Page 33 - White House

'Glad both sides disengaged,' says White House on India-China clash

The White House has said the Biden administration is glad that both India and China quickly disengaged after clashing in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector

Biden signs gay marriage law, calls it 'a blow against hate in all forms'

A celebratory crowd of thousands bundled up on a raw Tuesday afternoon to watch President Joe Biden sign gay marriage legislation into law, a joyful ceremony that was tempered by the backdrop of an ongoing conservative backlash over gender issues. This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms, Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House. And that's why this law matters to every single American. Singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper performed. Vice President Kamala Harris recalled officiating at a lesbian wedding in San Francisco. And the White House played a recording of Biden's television interview from a decade ago, when he caused a political furor by unexpectedly disclosing his support for gay marriage. Biden was vice president at the time, and President Barack Obama had not yet endorsed the idea. I got in trouble, Biden joked of that moment. Three days later, Obama himself publicly endorsed gay marriage. Lawmakers from both parties attended ...

Elon Musk's attacks on Anthony Fauci 'disgusting,' says White House

Musk in a tweet on Sunday mocked the use of gender pronouns and called for Fauci to be prosecuted. "My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci," he wrote

White House, Congress remain underwater in approval ratings: Survey

President Joe Biden's approval rating stands at 40%, with 55% disapproving of the way he is handling his job

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India-US ties not built on anxiety around China: White House official

The diplomatic relationship between India and the United States is not just based on mutual concern over China but a deeper understanding of the synergies, a White House official has said

India will not be a US ally, it will be another great power: White House

India, which has a unique strategic character, will not be an ally of the US, but another great power, a top White House official has said, asserting there is no other bilateral relationship that is being "deepened and strengthened" more rapidly than between the two countries over the last 20 years. Responding to a question on India during his appearance at the Aspen Security Forum meeting here on Thursday, Kurt Campbell, the White House Asia Coordinator, said that in his view India is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century. The fact is, I don't know of any bilateral relationship that is being deepened and strengthened more rapidly than the United States and India over the last 20 years, he told a Washington audience. The United States needs to invest even more of its capacity, and build in people-to-people ties, working together on technology and other issues, he said. India has a unique strategic character. It will not be an ally of th

US Congress sends bill on same-sex marriage to White House after approval

The US Congress approved a bill on same-sex marriage and sent it to the White House

US-India ties are strong; grateful for their G20 leadership: White House

The White House believes that the relationship between India and the United States is strong, a presidential spokesperson said Thursday. We see it as a strong relationship. President (Joe) Biden and all levels of US government are in touch with our Indian partners or their counterparts," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference. The US relationship with India is strong. That's what we believe, she said in response to a question. We are grateful for their leadership at the last G-20, and look forward to working closely with India as they're new chair of the G-20. So, we also look forward to continue working with India on a range of important regional and global issues as well, Jean-Pierre said. The spokesperson said the Biden Administration continues to seek the confirmation of Los Angele Mayor Eric Garcetti as the US Ambassador to India. We want to see that happen quickly, who was voted...with strong bipartisan support to serve as

US govt aware of long delays in Indian visa appointments: White House

The Biden Administration is aware of the long delays in visa appointments in India and is working to respond to the "significant demand of these visa services", the White House said Thursday. I can say that the Biden administration is aware of the issues, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference. She was responding to a question on the agonizing long visa appointment period at the US missions in India, which currently runs into more than 1,000 days. While we have made great strides, as you know, because you cover this very closely, in recovering from the pandemic related closures and staffing challenges, we are still working to respond to the significant demand of these visa services, Jean-Pierre said. That is something that we will continue to do. We are successfully lowering visa interview wait times, that's around the world, and we've doubled our hiring of US Foreign Service personnel to do this important work. Visa processing is

White House backs bill eliminating per country quota for green cards

The White House has supported Congress to pass a legislation that seeks to eliminate the per country quota on green cards to allow US employers to focus on hiring people based on merit, not their birthplace, a bill if passed would benefit several hundreds of thousands of immigrants specially Indian-Americans. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. This week, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act of 2022. The EAGLE Act would eliminate a per-country cap on employment-based green cards a policy that disproportionately affects Indian immigrants. If passed, this legislation would phase out the per-country caps over the course of nine years to ensure that eligible immigrants from less populated countries are not excluded as the EAGLE Act is implemented. The ..

