Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) held a press briefing at the Governor's Mansion on Tuesday.
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00:00I've 19 months yeah your daddy talks on these all the time too much too much all
00:26right what's on your minds guys thank you for coming it feels so great you know Laura and I and
00:36Austin and Blair were really purposeful and wanting to have this today not cancel this
00:42and to see the smiles on these kids faces just brings such joy after you know obviously a really
00:48emotional week or so you know at the time we're out here right now celebrating with these kids
00:56celebrating Easter hunting for Easter eggs there's a huge crew inside the DGS is leading continuing to
01:03clean continuing to get the place together demo you know doing demo on that side of the house so we
01:09can get people back in this house as quickly as possible so really just want to thank the kids
01:14for being here for bringing joy in our lives and thank this crew that's been working literally
01:19around the clock for the last week they're doing great work
01:22it'll be in different stages I'm hoping to sleep here at some point this week getting the sort of
01:33residential quarters you know back back in order and we're going to have an event here with the
01:39former governors and first ladies who have been unbelievably supportive that event will be early
01:45May so we'll welcome people into probably the first floor of the house right behind me just this section
01:51and utilize the outdoor spaces and hopefully by some point mid-summer we'll have the state dining room
01:58and the areas that were really destroyed back up and running we'll be able to give you firm timelines
02:04through DGS as time goes on but they're working incredibly hard around the clock and I got to give
02:09a special shout out to Secretary McNeil and Claire Ramsey who have just been doing great work around the clock
02:16we can see some of the progress we can see that that's first out of the ride and we can see some of the
02:22workers out of the ride but there's probably a lot that we can't see going on behind the scenes
02:28is the security tighter here?
02:31they're working through a process now where they learn from what occurred make changes to both what I'll call
02:38the infrastructure and the systems that we employ we have a third party who's come in to conduct an
02:45independent review former former Colonel Jeffrey Miller of the Pennsylvania State Police who went
02:51on to lead security at the NFL and do many other things in the security realm so I think between
02:56the work of the state police the work of the independent reviewer we're going to come through
03:01this much stronger I've said many times I think Lauren maybe even to you the other day at the firehouse
03:06that I have confidence that they can keep me and Lori our kids Harper Austin and Blair safe
03:14and I have confidence that they're going to learn from this experience and make our systems even tighter
03:18again I think it's best to let this process play out for them to make determinations as to what's needed
03:21both from an infrastructure perspective and a systems perspective
03:25and I think it's best to let this process play out for them to make determinations as
03:28to what's needed both from an infrastructure perspective and a systems perspective I'm confident that when they present their findings to the four of us and to our team that we'll make the necessary
03:35reforms to keep everyone safe
03:42what impact will you have when you guys make those reforms
03:44I didn't hear your question
03:46I think it's best to let this process play out for them to make determinations as to what's needed
03:50what impact will you have when they make those reforms
03:51what impact will you have when they make those reforms
03:53I didn't hear your question
03:54what impact will you personally have when they make those reforms
03:57look it's a collaborative process as it is every single day of our lives when we travel around all four of us five of us with state police protection detail
04:06every day there's dialogue every day there's back and forth obviously some systems are going to need to change here particularly at the governor's residence they'll present their findings to us and it'll be a collaborative process then as well
04:24but before we switch topics let's just stay on this I'll come back to you though
04:42yeah soon
04:46I will be yes I'm not going to live in fear
04:53I'm not going to live in fear
04:54I'm not going to live in fear and I'm not going to let the fear of you know
05:03I'm not going to live in fear period
05:05and I'm looking forward to getting back here I'm very comfortable here
05:08I'm grateful for the honor the people of Pennsylvania have given me and Lori and our kids to live here
05:15and we consider it our responsibility as temporary stewards of this wonderful home to not just live here but to welcome people here
05:22that's why we're having this Easter egg hunt today while we'll have this event with the former governors and others in early May
05:30and while we hope to be getting back to our regular routine here as soon as possible
05:34does it still smell like smoke?
