Welcome back! It’s impossible to know at the beginning of each week how the Biden administration, Democratic politicians, and media hacks will embarrass themselves. The only thing we know is that they will.
The president and his administration are not answering questions about the classified documents scandal, and they haven’t come up with a good excuse for their silence. House Republicans are apparently responsible for high gas prices, and Kevin McCarthy is taking on a hostile press as the newly elected House Speaker. Our president still doesn’t know what he’s talking about, or even where he is.
Here’s what you missed on Twitter this week:
1. Jean-Pierre blames Republicans for high gas prices under the Biden administration
Republicans now have a majority in the House of Representatives, and according to the White House press secretary, they are now at fault for high gas prices. Ignoring the fact that skyrocketing prices started well before the Republicans gained control of the House (and well before the war in Ukraine, their other excuse), Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Republicans are forcing Americans to pay more at the pump.
Jean-Pierre: "House Republicans are using their narrow majority to force the American people to pay higher gas prices."pic.twitter.com/CPFl0DCraQ
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 23, 2023
"Republicans are using their narrow majority to force the American people to pay higher gas prices," she told reporters.
Members of the 118th Congress were sworn in on January 7, 2023. Gas prices reached their highest levels in June of 2022, when the nationwide average was above $5.00 a gallon, Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress, and Biden had been in office for roughly a year and a half.
2. McCarthy demolishes a reporter who tries to question his decision to boot Schiff and Swalwell from the intelligence committee
Newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) made it a priority to remove Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee. When one reporter accused McCarthy of not answering questions on the subject, the California Republican decided that he’d had enough—and his savage response blew up the internet.
"Let me be very clear and respectful to you. You ask me a question, when I answer it, it's the answer to your question," the speaker said. "You don't get to determine whether I answer a question or not, okay? In all respect ... what happens in the Intelligence Committee you don't know."
. @SpeakerMcCarthy just demolished a reporter who tried to question his decision to remove Schiff and Swalwell from the intel committee.
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 25, 2023
Schiff "used his position as chairman—knowing he has information the rest of America does not," to lie to the public, McCarthy told the reporters. The California Democrat "does not have a right" to sit on the Intelligence Committee.
As for Swalwell, "the FBI was concerned about putting" him on the intelligence committee "because of his knowledge and relationship with a Chinese spy."
The video of the takedown has more than 4.7 million views on Twitter.
3. Reporters are fed up with Biden’s lack of communication about the documents scandal
The White House’s daily press briefings consist largely of questions about the classified documents scandal, and Jean-Pierre refuses to answer nearly all of them. After weeks of the press secretary refusing to answer questions about the scandal, one reporter asked when the press will have an opportunity to question Biden himself.
The reporter asked if Biden has "any plans to answer the questions that we've been posing to him" or if the president would "perhaps hold a press conference so that we can ask a range of questions?"
Jean-Pierre says that she "totally understand[s] the question" but doesn’t "have anything to preview right at this time on any opportunities for the president to address this." She claims that there are "many opportunities" that the press has with Biden "where he takes all of your questions."
"But he hasn't answered questions, though," the reporter responds. "We've been shouting them." Jean-Pierre argues that Biden answered questions in California, "took a question when he was in Mexico City," and "the day after that he took a question."
"It’s not that he hasn’t addressed this at all. He has," the press secretary added. "I just don’t have anything to preview on a potential press conference or anything like that."
Reporter: "Does [Biden] have any plans to answer the questions that we've been posing to him?"
Jean-Pierre: "There's many opportunities that you all have with him where he takes all of your questions."
Reporter: "But he hasn't answered questions. We've been shouting them." pic.twitter.com/InaKJofhsV
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 25, 2023
4. Biden’s judicial nominee doesn’t know basic facts about the Constitution
Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren, Biden's nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, failed to answer basic questions about the Constitution during her confirmation hearing on Thursday.
When Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.) asked Bjelkengren if she could describe "what Article V of the Constitution does," the judge said Article V was "not coming to mind at the moment." Bjelkengren also could not explain Article II of the Constitution, which establishes that the president of the United States is commander in chief. Article V describes the process for amending the Constitution.
Q: 'Judge, tell me what article V of the Constitution does?"
Biden judicial nominee: 'Article V is not coming to mind at the moment."
'How about article II?"
Nominee: 'Neither is Article II"
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 26, 2023
5. Biden blames the "climate crisis" for extreme weather events on the West Coast
During a Thursday speech about "economic progress," Biden said those who "don’t think we have a climate crisis" should "come travel around the country with me."
"I have been in the West Coast, the Southwest, and the Northwest, where more timber has burned to the ground than the entire state of Missouri. Hear me? The entire state," the president said. He added that there is "enormous drought" and "superstorms," which he said is due to climate change.
"Folks, there is a thing called global warming, it’s real," Biden said. "But we can do something about it."
It is unclear what the president’s claims about global warming had to do with "economic progress." An official Washington Free Beacon Fact Check recently determined that global warming had nothing to do with weather events in California.
Biden blames the "climate crisis" for forest fires on the West Coast, drought, and "super storms"
"There is a thing called global warming, it's real." pic.twitter.com/Od7uL0mj1N
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 26, 2023