White House holds briefing, confirms Biden called on Putin to release Navalny
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WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — White House press secretary Jen Psaki held a press briefing with reporters at the White House Friday.
Psaki confirmed that Biden called on Russian President Vladmir Putin to release Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Navalny, who is Putin’s most prominent and determined foe, was detained after returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from poisoning by a nerve agent, which he blames on the Kremlin. Biden had his first call with Putin on Tuesday.
Psaki also confirmed that Robert Malley will be Biden’s special envoy for Iran. Malley was the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
She said that President Biden is “encouraged” by the latest data from Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine. However she said Biden recognized the FDA needs to evaluate its safety.
You can watch the full press briefing in the player above.
The briefing comes as reports surfaced Thursday that President Biden’s administration is taking steps to consider changes to the Supreme Court.
Biden also signed a series of executive orders Thursday aimed at improving access to affordable health care, reversing the policies of his predecessor President Donald Trump.
Also on Friday, the White House COVID-19 Response Team will brief the public on the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts, just one day after a new variant was identified in the U.S.