What we have here is a failure to communicate.
According to a report from The Daily Wire, President Biden was briefed on the severity of the baby formula shortage in early April. But, as pointed out by the Republican National Committee, Biden didn’t address the crisis until May 13. The obvious question: what was the Biden Administration doing all those weeks parents were scrambling for formula?
“Here’s the deal,” Biden said on Wednesday. “I became aware of this problem, sometime in, after, in early April about how intense it was. And so we did everything in our power from that point on, and that’s all I can tell you right now.”
Biden: “I became aware of this problem in early April”
It took Biden until May 13 to first mention the baby formula crisis. pic.twitter.com/N0lfVpWDa5
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 1, 2022
From The Daily Wire…
Biden claimed that his administration could have been better prepared for the national baby formula shortage if they had been better “mind-readers.” However, just a few days later, his top official at the Department of Health and Human Services appeared to contradict that statement, claiming that his department and the Food and Drug Administration had known about the issue since last year.
As The Daily Wire flagged, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told CNN, “From everything I’ve known, the FDA has kept me apprised of this from last year. We have been moving as quickly as we can.”
Watch the clip below:
CNN: "You are satisfied with the government's response throughout [the baby formula shortage]?"
HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra: "FDA has kept me apprised of this from LAST YEAR. We have been moving as quickly as we can" pic.twitter.com/5WRZa5chYg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 16, 2022
Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday “Who is the person in the West Wing who decided after six or eight weeks that this baby formula shortage was finally something that somebody should tell the president about?”
Jean-Pierre dodged, of course.
“Look, again, I have to go back and talk to the president.”
Watch the clip below:
DOOCY TIME: "Who is the person in the West Wing who decided after six or eight weeks that this baby formula shortage was finally something that somebody should tell the President about?"
KJP: "Look, again, I have to go back and talk to the President." pic.twitter.com/axlh1nCjg8
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 1, 2022
According to Bloomberg, baby formula is still experiencing out-of-stock rates at 70% nationwide.