House Republicans escalate investigation into Biden's 'garbage' comment on Trump supporters

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Friday escalated their probe into the White House's alleged edits of a transcript where President Joe Biden appeared to call supporters of former President Donald Trump "garbage." 

The comment occurred on Tuesday night, when the president was commenting on a comedian at a Trump rally who joked that Puerto Rico was a "floating island of garbage." 

The two lawmakers accused the White House on Wednesday of publishing a "false transcript" of the remarks after a White House transcript appeared to change the quote from "supporters" to "supporter's," with an apostrophe, to clarify the president's intent. 

The White House Stenography Office has since reported that the transcript it submitted the National Archives is different from the one the White House press office disseminated, the Associated Press reported on Thursday night. The press office's actions are a breach of protocol. 

Comer and Stefanik wrote to the White House on Friday demanding it produce all documents and internal communications regarding the president's statement and the release of the inaccurate transcript. They also requested the White House release the transcript the stenographers submitted to the National Archives, and called for the White House Stenography Office’s top supervisor to hold a briefing with the Oversight Committee.

"The White House cannot simply rewrite President Biden’s rhetoric. In this case, it appears the White House is doing so to safeguard Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign," the lawmakers wrote in the new letter. “We are concerned with the latest reporting of the White House’s apparent political decision to protect the Biden-Harris Administration, instead of following longstanding and proper protocols."

The lawmakers also warned that the press office's actions could violate federal law, such as the Presidential Records Act of 1978. The press office noted that it made the change to the transcript after "conferring with the president."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.