During her last briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pushed repeatedly on the roles Trump and his Middle East special envoy and personal friend Steve Witkoff played in the deal, which was negotiated between Israel and Hamas with help from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar. Witkoff, for example, has attended meetings since last November’s election.

“What I can say is that the president got it done,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. “We were able to coordinate with the Trump transition team, but this was a framework the president put out.”

Trump has been seeking credit for the deal, the first phase of which will include the release of American hostages who have been held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks, contending it was only made possible because he won the election.

“This is something that’s been in the works for months. For months. Way before November,” Jean-Pierre said.

However, at the State Department, Jean-Pierre’s counterpart, Matt Miller, described the Trump transition team as having been “absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.”

“We, of course, thank the Trump team,” he said.

In response to Miller, Jean-Pierre reiterated that the deal was based on the three-phase agreement proposed by Biden last May.

“This is someone who understands foreign policy as — I’m talking about the president — he understands how difficult it is, and this was not an easy one,” she said. “Have we been coordinating and working closely with the incoming Trump administration, their transition team? Yes, and we’ve been very forthcoming about that, but the fact of the matter is it took someone who has the experience that this president had to get this going, to get this moving, to understand what negotiations look like, and that’s what this president was able to bring to the table, and it got done under his watch.”

During an impromptu address announcing the deal, Biden told the country he and Trump had been “speaking as one team” recently regarding the negotiations.

“I’d also note, this deal was developed and negotiated under my administration but its terms will be implemented, for the most part, by the next administration,” he said.

When asked by a reporter after his remarks whether he or Trump should be credited for the deal, Biden was snippy in his reply.

“Is that a joke?” he asked.