The head of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce slammed President Joe Biden's Tuesday visit to the United Autoworkers picket line as a "critical lapse in judgment."
"Your actions placed significant costs on taxpayers and were highly inappropriate," wrote Rep. Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.), chairwoman of the committee, in a Thursday letter to the White House obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. "They suggest you are more interested in scoring political points with the UAW than maintaining the neutrality that is needed from a President. I write to express my concerns about your actions and to seek information about this critical lapse in judgment."
Foxx accused Biden of violating his "obligation to demonstrate impartiality" by working to tip the scales in favor of the union in their negotiations with automakers.
Biden visited picketers in Belleville, Mich., Tuesday, staying for 12 minutes and lending his support to the strikers.
"You’ve heard me say it many times," Biden told the union picketers. "Wall Street didn’t build the country. The middle class built the country, and unions built the middle class. And that’s a fact. So, let’s keep going. You deserve what you’ve earned, and you’ve earned a hell of a lot more than you’re getting paid now."
In addition to slamming his participation in the strike, Foxx also hit Biden for making the trip a pit stop on the way to a fundraiser. After he spent just 12 minutes with the union workers, he jetted off to California to address a crowd of left-wing donors at an event hosted by billionaires who regularly fund progressive causes, as the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Foxx's letter requested information about the visit from the administration, including how much money the trip cost taxpayers and whether the trip was an official one or a campaign stop.
The United Autoworkers began their strike earlier this month against Detroit's Big Three—Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler-parent Stellantis. Though it started out as a limited strike at select plants, the union expanded it nationwide a week into the labor stoppage.
Among union president Shawn Fain's demands are a 40 percent increase in pay, 32-hour work weeks, and the elimination of two-tier systems that allow veteran employees to receive more than new hires.
Biden's participation in the picket line is the first time a sitting president has joined striking workers.
Biden has long attempted to paint himself as an ally of organized labor. He picketed with the United Autoworkers while he was running for president the last time the union went on strike in 2019. Early in his administration, he announced his intention "to be the most pro-union president leading the most pro-union administration in American history."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.