White House Declines to Condemn Rep. Jayapal's Call for 'Balance' on Hamas Rape Comments
• White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to condemn Rep. Pramila Jayapal's comments calling for "balance" when condemning Hamas' use of sexual violence against Israeli women.
• Jayapal said "we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinian" when asked about mass rape by Palestinian militants.
• Jean-Pierre reiterated that using rape as a weapon of war is "reprehensible" but would not directly criticize Jayapal's remarks.
• Several Democrats blasted Jayapal's comments, including Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ritchie Torres.
• Wasserman Schultz said it's "outrageous" to "both sides" sexual violence and Torres said it's "indecent" to downplay rape against Israeli women.