White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if Americans should prepare for a government shutdown.
“I think there’s still time. We think there’s still time for this not to happen, for the Republicans to do the right thing, to uphold their side of the deal and move forward. forward with bipartisan agreement,” she said. “There’s still time and our goal is to keep government open. That’s what we want to see. And we hope Republicans want to do that.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, December 20, 2024.
Ben Curtis/AP
When asked whether President Joe Biden would stay in Washington in the event of a shutdown, Jean-Pierre declined to speculate.
“We believe, as I just said a few moments ago, that there is still time to reach a workaround, to reach an agreement here or to move forward,” she said .
Jean-Pierre, however, noted that the agencies had started at noon on Friday to inform their employees of their potential leave in anticipation of a possible shutdown.
