White House press secretary Jen Psaki hosted daily briefing on Tuesday — the first she’s hosted since a member of her press shop resigned in controversy over the weekend.
When asked if the handling of former deputy press secretary T.J. Ducklo's alleged misogynistic remarks were up to the standards set by President Joe Biden on his inauguration day — in which he promised to fire staffers "on the spot" if they "treat another colleague with disrespect," Psaki stood by the administration's actions.
"He's no longer employed here, and I think that speaks for itself," Psaki said.
Ducklo announced his resignation on Saturday, a day after Vanity Fair published a story about his attempts to kill a story by a Politico reporter who was working on a story about Ducklo’s romantic involvement with another White House reporter.
Vanity Fair reported that Ducklo made misogynistic remarks to the Politico reporter and promised to “destroy” her if she published the piece.
The White House initially suspended Ducklo for one week without pay on Friday prior to Ducklo’s resignation.
In a statement last week, Psaki said the White House staff strives every day to meet standards that are set by President Joe Biden by "treating others with dignity and respect, with civility and with a value for others through our words and our actions."
Ducklo’s resignation was the first by a White House staffer in Biden’s early weeks as President.
Psaki also addressed the acquittal of President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial from the podium for the first time on Saturday. While she said that Biden would support a Congressional investigation into the Capitol riots, she said Biden would leave potential punishment of his predecessor to the Justice Department or the judiciary system. She did not provide a comment on a lawsuit filed against Trump by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) regarding the riots, which was announced Tuesday.
Biden and the White House have mostly sidestepped questions regarding the impeachment trial, choosing instead to push for the passage of a COVID-19 stimulus package and messages of unity.
The briefing also comes hours before Biden will travel to Milwaukee for a town hall event. That event will air on CNN this evening at 9 p.m. ET. Biden will be traveling to Milwaukee to discuss the COVID-19 relief package and other ways the administration plans to handle the virus.
