President Joe Biden looks into the audience as he leaves after speaking during the White House Conference on Hunger,Nutrition,and Health.Credit:AP
In his remarks,Biden praised bipartisan lawmakers who worked on addressing childhood hunger,including Representatives Jim McGovern,Senator Mike Braun,Senator Cory Booker and Walorski,who was seen as a leader on the issue before her death.
“Where’s Jackie?” Biden said,suggesting he expected her to be there.
Jean-Pierre faced repeated questioning during Wednesday’s White House press briefing about Biden’s flub,saying more than a dozen times that Walorski was “top of mind” for the president,who plans to meet with the congresswoman’s family at an event Friday when he signs a bill renaming a Veterans Affairs clinic in Indiana after her.
She declined to say Biden had erred,nor did she issue an apology to the late lawmaker’s family.
“My answer is certainly not going to change,” she told reporters.
“All of you may have views on how I’m answering it,but I’m answering the question to the way that he saw it and to the way that we see it.”