President Joe Biden called out a congresswoman, who had recently died, in remarks at a hunger conference she helped organize, addressing the lawmaker as if she were still alive.
Biden in his remarks Wednesday at a conference on hunger thanked a bipartisan group of lawmakers who pushed the White House to organize the event, including Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Democratic Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern, Republican Indiana Senator Mike Braun and the late Republican Indiana Representative Jackie Walorski.
"Jackie, are you here? Where's Jackie? I think she was going to be here," Biden said.
Walorski died in an Aug. 3 car crash. Two of her staffers were also killed in the collision, which occurred in her Indiana district. The Elkhart County Sheriff's Office found that the Toyota RAV4 driven by staffer Zachery Potts was at fault in the crash.
Biden issued a statement at the time of her death, saying that he and the first lady were "shocked and saddened" by the news. Biden said that although he disagreed with Walorski on many issues "she was respected by members of both parties for her work on the House Ways and Means Committee on which she served."
The Indiana congresswoman introduced legislation last year along with the three other lawmakers to convene the hunger conference. Biden at the gathering laid out a plan to tackle high obesity rates and end chronic hunger by 2030.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Biden's remark.
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