WASHINGTON, DC - The White House press secretary has told reporters it is not certain whether the United States will participate in the Beijing 2022 winter olympics.

"There hasn't been a final decision made on that and, of course, we would look for guidance from the U.S. Olympic Committee," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Citing the abuses perpetrated by China against its Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region, Republicans have called for boycotting an Olympics held in China or moving its location.

On February 3, however, Psaki said the United States would not boycott the Beijing Olympics. "We're not currently talking about changing our posture or our plans, as it relates to the Beijing Olympics," she said.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee issued a statement on boycotting China, noting, "We believe the more effective course of action is for the governments of the world and China to engage directly on human rights and geopolitical issues."

Human rights groups have called for a boycott on the China Olympics because of the treatment of Uighur Muslims and the general record of the Chinese government on human rights. China denies having committed human rights abuses.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter canceled American participation in the Moscow Olympics, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who is seen as a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, also called for a boycott.

Haley wrote on Twitter: "The United States should not glorify a country that is committing genocide against its own people and threatening the world."