White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre halted a press briefing Tuesday after someone fainted, according to a pool report.
In the middle of taking a question from a reporter during the briefing, another person in the room can be heard stating that there was “an emergency.”
“Oh, hold on,” Jean-Pierre said in response as she stepped away from the podium in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “Did somebody pass out?”
Jean-Pierre then headed to the back of the briefing room, where a few other people were gathered. Many turned their heads in the direction of Jean-Pierre as she stayed in the back of the room for a few moments.
Following her return to the podium, Jean-Pierre asked if people needed water, noting it was hot in the briefing room.
Washington, D.C., saw temperatures in the 90s on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. The agency has also forecast that the District could face sweltering heat as high as 99 degrees by Saturday, as a large portion of the country beyond the nation’s capital faces intense temperatures this week.
“Dozens of daily temperature records are set to fall over the next few days,” the agency said in a Tuesday post on the social platform X. “Readings will generally be much higher than what’s normally expected even during the hottest part of the summer.”
“Stay cool. Hydrate. Check on neighbors,” the agency continued.