05:38yeah they've done a great job we walked around briefly earlier this morning it does not smell like smoke in the kind of the living quarters area
05:46we're right here on the first floor
05:48I haven't been in the areas that were destroyed in the last couple days
05:53a lot of demo is going to be going on in there over the next few days and I would expect
05:57I'm not an expert in this but I would expect that as you take out the charred remains as you take out the walls and the ceilings
06:04that had both fire and smoke damage that the smell will dissipate even more
06:09well first off last week I mean you know especially at three o'clock in the morning you couldn't see through the first floor
06:24there was smoke everywhere there was water everywhere there was fire damage
06:27when I was back here the next afternoon with all of you you all got the chance to look in there and walk through
06:33or at least see the images a lot of that has been cleaned up we took great pains to try and save as much of the materials as we could
06:41and send it over to the state archives and the state museum for them to curate and organize
06:47and obviously now we're in the mode of cleaning it up of repairing what can be repaired and rebuilding what needs to be rebuilt
06:56and we'll make sure that as that process goes on at least as it relates to the public facing parts of this
07:01we'll get you all in there so you can see the change the crew at CMS which has done a great job cataloging this so far
07:08is cataloging it as we go through so you'll be able to see kind of a time lapse of the progress that they make
07:14just one of them to okay I'll come back to you in one second
07:21if there's a trial look I'm gonna leave all of that up to the prosecutors as I've said multiple times
07:28I've got tremendous confidence in District Attorney Fran Charter and I've got confidence in the Department of Justice
07:35should they choose to bring charges if my presence is needed by the prosecutors I'll be there
07:42if my presence is not needed I don't need to be there they've asked me for a statement an impact statement as a victim of what occurred I provided that to law enforcement last week
07:53and whatever is needed for me from Lori from our kids we're going to make sure we provide to the prosecutors
08:00I'm not going to ask specifics about security because I know you're not talking about that but state police has a very good team that assesses
08:06does threat assessments and builds at universities
08:09yep
08:10I've told over the last several years they've done assessments of this
08:13yeah
08:14and they passed off to DGS but they obviously didn't get acted on
08:17are you aware of that and what's your reaction to that?
08:20I'm not aware of an assessment that they made that DGS did not act upon
08:24I'm not saying that didn't happen I'm not saying it did but that's a question I would defer to PSP and DGS
08:30that specialized unit has been on the ground here over the last week making recommendations
08:37I'm sure presenting those recommendations not just to Colonel Paris but former Colonel Miller who's acting as the independent reviewer
08:45they'll work together with all the different experts that are brought to bear to make sure that they present to us
08:51a final set of recommendations for both the infrastructure and for the systems
08:56I can tell you from an infrastructure perspective they've already made some changes
09:00and a number more will be made
09:02Has the Department of Justice signaled to you in any way that they've learned to take public space?
09:06They've not presented a signal one way or the other
09:09I think I commented on this to you last week Jillian
09:12I spoke to Director Patel at the FBI
09:15and I communicated with General Bondi who I've known for probably a decade or more
09:22they'll make whatever decision that they think is best
09:24I don't think it's right for me for Lori for us as the victims here to try and pressure the prosecutors one way or the other
09:33I have total and complete confidence in the prosecutors
09:35I've been a prosecutor as you know
09:38these cases you have to examine the evidence you have to apply the law
09:43and I think it's best to let prosecutors do their jobs in examining the evidence and applying the law
09:49without our input unless they seek it
09:53Do you think any of the work that's going on here would impact your ability to have budget discussions?
09:58Not at all. Not at all.
10:01Do they expect any impact on that?
