When asked who at the White House is heading up its response to the worsening baby formula crisis, a Biden spokesperson Wednesday said she actually didn’t know – and said it with what appeared to be a nervous laugh.
But it’s not at all funny, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley tells The Heartlander.
“So far, from what I can tell they’re doing nothing other than laughing about it,” Hawley said Thursday. “You know, the White House press secretary was laughing about it yesterday. It’s not funny. Half of the formula in Missouri is gone. That’s not funny at all. So I’d like to get some answers from them.”
“I don’t know what the administration’s doing,” Hawley told Fox News Thursday, saying Missouri had joined Kansas among the states with less than half the baby formula they need. “I don’t know why they don’t have any urgency about it.”
The crisis can be traced back to February, when Abbott Nutrition issued a voluntary baby formula recall following the sickening of four infants, two of whom died. Its plant in Sturgis, Michigan has been closed ever since. The company says even with a reopening in two weeks, which is subject to FDA approval, new formula won’t hit store shelves for another six to eight weeks after that.
“I understand the FDA did a health and safety investigation. OK, but what was the result and why is it still shut?” asks Hawley. “And we don’t have any answers. And I think they need to explain, why is it shut? Are there still health concerns? What are they? What’s the administration doing to get this thing back online?”
Such critical questions, Hawley said, might be “a little more pointed” under a Republican president. But on Thursday, he said Biden was holding an event to which the press wasn’t even allowed in.
“Is he really that incapable that he can’t even answer questions about the ability of babies in America to be fed? You can’t make this stuff up,” Hawley said. “I mean, every day with this administration is some new debacle. And this one is serious. It’s not funny. And I can tell you, Missouri parents? Not laughing.”
Also this week, Hawley sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding an investigation into the sometimes violent attacks against pro-life organizations and churches – as well as the protests outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices in advance of a possible overturning of abortion case Roe v. Wade.
In contrast to the tolerance the Biden administration has shown those illegal actions, Hawley notes, it has sought to portray frustrated American parents as domestic terrorists for confronting school boards about COVID measures and Critical Race Theory.
“Well, it’s a total double standard,” Hawley told The Heartlander, emphasizing that attempts to intimidate judges and justices is a federal crime. “And what has the Department of Justice done about it? Nothing. What will they do about it? I predict nothing. Yeah, because they’re too busy harassing parents. They’re too busy spying on Americans and setting up disinformation boards so they can see what we’re saying on social media.
“What this administration wants to do is shut down lawful speech and empower criminals – people who are blowing up pro-life offices, people who are attacking churches, people who are threatening justices.
“I mean, it is absolutely crazy what this administration is doing. And I’m going to tell you: when it comes to these violent attacks, Joe Biden bears part of the responsibility. These are his people, his supporters, who are out there doing this stuff. He should tell them to stop. But he won’t do it.”
