Psaki Defends Canceling Keystone as Gas Surges, Says Biden “Understands” SALT Tax Cut for Rich, Refuses to Say Biden Asked Xi About COVID Origins

On 11/18/2021, Psaki defended Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline while gas prices surged, claiming it “wasn’t even really functioning” and that reversing the decision wouldn’t “make substantive sense.” She said Biden “understands” why Democrats’ tax cut for wealthy blue-state residents was included in Build Back Better — even though it wasn’t his proposal. Psaki also could not confirm Biden had directly asked Chinese President Xi to cooperate with the U.S. intelligence-led investigation into COVID-19’s origins, and said the border crisis wasn’t a “major topic” of Biden’s summit with Mexico’s president despite record crossings.

Keystone: “Wasn’t Even Really Functioning”

A reporter asked whether Biden would reconsider the Keystone Pipeline with the Canadian Prime Minister visiting. Psaki dismissed it. “The Keystone Pipeline isn’t even really functioning — it was only partially built. So suggesting that changing that would lower the price of gas, I don’t know that that makes substantive sense,” Psaki said.

A reporter pushed back on market signals. “The market looks at where things will be in the future. Canceling Keystone, not allowing other pipelines to go forward — that might cause some concern in the market,” the reporter said.

“We look at every pipeline on an individual basis. The President made the decision when only about 8% of the pipeline had been built not to move forward as we looked at the environmental impacts and weighed them with the economic impacts,” Psaki said.

SALT: “Understands” the Tax Cut for the Rich

A reporter noted the Build Back Better bill included a significant increase in SALT deductions — a tax break that disproportionately benefits wealthy residents of high-tax blue states like New York and California. “Is he comfortable where the current provisions stand for these state and local tax deductions, given it would be a pretty significant tax break for the wealthy?”

“It’s been conveyed to him by leaders in the House and Senate that this needs to be included in order for this legislation to move forward, and he certainly understands that,” Psaki said. “It is a component that wasn’t initially proposed. This is a part of compromise.”

Wouldn’t Confirm Biden Asked Xi About COVID Origins

Doocy pressed on whether Biden had specifically asked President Xi to cooperate with the intelligence community’s COVID origin investigation during their virtual summit. “President Biden had a chance to ask for China’s help. Why didn’t he?”

“The president’s push for the Chinese to participate more, provide more transparent data — we’ve never held back on that front. We’ve argued for it publicly. We’ve argued for it at every level,” Psaki said.

“He talked about the importance of transparency, but did he ask President Xi to cooperate specifically with this U.S. intel agency-led investigation?” Doocy pressed.

“It’s clear that that’s what we want. That’s what we’ve been pressing on. I don’t have any more to read out from the meeting,” Psaki said.

“Is it clear to somebody who has a Zoom meeting with the president, if that’s not what he says?” Doocy asked. Psaki insisted it wasn’t a secret.

Border “Not a Major Topic” at Mexico Summit

Despite 1.7 million border detentions in the prior year, Psaki confirmed the border was not a primary focus of Biden’s meeting with Mexico’s president. “I don’t believe that’s intended to be a big topic at this meeting,” Psaki said of the Remain in Mexico policy. “A senior administration official said there is not a real focus this time around on our borders.”

“For those concerned about the situation at the border, why isn’t that a real focus?” a reporter asked. Psaki pointed to “root causes” discussions.

”Still Not an Old Friend”

Doocy revisited Biden’s characterization of Xi Jinping. “The president this summer said he does not consider President Xi an old friend. How would you describe their relationship?” Doocy asked.

“He still does not consider him an old friend. So that remains consistent,” Psaki said. “He considers him someone he has known for some time, someone he can have candid relationships with.”

Immigration Policy: “Could Be Part of the Solution”

A reporter cited Democratic lawmakers and administration officials saying the White House lacked a “cohesive immigration policy.” Psaki pushed back. “We have a bill that the president proposed on his first day in office.” She then deflected: “Those who may be critical could be a part of the solution.”

Key Takeaways

• Psaki defended canceling Keystone as gas surged, saying it “wasn’t even really functioning” at 8% completion and reversing it wouldn’t lower prices.
• Biden “understands” why the SALT tax deduction for wealthy blue-state residents was included in Build Back Better — even though he didn’t propose it.
• Psaki could not confirm Biden specifically asked Xi to cooperate with the COVID origins intelligence investigation during their summit.
• The border was not a “major topic” at Biden’s summit with Mexico’s president despite 1.7 million detentions in the prior year.
• Democratic lawmakers and officials told reporters the administration lacked a “cohesive immigration policy.”

Transcript Highlights

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

• The Keystone Pipeline isn’t even really functioning. It was only partially built. Suggesting that changing that would lower gas prices, I don’t know that that makes substantive sense.
• It’s been conveyed to him that this needs to be included for the legislation to move forward. He understands that. This is a part of compromise.
• Did he ask President Xi to cooperate specifically with this investigation? It’s clear that’s what we want. I don’t have more to read out.
• I don’t believe that’s intended to be a big topic at this meeting. There is not a real focus this time on our borders.
• He still does not consider him an old friend. So that remains consistent.
• Those who may be critical could be a part of the solution.

Full transcript: 1640 words transcribed via Whisper AI.