White House press secretary Jen Psaki hesitated to name names on Wednesday when asked about a White House claim that some Republican lawmakers defunded police departments by voting against the president's agenda, but she did defend the claim.

Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, first made the claim on Monday morning, but Psaki defended his remarks later that day.

Fox News's Peter Doocy broached the subject again during Wednesday's White House press briefing and asked to which specific GOP members Psaki was referring.

WHITE HOUSE STANDS BY CLAIM THAT REPUBLICANS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 'DEFUNDING THE POLICE'

"Well, first, let me just note that the president ran and won the most votes of any candidate in history on a platform of boosting funding for law enforcement after Republicans spent decades trying to cut the COPS program," she responded. "That doesn't require anyone having new comments, and then also stood in the way of crucial funding needed to prevent the laying off of police officers as crimes increase. That's a simple statement of fact."

Doocy pressed forward, explaining that, while he understood Psaki's point, there are multiple Democratic lawmakers, including Reps. Cori Bush, Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ilhan Omar, who are "explicitly saying they want to defund the police."

Psaki again responded by claiming that "actions speak louder than words."

"If you oppose funding for the COPS program, something that was dramatically cut by the prior administration and many Republicans supported, and then you vote against a bill that has funding for the COPS program, we can let other people evaluate what that means," she continued. "It doesn't require them to speak to it or to shout it out. Their actions speak for themselves."

Like during the 2020 election cycle, the issue is expected to be a major one when voters head to the polls next November to decide which party controls the House and Senate.

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You can watch Wednesday's entire briefing below.

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Tags: News, Jen Psaki, Fox News, Police, White House

Original Author: Christian Datoc

Original Location: Psaki defends White House claim Republicans are 'defunding the police'