Reporter Pushes For Talks With Tuberville Over Abortion Blockade: Why Doesn’t Biden ‘Sit Down With Him and Hash This Out?’

CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre why President Joe Biden doesn’t “sit down with” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and “hash out” their differences on Tuberville’s blockade of promotions over abortion policy.

During the Finland leg of his recent international trip, President Biden ripped Tuberville  — who spent several days refusing to admit that White Nationalists are racist and is blocking military confirmations over abortion policy — at a joint press conference.

At Monday’s briefing, Weijia asked KJP about something the president said at that presser about his willingness to talk with Tuberville:

WEIJIA JIANG: Thank you. And then one more on Tuberville.

After President Biden made those remarks in Helsinki, the senator said that “[t]here’s no chance of changing my position if we don’t sit down and visit.” So why doesn’t the President sit down with him and try to hash this out?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Why does the senator continue to do something that is — that has been done in the past in a historically bipartisan way? Why? Why make this political? Why politicize and make it partisan?

That is something that this senator, Senator Tuberville, to be — to be specific — has done. And it’s hurting — it’s hurting our military readiness.

So this is actually a question — we’re not the problem here. We’re not causing this. This is the senator who’s causing this.

He’s causing something that has never been done before. Historically, this is done in a bipartisan way. So he’s holding this up, or has been holding this up, and this is a question for him.

WEIJIA JIANG: So just to be clear, when the President said that he would sit down with Tuberville if he thought there was any possibility he would change his ridiculous position, that was the President saying “no”?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I’m saying is: This has been historically — hist- — historically a bipartisan bill. And so — which has been made recklessly partisan. That’s what I’m saying. And it’s hurting our ability to recruit. It’s hurting our ability to retain the strongest and most diverse military that we have in the world. That’s what he’s doing.

And so that is a question for him to answer.

Watch above via The White House.