With the federal government set to shutdown this evening, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was forced to answer question about what is and what isn’t essential. ABC's Jon Karl asked if White House press briefings would be considered essential, to which Jay Carney responded, "it's important that the American people be appraised of what's happening here at the White House."
Below is a transcript of the exchange between Jon Karl and Jay Carney:
MR. CARNEY: Jon Karl.
Q: Jay, are these briefings essential? Will you continue to brief -- (laughter) --
MR. CARNEY: We obviously believe it's important that the American people be appraised of what's happening here at the White House, and we will endeavor to provide that information as best we can with a skeletal staff.
