White House press secretary Jen Psaki recently dismissed a comment about the future of Space Force under the Biden Administration and used it as an opportunity in her press briefing to be the punchline of a joke, completely disregarding an entire branch of the military.
Space Force was enacted under former President Trump as an extension of the U.S military when he signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The branch aims to protect U.S’s special interests in space capabilities and has been seen by lawmakers as a continuation of the efforts to combat China’s growing presence.
One of the founding members of the House Space Force Caucus Rep. Mike Waltz even tweeted out his disappointment, saying American needs the Space Force professionals to keep us safe now. “While the Biden Administration continues to think about whether or not the #CCP is a threat, China is working overtime to become the dominant force in space,” he added.
Secretary Psaki was answering questions during a recent press briefing when a reporter asked if President Biden had decided on the future of the newest branch of the military. She appeared unprepared for the question and compared it to a similar one she’d gotten weeks ago regarding Air Force One’s color scheme. “Wow. Space Force. It’s the plane of today,” she mocked.
The reporter then pushed back on the validity of the question in which Psaki responded that she would be happy to check with the Space Force point of contact and get an update on that.
Rep. Mike Rogers, the top-ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, called the comment “disgraceful” and immediately called on Psaki to apologize to the men and women of the Space Force. He told reporters that it was concerning to see the Biden Administration completely disregard Space Force and said that China would probably find it funny. “The Space Force was passed with near-unanimous support in Congress, the same type of ‘unity’ President Biden is supposedly working towards,” Rogers said.
The White House did not immediately respond for comment but Secretary Psaki later tweeted that she looks forward to the “continuing work” of Space Force and invites the members to visit them anytime in the briefing room to share updates on important work. She did not include an apology. You only have to apologize for openly mocking an official branch of armed services on television if you are a Republican.
The Biden Administration has always lacked a clear vision for the future and with each press briefing, we see that more. We must protect our satellites, GPS systems, communications, guidance systems, and technologies from being deployed to our enemies. The impact could be astronomical.