White House unveils Bidens' holiday decorations on theme 'We the People'

The White House is decorated on the theme 'We the People' for this holiday season, drawing inspiration from the US Constitution

White House state dinner draws names from fashion, business, politics

The first White House state dinner of President Joe Biden's administration drew big names from fashion, entertainment, politics and business who turned out to help celebrate French President Emmanuel Macron and the return of high-wattage DC social events after the pandemic. First to arrive: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, followed not long after by Gov. John Carney, representing Biden's home state of Delaware. Julia Louis-Dreyfus whizzed by the press, pausing only to say that, yes, she'd been to a state dinner before and it was all very exciting. Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert made his entrance, too, as guests passed through the White House before heading outside to a heated party tent on the South Lawn. Family made the cut too: Biden's adult children, Hunter and Ashley, and his sister, Valerie Biden, were on the guest list. Others attending, according to the official guest list: Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts, actors Jennifer Garner and Ariana DeBose an

Looking forward to supporting India's G20 presidency, says White House

The United States is looking forward to supporting India's G-20 presidency next year, the White House said on Wednesday. India formally takes over the presidency of the group of the world's richest economies on Thursday. "We look forward to supporting India's G20 presidency next year on a range of issues, including addressing current food and energy security challenges while continuing our efforts to build a resilient global economy," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference. "As you've seen, the President has attended, has been participating in the G-20 in his tenure here. Don't have anything specific to announce or any specifics to announce on travel," she said when asked about a presidential travel to India next year.

US looks forward to continuing working with Pakistan, says White House

The United States is looking forward to continue working with Pakistan, the White House said on Wednesday as a new general takes charge as the chief of army staff in Islamabad. Lt General Asim Munir was formally handed over the command of the Pakistan Army On Tuesday. "The United States values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan is critical to US interests," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a news conference here. "We look forward to continue to work with Pakistan to promote stability, prosperity for the people of Pakistan and the region, the press Secretary said in response to a question on the change in guard in Islamabad.

We're keeping a close eye on Twitter under Elon Musk: White House

The White House is keeping a "close eye" on Elon Musk-led Twitter and will not allow the platform to incite violence against individual communities, as the world's richest man vouched for free speech

US continues to support right of peaceful protest: White House on China

The United States continues to stand up and support the right of peaceful protests in China, the White House said Monday. The United States is closely watching the developments in China, White House's National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters at a news conference. Our message to peaceful protesters around the world is the same and consistent: People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that they take issue with, Kirby said Protests have erupted across China against the Chinese government's hash Covid rules. "We're watching this closely, as you might expect we would. And again, we continue to stand up and support the right of peaceful protest. And I think we're going to watch this closely, and we'll see where things go," he said in response to a question. Kirby said the US has not offered any aid to China at this time. We are the largest supplier of COVID vaccines around the

Prez Biden to extend student loan pause as court battle drags on

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration will extend the pause on federal student loan payments while the White House fights a legal battle to save his plan to cancel portions of the debt. "It isn't fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuit," Biden said in a video posted on Twitter. The moratorium was slated to expire January 1, a date that Biden set before his debt cancellation plan stalled in the face of legal challenges from conservative opponents. Now it will extend until 60 days after the lawsuit is resolved. If the lawsuit has not been resolved by June 30, payments would resume 60 days after that. The Justice Department last week asked the Supreme Court to examine the issue and reinstate Biden's debt cancellation plan.

Committed to nomination of US envoy to India, ties important: White House

The United States continues to seek the expeditious confirmation of the Los Angeles Mayor, as the ambassador to India, following a long delay in the confirmation of his nomination.

2022 huge year in US-India ties, 2023 going to be even bigger: White House

In the history of India-US relationship, 2022 has been a huge year and the next year is going to be even bigger, a top White House official said on Sunday. Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer also applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being instrumental in forging a consensus during the recently concluded G-20 Summit. "Looking around the world when the United States and (its) President (Joe) Biden look for partners that can truly help carry the load, truly helped move forward a global agenda, India and Prime Minister Modi are very high on that list," Finer told a gathering of several hundred Indian-Americans here. "We just saw this in real time at the G-20 where the prime minister was instrumental in forging a consensus around a joint statement among a far-flung group of countries and in the comments and work that the prime minister has done and others in the Indian government have done to highlight the increasing risk related to nuclear issues," he said at an