The flag of the U.S. Space Command is displayed in the Rose Garden of the White House, Aug. 29, 2019.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki sparked a backlash on Tuesday (2) when she mocked the Space Force during a briefing. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, demanded that Psaki must “apologize immediately.
Rogers said, “I’m sure the Chinese Communist Party would find this hilarious to see the Biden administration’s press secretary blatantly disparage a branch of our military as the punch line to a joke.”
“The Space Force was created with near-unanimous support from Congress, and that’s the kind of ‘unity’ Biden should be trying to achieve.” Rogers went on to say that “Psaki needs to immediately apologize to the men and women of the Space Force for this shameful comment.”
The Space Force was approved by Congress in December 2019 with the support of former President Trump. At a White House press briefing Tuesday, when asked if President Joe Biden had planned for the future of this newest branch of the military, Psaki responded, “Wow, the Space Force, that’s the plane of the day.”
Clearly unprepared for the question, Psaki compared it to a reporter’s earlier question about whether the Biden Administration would change the color of Air Force One. “That’s an interesting question. I’d be happy to check with our Space Force point of contact. I don’t know who it is, and I’ll check into it and see if we have an update on that.” Psaki replied.
Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and founding member of the House Space Force Caucus, also took a shot at Psaki’s space force comments. Waltz said the Space Force was created to protect U.S. national security and economic missions in space from the Chinese Communist threat, and that “this is just another example of the Biden administration not taking the Chinese Communist Party seriously while belittling the incredible work of Space Force members.”
A Space Force spokesman declined to comment. Experts generally agree that the Biden administration will retain the Space Force.
The Space Force was not created to send armed men into space orbit or colonize the solar system. Members of the force staunchly defend U.S. GPS and missile warning satellites, and were recently named “Guardians.
After the crowd expressed outrage, Psaki tweeted that he looked forward to the Space Force’s continued work and welcomed members of his team to the White House briefing room at any Time to share updates on their important work. But Psaki did not apologize for his inappropriate comments.
We look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work.
- Jen Psaki (@PressSec) February 3, 2021
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