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Jen Psaki Reportedly Takes a Week Off, Turns on Auto-Reply Emails While Control of Afghanistan Transferred to Taliban

While every White House employee certainly deserves a vacation every now and again, press secretary Jen Psaki is facing serious criticism for the timing of her holiday in the midst of a foreign affairs crisis. Fox News reportedly sent an email to Psaki on the morning of August 15. The news staff received an auto-reply email shortly after. Later the same day, the source tried once again to reach out and received the same response.

“I will be out of the office from August 15th-August 22nd,” the email read. The message also provided alternative contact information for assistance.

Although it is unknown where exactly Jen Psaki has decided to spend her vacation, it seems she is not available for conferences or comments during her absence.

In response, many Twitter users found the press secretary’s timing to be too “convenient.”

“This is completely unacceptable. Abrogation of duty,” one user wrote.

“It’s called vacation,” another said.

See more comments on the Tweet below.

Joe Biden Receives Criticism for Presidential Retreat in Midst of Jen Psaki’s Vacation

Earlier today, President Joe Biden addressed the nation regarding the current turmoil in Afghanistan. Among the topics, he discussed his stance behind the withdrawal of troops. Biden stated that he firmly defended his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. Part of his reasoning was that the Taliban’s rule of the nation was not in the U.S.’s interest.

Biden continued that he did not want to repeat the same mistakes as past presidents by prolonging the war any further and risking U.S. lives. Following the speech, the president declined to take any questions from the press and exited the room. Yahoo! reported that press secretary Jen Psaki was in fact present for the address.

While his address alone sparked a fair bit of controversy online, many Americans were not happy with where the president went following the speech.

According to Yahoo!, President Biden’s office “office released a public schedule update showing Biden would fly out from the White House and return to Camp David.”

Camp David is a military base located in Frederick County, Maryland. Typically, this is where the president spends working vacations during big holidays. Biden spent the past weekend at the retreat while his office kept him apprised of the events in Afghanistan. Combined with Jen Psaki’s out-of-office message, many Americans were not happy with the Oval Office’s response to the current foreign affairs.

Meanwhile, users on social media have been quick to deliver their criticism over the president’s choice against staying at the White House. Others, however, pointed out that during Trump’s term, the former president invited Taliban members to Camp David. Regardless of his location, the nation continues to wait for his next address regarding the developments in Afghanistan.