Category: Speeches

President Obama spoke this morning with President Francois Hollande of France.  The President affirmed our unwavering commitment to the bilateral relationship, including our ongoing close cooperation in the intelligence and security fields. The President reiterated that we have abided by the commitment we made to our French counterparts in late 2013 that we are not…

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Kenneth J. Kopocis, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, vice Peter Silva Silva, resigned. Janet Garvin McCabe, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, vice Regina McCarthy, resigned.

Roosevelt Room 12:30 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  Since 9/11, more than 80 Americans have been taken hostage by murderous groups engaged in terrorism or piracy.  For these innocent men and women — tourists, journalists, humanitarians — it’s a horror, and cruelty, beyond description.  For their families and for their friends, it’s an unrelenting…

Monday, June 29, 2015 Washington, D.C. * 12:30PM ET – The First Lady will deliver remarks at MORE Magazine’s first-ever MORE Impact Awards Luncheon at the Newseum. In her remarks, Mrs. Obama will speak about the Let Girls Learn initiative and the importance of expanding access to education for adolescent girls around the world. The event…

This August, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Voting Rights Act. As the President has noted, ‘the Voting Rights Act was one of the crowning achievements of our democracy, the result of Republican and Democratic efforts.’ Yet 50 years later, laws are being passed across the country that make it…

The President met today with China’s Special Representatives to the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Vice Premier Wang Yang, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and the Chinese delegation.  The President acknowledged the importance of these annual ministerial-level mechanisms for expanding practical cooperation on regional and global challenges, while at the same…

National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice met today with State Councilor Yang Jiechi of China at the White House.  Ambassador Rice and State Councilor Yang reviewed plans for President Xi’s visit in September and discussed outcomes that both sides commit to work toward for the visit.  In reviewing the bilateral relationship, Ambassador Rice and State…

East Room 5:17 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Hey!  Hey!  Hey!  (Applause.)  So this is rowdy crowd.  (Applause.)  I don’t want you guys to break anything while you’re here now.  (Laughter.)  Thank you, Megan, for the wonderful introduction and, more importantly, the great work that you are doing.  We’ve got some outstanding members of Congress here…

Remarks by Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications “Support, Defend, and Sustain’: The Relevance of U.S. Response to Closing Civic Space” InterAction Annual Forum Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Washington Marriott Hotel, Wardman Park AS PREPARED Good Afternoon. Thank you to Sam Worthington and InterAction for inviting me to be here today. InterAction is…