AUSTIN COMPETENCY LIMITS:
Shot: Biden White House pledges data, transparency, respect for free press.
President Joe Biden’s press secretary held her first news conference on Wednesday, seven hours after Biden’s inauguration, vowing to bring truth and transparency back to government.
Jen Psaki, who served as the chief spokeswoman at the State Department under former President Barack Obama, told reporters she had a “deep respect for the role of a free and independent press in our democracy.”
Marking a contrast to former President Donald Trump and his top aides’ treatment of what they called “the fake news media,” Psaki pledged professional, civil exchange.
“There will be moments when we disagree, and there will certainly be days where we disagree for extensive parts of the briefing even, perhaps,” she said. “But we have a common goal, which is sharing accurate information with the American people.”
Biden plans to “bring transparency and truth back to the government to share the truth, even when it’s hard to hear,” she said.
—Reuters, January 20th, 2021.
Chaser: Under the Radar — Lloyd Austin’s Secret Ambulance Request Revealed in 911 Call.
The aide to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who made a 911 call to request an ambulance for the top official early this month requested that the dispatchers work to be “subtle” when they arrived at his residence, according to an audio recording of the Jan. 1 911 call exclusively obtained by The Daily Beast.
“Can I ask—can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide said, according to the recording, which The Daily Beast obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in the state of Virginia.
The dispatcher responded that the ambulance could do that, noting that “usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they’ll turn them off.” She added that the ambulance is required by law to run the sirens and lights on main streets, such as Georgetown Pike and Leesburg Pike.
The audio of the call, which has not previously been reported, reveals new details about the Secretary of Defense’s emergency, and suggests that the effort to keep his ailment secret was well-known among his close aides.
—The Daily Beast, today.
Hangover: Biden wants his team to look competent. His Defense secretary made it look chaotic.
The Defense secretary blindsided his boss, an error that’s serious in almost any organization, civilian or military.
Worse, especially in an election year, he played right into a favorite anti-Biden narrative of Republicans: their charge that the president is weak and ineffective.
Voters often say that when they consider candidates for president, they want a strong leader. Polls have found that former President Trump, the likely Republican nominee, outscores Biden on that measure in most Americans’ eyes, fairly or not.
Austin inadvertently strengthened the GOP’s argument. Biden’s critics wasted no time using the club he handed them.
“It raises questions about Joe Biden’s competence, or that he’s really in charge at the White House,” said Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, referring to Austin’s AWOL episode. “If this administration would conceal a mere elective minor surgery for a Cabinet secretary, what might they be concealing about Joe Biden’s health?”
That attack was off-target; there’s no evidence that anyone other than Austin concealed his surgery. But the fact that Austin concealed his hospitalizations from the White House was bad enough.
—Doyle McManus, the L.A. Times, yesterday.