10:02Not at all. In fact the first floor is very close to being able to be used
10:06and the budget meetings I've had with legislative leaders have largely been in this part of the house and outdoors
10:13and I expect that if the house is needed for budget negotiations it'll be available
10:19we had a budget discussion the week of the fire prior to the fire on the porch
10:23so we'll be using the houses as we always do to try and bring both sides together and hammer out a deal
10:29that's out for a couple more here
10:30Yeah
10:31I'm just going to talk real quick
10:33there's 250 people in the workers that when that comes to face and what else can close out in the tariffs
10:38Yeah
10:39What are your thoughts on that? I just want to see these tariffs going to hold back
10:42Look I've been critical of these tariffs both because they're going to drive up prices
10:46and we're already seeing that and because it's going to have companies and individuals, families
10:52keep their capital in their pockets because they're worried about the future
10:57and with the uncertainty and the chaos that these tariffs bring
11:00it's going to mean more capital staying on the sidelines
11:03that's what's happening with Mack truck based on the letter that they sent to me
11:07a worry about economic uncertainty a worry about these tariffs in particular
11:12and that's forcing them to keep their capital on the sidelines and making it harder for them to do the important work they need to do to build these world-class trucks
11:21I think it's really important to note that the president has stated his goal with these tariffs
11:26is to bring jobs back to America by the way a goal I support a thousand percent
11:32but Mack trucks jobs already are in America they're in the Lehigh Valley
11:36they've been building these wonderful trucks here in America for years and years and years
11:41and years they're doing everything right and they're still being harmed by these tariffs
11:46it's really unfortunate we're working through the Department of Labor and Industry with those workers who are going to be laid off to make sure they get the supports that they need
11:54but I hope that the president is able to rethink readjust his tariff policy in order to bring more certainty to the marketplace and allow our companies to have the confidence they need to invest capital again
12:08you invest capital you grow the economy you create jobs you bring down prices that's good for Americans
12:14you know I've laid out my budget priorities in my budget address the lieutenant governor and I have been traveling all across this Commonwealth outlining the need to advance the priorities that we put forward
12:42without getting into specifics I can tell you we've been having constructive dialogue with legislative leaders of both parties
12:49we recognize that we're going to have to compromise I've always said I'm willing to compromise they've shown a willingness to compromise we've passed two really strong budgets with bipartisan support and we're going to pass a third strong budget with bipartisan support
13:04I'm sorry I've made clear for three budgets in a row now it's important to get something done on public transit leader Pittman's been clear that he's open to it provided roads and bridges are part of the conversation
13:21I've said for two years now that I welcome adding funding for roads and bridges I'm proud of the fact that we repaired more structurally deficient bridges than any state in the entire country last year
13:32I want to keep that record going and the way we do that is by investing so I hope in this budget we'll have a robust plan to invest in mass transit all across the state as long with roads and bridges
13:42Thank you. Will this budget see more money to DGS to pay for whatever security?
13:48Yeah DGS DGS is going to provide an accounting for the cost to both the DGS side of this what costs are borne by insurance what costs are going to be covered through the fundraising work that
14:00the former governors and first ladies are doing we just don't have a full accounting of that yet but Manuel will make sure that you have that or DGS will make sure you have that when the process is complete
14:10One more here. Can you share any more details about your conversation with President Trump?
14:14Yeah I appreciated that the president called me kind of mid-morning on Saturday I actually didn't take his call because it came from his cell phone and I didn't have that number in my phone so I didn't know who it was
14:29As soon as I heard his message I called him right back he was very gracious he asked how Lori and the kids were doing talked for a couple minutes about what transpired at the residence and then we talked about for maybe the next 15 minutes or so about a whole host of other topics
14:49Obviously I'm not going to get into our private conversation here but you know he's attuned to the issues that are important to me
14:56I of course know the issues that are important to him and we agreed to stay in touch going forward
15:01Can you give us an idea just because most of us don't know the inside of the residence
15:07Yeah
15:08Where were you guys sleeping versus where the fire happened?
15:11Yeah
15:12The fire chief said a door fortunately was closed but then the fire would spread more
15:18But how close were you?
15:20Well let me talk about the first floor which is the public space
15:23At that end is the state dining room you saw the damage and destruction in there
15:30Next to that so the next room over as you move closer to where we're standing here is a reception room for the state dining room
15:39That was damaged pretty extensively from smoke and water things like that
15:44Both of those rooms are going to be torn down to the brick and the studs and and rebuilt
15:51Then there are a set of double doors that lead to a corridor where the first lady and I each have offices
16:00Those double doors were closed the fire chief commented that had those doors not been closed the fire would have ripped through the house
16:08Into the area where we invite guests and visitors this is the Erie room here which had some smoke damage but no fire damage
16:17We have a family dining room behind us where we have our meals again smoke damage not fire damage
16:25And all I'll say about the living quarters I'm not going to give you the specifics there is we sleep up on
16:30There there are rooms on the second and third floor and thankfully everyone got out safe
16:37Thank you guys
16:39Okay, thanks everybody appreciate you being here happy Easter