Biden knocks Matt Gaetz over Ukraine criticism, touts new Russia sanctions – latest

Referring to President Biden’s earlier comments in support of unions in which he jabbed at Amazon, Ms Psaki says the president was voicing “longtime support for collective bargaining.”

“What he was not doing was saying that he or US government would be involved or take any direct action.”

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Ms Psaki says she will get an answer as soon as possible as to when the president was last tested for Covid-19.

Both the Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Attorney General Merrick Garland have tested positive today.

Jen Psaki waves a 385-page binder of Covid-19 budgeting details as a prop to underscore the administration’s months-long push for more funding from Congress to fight the pandemic.

The binder includes information the White House has given Congress about how the funding has been spent and what they need going forward.

Ms Psaki says the question is whether “Republicans are acting in good faith” or if “they’re just playing politics.”

The latest funding bill is stalled and was less than the White House asked for anyway.

House Democrats on Wednesday accused oil companies of “ripping off the American people” and putting profits before production as Americans suffer from ever-increasing gasoline prices amid the war in Ukraine.

“At a time of record profits, Big Oil is refusing to increase production to provide the American people some much needed relief at the gas pump,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Oil executives, testifying before Congress for the second time in six months, responded that oil is a global market and that oil companies don’t dictate prices.

Following Amazon workers’ successful union election in New York, marking the first-ever US union within the retail giant, President Joe Biden underscored worker protections “to make sure the choice to join a union belongs to workers alone.”

“By the way: Amazon, here we come,” he said in remarks to the North America’s Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference on 6 April.

The president had some sharp words for Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, who tore into Biden’s Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, during a Tuesday hearing in Congress and criticised the US response to the Ukraine crisis.

Josh Marcus reports.

GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel reacted to President Joe Biden’s speech, saying: “Biden touts himself as a champion of workers – yet he has actively destroyed thousands of jobs through his mandates, lockdowns, and anti-American energy agenda.”

President Joe Biden mocked “the last guy” over his $2 trillion tax cut, pretending to forget Donald Trump’s name because he “forgot to show up to the inauguration” to applause and laughter from the union crowd.