WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden appeared to call out the late former Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., who died in a car wreck in August, for being in attendance during a speech Wednesday at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.
Biden thanked “all of you here,” singling out Walorski and other lawmakers, for their work on hunger as he spoke about his administration’s efforts to end hunger in the U.S. by 2030.
“Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie? I don’t think – she was going to be here,” Biden said.
Walorski and two of her congressional staff members died in August during a head-on car collision in northern Indiana. She was 58.
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Walorski, first elected to Congress in 2012, served as co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus. Politico reported that a video tribute was to honor Walorski at the conference.
Biden issued a statement following Walorski’s death in August, saying he and Jill Biden were “shocked and saddened” and that he appreciated the congresswoman’s help on planning for the hunger conference.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the gaffe.
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Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden mistakenly calls out recently deceased congresswoman