Jen Psaki struggled to defend President Biden’s claim that “nobody saw” the Omicron variant coming, as reporters pressed on why the administration had not prepared adequate COVID testing ahead of the holidays despite months of warnings from public health officials. Biden also said he supported a filibuster exception for voting rights, and Psaki said he was “happy to have that conversation” about additional exceptions.

”Nobody Saw It Coming” — But Did They?

Biden had told ABC News that “nobody” saw the new variant coming and that he wished he had ordered 500 million at-home tests “two months ago.” Reporters immediately challenged the claim, noting public health experts had been warning about testing shortages for months.

“Why is the president saying about this new variant nobody saw it coming? Nobody in the world? That’s not true. How did he get it wrong?” Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked.

Psaki attempted to draw a distinction. “Nobody knew that there would be the number of different variants. Nobody knew exactly how transmissible they would be,” she said. “We, of course, knew that there would be additional variants at some point coming. We didn’t know what they would look like."

"Why Don’t People Have Tests Now?”

Doocy pressed further on the 500 million tests Biden had promised. “Why is it that you guys are promising 500 million tests next month if you haven’t even signed a contract to buy the tests?” he asked.

“We have no concern about the contract being finalized. We’re just working to finalize the contracts. We just announced this two days ago,” Psaki said.

“But if it’s so easy to get the tests, why don’t people have them now?” Doocy responded.

Multiple reporters piled on. “The President acknowledged yesterday that perhaps the government’s response has fallen short in some regards. He said, ‘nothing’s been good enough,’” one noted. Another pointed out: “Public health experts have been saying for months, including two months ago, that there was not enough testing supply. Why did nobody think of this?”

Psaki conceded the administration was “not where we need to be on testing” but insisted steps had been taken. “The President wouldn’t have taken the steps in September and October he had taken if we weren’t aware that we needed to have increased supply,” she said.

A reporter pressed on the predictability of holiday demand. “Last year, the holidays, people were rushing to get tests. For them, this could be predictable because so many people are trying to gather. Why wasn’t there some foresight?”

Psaki pushed back: “I don’t think last Christmas people were rushing to get tests, because I don’t think there were — maybe there was one — I’m not sure over-the-counter approved tests last Christmas.”

Filibuster Exception for Voting Rights

Biden told ABC News he supported making a filibuster exception for voting rights. “If it’s the only thing standing between voting rights legislation being passed and not being passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster,” Biden said.

This marked a significant shift from Biden’s long-held position defending the filibuster. As recently as 2005, Biden had called eliminating the filibuster “dangerous” and “the arrogance of power."

"Happy to Have That Conversation”

A reporter asked the logical follow-up: if voting rights justified a filibuster exception, what about gun violence, climate change, or immigration?

Psaki said Biden was “happy to have that conversation with Democrats” and that it would be “part of the conversations that will be had in the year ahead.” But she hedged, noting “there aren’t enough votes to change the Senate rules at this point in time.”

When pressed on whether Biden was open to additional filibuster exceptions beyond voting rights, Psaki deferred: “I’ll let the president speak for himself. He was asked a specific question. I think he answered it pretty clearly.”

Healthcare.gov Comparisons

A reporter asked whether anyone involved in the troubled creation of Healthcare.gov would be working on the new COVID testing website. Psaki said she did not “know all the staffing particulars” but confirmed the website would launch when tests became available. “We’re obviously not going to put the website up until there are tests available,” she said.

Key Takeaways

Psaki struggled to defend Biden’s claim that “nobody saw” the Omicron variant coming, as reporters cited months of warnings from public health experts about testing shortages.
Biden admitted he wished he had ordered 500 million at-home tests “two months ago,” but the administration still had not signed contracts for them.
Biden said he supported a filibuster exception for voting rights despite previously calling filibuster elimination “dangerous” and “the arrogance of power.”
Psaki said Biden was “happy to have that conversation” about additional filibuster exceptions for other Democratic priorities like gun violence and climate change.
The administration acknowledged it was “not where we need to be on testing” heading into the holidays.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

Nobody knew that there would be the number of different variants. Nobody knew exactly how transmissible they would be.
Why is it that you guys are promising 500 million tests next month if you haven’t even signed a contract to buy the tests? We have no concern about the contract being finalized.
But if it’s so easy to get the tests, why don’t people have them now?
We’re not where we need to be on testing. No one is saying we are.
If it’s the only thing standing between voting rights legislation being passed and not being passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster.
He’s happy to have that conversation with Democrats. And certainly, we expect that to be a part of the conversations in the year ahead.

Full transcript: 1245 words transcribed via Whisper AI.