President Joe Biden on Wednesday hailed his pre-holiday season supply chain policies as changing the "trajectory" of the crisis.
A virtual meeting with private sector executives attendees included Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx, Darren Hawkins, CEO of Yellow Corp, Christopher Connor, CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities, Sonia Syngal, CEO of Gap, and Dave Harrison, executive director of Fastport, the Washington Examiner reported.
Biden, joined in person by White House port envoy John Porcari and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, outlined how the administration is dealing with supply chain issues.
"Still top of mind for me is what is top of mind for so many families, the pinch of prices and the costs," Biden said. "Addressing these prices will continue to be a top priority in administration, and the way to do this is not to slow down or to step back."
"Earlier this fall, we heard a lot of dire warnings about supply chain problems leading to a crisis around the holidays. So, we acted," he continued. "Packages are moving. Gifts are being delivered. Shelves are not empty."
Biden cited "progress" he and Porcari have made in working with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach; he said they are currently moving more crates per day than ever before.
Porcari, in turn, outlined the day-to-day interactions the administration is having with port, rail, and shipping partners "to work through problems in real time" and continue moving toward a full-time 24/7 unloading schedule.
The president also pointed to several programs launched by the administration over the past week to "get more truckers on the road," including millions in investments to expand state commercial driver's licenses.
Before Biden's meeting, the White House said, despite earlier delays, Christmas gifts would be arriving in time across the country.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain retweeted several posts Wednesday morning on the topic, including a "How it started/How it's going" meme that White House Director of Rapid Response Mike Gwin posted. The tweet showed two stories headlined "White House scrambles to address Christmas crisis" and "Christmas Gifts Are Arriving on Time This Year."
Last week, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., blamed the Biden administration for the supply chain crisis causing late Christmas president delivery. And the GOP ran an ad Tuesday slamming Biden over supply chain and inflation issues, quipping, "On the ninth day of crises, Joe Biden gave Americans a supply chain crisis."
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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