In early March, President Biden set a modern record. It wasn’t for vaccinations. It wasn’t for bills signed or appointments. It was for his failure to host even a single press availability in which he has answered reporters’ questions directly. It turns out that every president since 1923 had done so by that point in his presidency.
Two weeks later, Biden’s presser-free streak remains unbroken. When will he hold his first such event? White House press secretary Jen Psaki will have to circle back with you on that.
For someone who campaigned from his basement, Biden doesn’t seem that worried about making up for the lost time. Indeed, his lack of transparency does not even seem to be an accident but a studied and chosen pattern of behavior that keeps cropping up in his administration.
You see it in all the little things. Biden’s White House, for example, is following his predecessor’s lead in keeping its visitor logs from the public. The White House comment line and citizen petitions have been taken offline.
Then, there’s the time when White House staffers actually cut Biden off because, unscripted, he offered to answer questions at the conclusion of a virtual event. (Can’t have that!)
But perhaps the most significant and consequential displays of opacity have come from Biden’s nominees. One, in particular, was so evasive in discussing policy and her past statements that it should elicit genuine concern.
Rep. Deb Haaland, a Democrat from New Mexico, Biden’s recently confirmed secretary of the interior, will have a significant role, given Biden’s executive freeze on new oil and gas leases on federal land. But during the confirmation process, she didn’t give many hints about how she would use her power.
Asked about her support for the Green New Deal and her stated opposition to building or extending any new pipelines carrying oil or gas, Haaland simply deflected: “It is President Biden’s agenda, not my own agenda, that I would be moving forward.” So does she still believe those things she said? Does Biden’s administration? Good luck figuring that one out.
Haaland was asked in writing, “Which nations would likely supplant the United States as the leader in world energy production if our nation lost that position?” The correct answer is “Russia and Saudi Arabia.” Haaland’s answer, in its entirety, was: “I support President Biden’s plans to make America a leader on energy innovation and technology to create jobs and address climate change.” Not only is that not an answer, it isn’t even an acknowledgment of the question.
Asked in writing about her own public comments implying that energy prices were too low, Haaland produced a nonresponsive word salad. She also refused to answer whether she agreed with Obama-era Energy Secretary Steven Chu that gasoline prices must be boosted to European levels in order to effect a successful shift to renewable energy.
Haaland was following the pattern set by Health and Human Services nominee Rachel Levine. Levine refused to answer questions about puberty blockers and gender transitions for children, instead offering the odd mantra, "If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as the assistant secretary of health, I will look forward to working with you." In other words, you have to confirm the nominee to find out the nominee's beliefs.
Transparency is a crucial and necessary virtue in government. When former President Donald Trump failed to live up to it, we did not hesitate to criticize. Now, the shoe is on the other foot.
Biden and his administration owe the public candor. So far, he's not delivering it.
