Jen Psaki insists new guidance on mask-wearing comes from CDC, not Biden

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday insisted that the new federal guidance on masks came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a back-and-forth with Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy during a briefing.

"Our North Star has been listening to the guidance of ur medical and health experts and teams and that’s exactly what we’re doing in this case," Psaki said.  When Doocy asked about how the administration planned to enforce the new guidance, with still a large majority of Americans awaiting their coronavirus vaccines, Psaki said it would be up to states and businesses to decide. She did not specifically respond to Doocy's question about whether President Biden still thought certain states exhibited "Neanderthal thinking" for easing up on mask rules, as Biden suggested back in March. "The guidance is not telling states and localities exactly how they should implement," Psaki replied, noting that some states and communities were ahead of others in terms of vaccinating large swaths of their populations, and that it would be up to those communities and businesses how best to implement the new guidance.