India, March 20 -- Hours after Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth after spending 286 days on the International Space Station, the White House blamed the previous Joe Biden administration's lack of urgency for the extended stay of the NASA Crew-9 astronauts that was originally planned for a week.

US White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her press briefing on Wednesday (local time), said the rescue of Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov was a historic mission under US President Donald Trump.

"This historic mission brings new meaning to President Trump's promise to always look out for the forgotten man and woman," Karoline Leavitt said.

Criticising the Joe Bi...