White House completes domestic extremism review

The White House said Tuesday that it has completed its assessment of the threat posed by domestic extremism and is looking at making policy recommendations in the coming weeks.

“I can report that we completed our policy review in the 100 days we allotted for it,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a briefing when asked about the status of the assessment. “We are taking a look at what occurred during that review, lessons that we’ve learned and ensuring that the policy responses that we have been discussing and developing are the right ones.”

“The policy recommendations will be weeks, not months,” Psaki added.

The White House announced the interagency review, spearheaded by the National Security Council (NSC), during President Biden’s first week in office, citing the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

The NSC-led review was meant to determine how the government can counter domestic violent extremism by better sharing information, supporting efforts to prevent radicalization and disrupting extremist networks.

Biden also requested a threat assessment, in connection with the review, to be conducted by the Office of Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. A summary of that assessment was released in March.

Psaki said Tuesday that officials are working on developing a strategy to convey the “overarching sense” of how the Biden administration is going to tackle domestic extremism.