WATCH: Psaki defends Fauci after new revelations about coronavirus research at Wuhan lab

"On COVID origins, you said from that podium that you would never fire Dr. Fauci," Doocy asked Psaki.

"Is that still the case?" He asked. "Since Fauci told Congress the NIH never funded gain-of function research in Wuhan, but documents published by The Intercept suggest that's not true, which would mean that he mislead congress?"

"Well, first, I would say that NIH has refuted that reporting," Psaki said. "And, I would point you to that. But let me give you some highlights of that."

"NIH has never approved any research that would make a coronavirus more dangerous to humans; we're reminded that there are previous and different coronaviruses than the existing one we're battling," she said.

"And, the body of science produced by this research demonstrates that that coronavirus sequences published from that work were not the strain, COVID-2 strain, and so what he said was correct," Psaki said, defending Fauci.

"Ok, moving on," Doocy pressed on, "can you explain a little bit more about why the White House in a statement is calling the Taliban 'businesslike and professional'?"

"Well, I would note that, in that statement," Psaki said, "what we were announcing was the fact that a Qatari Airlines flight successfully landed in Qatar with American citizens, legal permanent residents and Afghans onboard who joined us in our fight over the last several years."

"We wanted to note that the Taliban was cooperative in facilitating the departure of these American citizens and legal permanent residents from HKIA."

Psaki then goes a bit off-topic to reiterate the promises of the Biden administration to get people out of Afghanistan.

"Their interior minister has an FBI wanted poster. He has a $10 million bounty on his head. What's the business?"

"We are here to celebrate the return of American citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan, of legal permanent residents, of Afghans who fought by our side, to Qatar successfully on a Qatari flight."

"And, in order to get those people out, we had to work with some members of the Taliban, to press them to work in a businesslike manner to get them out."