Atlanta, GA – Today, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden will not call upon local teachers unions to return to the classroom. In Chicago, Los Angeles, and many other school districts across the country, teachers are refusing to go back to the classroom.  

Responding to Psaki’s statement, Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA) Honorary Chairman Jenny Beth Martin released the following statement today:

“Joe Biden is failing the leadership test, and the biggest victims are students and their parents. The whole country, and indeed the whole world, is watching Biden’s handling of this issue – seeing this is an early test of what kind of President he will be. In the first year of his Presidency, Ronald Reagan was similarly tested by a union – the air traffic controllers union — and when Reagan took bold and decisive action, everyone took notice — even leaders of the Soviet Union. They realized quickly that Reagan was not a pushover. He was a man to be respected. In Biden’s case, he could use the bully pulpit to demand that all teachers return to the classroom, as long as the teacher and members of the teacher’s household are not in a high-risk category for COVID-19. I know the Mayor of Chicago would appreciate President Biden stepping in and showing leadership. In the meantime, our kids continue to suffer from the deficiencies of virtual instruction.  That’s just outrageous.”

TPPA has been a leader on this issue since Day One. In 2020, Ms. Martin a letter to then-President Trump to urge him to revise the guidelines for reopening schools that was signed by over 150 doctors, 70 national groups, 240 nurses and other health professionals as well as over 330 professors and teachers. She later met with President Trump and Vice President Pence to discuss the issue. The video of Ms. Martin speaking to President Trump about this issue was posted on Dan Bongino’s Facebook page and has been viewed 29 million times.  To watch the video, click here.