The Washington Post slams President Biden with three “Pinocchios” and chalks him up to “spin” over the paper's claim that Republicans bear some responsibility for the migrant crisis at the border. .
On Friday, The Post's chief fact checker Glenn Kessler, accompanied by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, reported that House Republicans responded to the deteriorating national situation last May. In response, they were tasked with addressing their repeated claims that they had resolved to “remove 2,000 border patrol agents.'' We are seeing record numbers of border crossings.
“But there is a big problem with this number,” Kessler wrote. “This is not based on an actual vote on the Homeland Security budget; instead, it is the White House’s estimate of the impact of the bill the House passed in 2023 as its first bid for budget negotiations with the Biden administration. ”
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President Biden has been criticized by the “Three Pinocchios” for promoting his claim that House Republicans had voted to “remove” 2,000 Border Patrol agents. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Kessler said the bill in question is the Limit, Savings, and Growth Act, an “ambiguous” bill from House Republicans about what exactly it would cut from the spending bill, and Biden officials said “the House bill's “We see ambiguity as an opportunity.” to continue the attack. ”
Kessler told readers, “By taking defense off the table, Republicans would have essentially had to cut non-defense discretionary spending by a factor of two to meet their $1.5 trillion annual spending goal.'' Deaf,” he said. “The White House assumed that this would require a 22% reduction in spending across all other agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security. As a result, the administration estimates that the Border Patrol would have to be cut by 22% through cuts, attrition, and furloughs. “The size of the U.S. government needs to be cut by 2,000 people to reach the 22% goal. If Republicans want to cut border security the same way they do the military, there will be more cuts in other parts of the government.” Let’s go.”
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Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler dismissed the narrative pushed by the White House as “going too far” and “a classic Washington game.” (Getty Images/Singerhmk – Wikicommons)
Regarding the “Pinocchio Test,” Kessler called the administration's narrative “a typical Washington game of misleadingly citing members' past votes…But the White House has gone too far here.” Stated.
“By evoking last May's vote to commit to spending cuts without providing details, the White House is ignoring the president's commitment to cuts and subsequent votes on actual spending legislation,” Kessler said. Ta. “White House officials have indicated that the original bill still reflects the wishes of House Republicans…Past votes could indeed be a fair outcome; They generally note that they are referring to votes that took place last May. But such nuance may be lost today.” Americans don't know much about the federal budget. . House Republicans may have supported tougher budget proposals in the past, but they have never voted specifically to cut the number of Border Patrol agents by 2,000, instead voting to increase the total by nearly 2,000. . The three Pinocchios. ”
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was among those who objected to Kessler's latest fact-checking. (AP/Evan Vucci)
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The White House doubled down on its claims against FOX News Digital.
“As Chairman Johnson wrote after voting for the Limit, Save, Grow Act, 'House Republicans…just passed legislation ushering in the largest spending cuts in American history,'” Bates said. He told FOX News Digital. “These cuts will cost more than 2,000 Border Patrol agents their jobs and undermine our ability to combat fentanyl trafficking. Far from rescinding it, they are still touting that vote as representative of their agenda and policies. House Republicans have also introduced further legislation to remove Border Patrol agents, including in September.”
Bates continued, “House Republicans have continued to block additional funding for border security, which President Biden has emphasized as an emergency since August. In the same month, many colleagues announced that they would defund the entire Department of Homeland Security.” “If they want to repudiate it now,” we'll be the first to congratulate them on their reversal when the “Limit, Save, Grow” Act is enacted today. . ”
