Harris Seeks To Clarify WH Messaging on Reopening Schools

Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking to clarify what the White House means when talking about reopening schools.

The host of “Today,” Savannah Guthrie, pointed out a tweet President Joe Biden wrote in December about reopening a “majority” of schools.

She mentioned Biden said on Tuesday he is talking about the majority of K-8 schools.

“Last week, we heard a White House official saying it could mean just one day a week open. The president said, ‘No, that was a miscommunication,'” Guthrie explained.

She asked Harris what it means for schools to reopen and when they can reopen.

“Our goal is that as many K-8 schools as possible will reopen within the first 100 days. Our goal is that it will be five days a week,” Harris said.

Watch part of her interview below:

During a town hall event hosted by CNN on Tuesday, Biden weighed in on what he meant by having schools reopen for just one day per week, as IJR reported.

“No, that’s not true. That’s what was reported. That’s not true. It was a mistake in the communication,” the president said.

He claimed he wants to reopen the “majority of schools in through eighth grade” because “they’re the easiest to open, the most needed to be open in terms of impact on children and families.”

When asked when he believes those schools would be open five days a week, he replied, “I think we’ll be close to that at the end of the first 100-days.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked during her press briefing last week why Biden did not clearly state his goal to reopen schools would only include one day per week of in-person classes, as IJR reported.

“That is not the ceiling. That is the bar we’re trying to leap over and exceed,” she said.

Psaki continued, “Certainly we are not planning to celebrate at a hundred days if we reach that goal. That is our own effort to set our own markings… set a bold and ambitious agenda for how we’re going to measure ourselves and progress.”