delivered 28
January 2025, White House, Washington, D.C.
MS. LEAVITT: Good afternoon, everybody.
PRESS CORPS: Good afternoon.
MS. LEAVITT: How are we? Good to see all of you. It’s an honor to be here with
all of you. A lot of familiar faces in the room, a lot of new faces.
And President Trump is back, and the golden age of America has most definitely
begun.
The Senate has already confirmed five of President Trump’s exceptional Cabinet
nominees: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA
Director John Ratcliffe, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent. It is imperative that the Senate continues to confirm
the remainder of the President’s well-qualified nominees as quickly as possible.
As you have seen during the past week, President Trump is hard at work
fulfilling the promises that he made to the American people on the campaign
trail. Since taking the oath of office, President Trump has taken more than 300
executive actions; secured nearly $1 trillion in U.S. investments; deported
illegal alien rapists, gang members, and suspected terrorists from our homeland;
and restored common sense to the federal government.
I want to take a moment to go through some of these extraordinary actions.
On day one, President Trump declared a national emergency at our southern border
to end the four-year-long invasion of illegal aliens under the previous
Administration. Additionally, President Trump signed an executive order to end
catch and release and finish construction of his effective border wall. By using
every lever of his federal power, President Trump has sent a loud and clear
message to the entire world: America will no longer tolerate illegal
immigration.
And this President expects that every nation on this planet will cooperate with
the repatriation of their citizens, as proven by this weekend, when President
Trump swiftly directed his team to issue harsh and effective sanctions and
tariffs on the Colombian government upon hearing they were denied a U.S.
military aircraft full of their own citizens who were deported by this
Administration. Within hours, the Colombian government agreed to all of
President Trump’s demands, proving America is once again respected on the world
stage.
So, to foreign nationals who are thinking about trying to illegally enter the
United States, think again. Under this President, you will be detained, and you
will be deported.
Every day, Americans are safer because of the violent criminals that President
Trump’s Administration is removing from our communities.
On January 23rd, ICE New York arrested a arrested a Turkish national for entry without
inspection who is a known or suspected terrorist. On January 23rd, ICE San
Francisco arrested a citizen of Mexico unlawfully present in the United States
who has been convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child aged 14 years or
younger. ICE Saint Paul has arrested a citizen of Honduras who was convicted of
fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. ICE Buffalo arrested a
citizen of Ecuador who has been convicted of rape.
ICE Boston arrested a citizen of the Dominican Republic who has a criminal
conviction for second-degree murder. This criminal was convicted of murder for
beating his pregnant wife to death in front of her five-year-old son.
And ICE Saint Paul also arrested a citizen of Mexico who was convicted of
possessing pornographic material of a minor on a work computer.
These are the heinous individuals that this Administration is removing from
American communities every single day. And to the brave state and local law
enforcement officers, CBP, and ICE agents who are helping in the facilitation of
this deportation operation, President Trump has your back and he is grateful for
your hard work.
On the economic front, President Trump took immediate action to lower costs for
families who are suffering from four long years of the Biden Administration’s
destructive and inflationary policies. President Trump ordered the heads of all
executive departments and agencies to help deliver emergency price relief to the
American people, untangle our economy from Biden’s regulatory constraints, and
end the reckless war on American energy.
President Trump also signed sweeping executive orders to end the weaponization
of government and restore common sense to the federal bureaucracy. He directed
all federal agencies to terminate illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion
programs to help return America to a merit-based society.
President Trump also signed an executive order declaring it is now the policy of
the federal government that there are only two sexes: male and female. Sanity
has been restored.
Before I take your questions, I would like to point out to -- all of you once
again have access to the most transparent and accessible President in American
history. There has never been a President who communicates with the American
people and the American press corps as openly and authentically as the 45th and
now 47th President of the United States.
This past week, President Trump has held multiple news conferences, gaggled on
Air Force One multiple times, and sat down for a two-part interview on Fox News,
which aired last week. As
Politico summed it up best, “Trump is everywhere
again,” and that’s because President Trump has a great story to tell about the
legendary American revival that is well underway.
And in keeping with this revolutionary media approach that President Trump
deployed during the campaign, the Trump White House will speak to all media
outlets and personalities, not just the legacy media who are seated in this
room, because apporting -- according to recent polling from Gallup, Americans’
trust in mass media has fallen to a record low. Millions of Americans,
especially young people, have turned from traditional television outlets and
newspapers to consume their news from podcasts, blogs, social media, and other
independent outlets.
It’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere
and adapt this White House to the new media landscape in 2025. To do this, I am
excited to announce the following changes will be made to this historic
James S.
Brady Briefing Room, where Mr. Brady’s legacy will endure.
This White House believes strongly in the First Amendment, so it’s why our team
will work diligently to restore the press passes of the 440 journalists whose
passes were wrongly revoked by the previous Administration.
We’re also opening up this briefing room to new media voices who produce
news-related content and whose outlet is not already represented by one of the
seats in this room. We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media
influencers, and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this White
House. And you can apply now on our new website, WhiteHouse.gov/NewMedia.
Starting today, this seat in the front of the room, which is usually occupied by
the Press Secretary staff, will be called the “new media” seat. My team will
review the applications and give credentials to new media applicants who meet
our criteria and pass United States Secret Service requirements to enter the
White House complex.
So, in light of these announcements, our first questions for today’s briefing
will go to these new media members whose outlets, despite being some of the most
viewed news websites in the country, have not been given seats in this room.
And before I turn to questions, I do have news directly from the President of
the United States that was just shared with me in the Oval Office from President
Trump directly -- an update on the New Jersey drones: After research and study,
the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to
be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons.
Many of these drones were also hobbyists -- recreational and private individuals
that enjoy flying drones. In meanti- -- in the -- in time, it got worse, due to
curiosity. This was not the enemy. A -- a statement from the President of the
United States to start this briefing with some news.
And with that, I will turn it over to questions, and we will begin with our new
media members: Mike Allen from Axios, Matt Boyle from Breitbart.
Mike, why don’t you go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Karoline, does the
President see anything fishy about
DeepSeek, either its origins or its cost? And could China’s ability to make
these models quicker, cheaper affect our thinking about expanding generation
data centers, chip manufacturing?
MS. LEAVITT: Sure. The President was asked about DeepSeek last night on Air
Force One when he gaggled for, I think, the third or fourth time throughout the
weekend with members of the traveling press corps. The President said that he
believes that this is a wake-up call to the American AI industry. The last
Administration sat on their hands and allowed China to rapidly develop this AI
program.
And so, President Trump believes in restoring American AI dominance, and that’s
why he took very strong executive action this past week to sign executive orders
to roll back some of the onerous regulations on the AI industry. And President
Trump has also proudly appointed the first AI and crypto czar at this White
House,
David Sacks, whom I spoke with yesterday -- very knowledgeable on this
subject. And his team is here working every single day to ensure American AI
dominance.
As for the national security implications, I spoke with NSC this morning. They
are looking into what those may be, and when I have an update, I will share it
with you, Mike.
QUESTION: And, Karoline, you say “restore” U.S. dominance. Is there fear that the U.S.
either is falling or has fallen behind? And how would the President make sure
the U.S. stays ahead?
MS. LEAVITT: No. The President is confident that we will restore American
dominance in AI.
Matt.
QUESTION: Yeah. So, Karoline, first off, thank you to you and President Trump for
actually giving voices to new media outlets that represent millions and millions
of Americans. The thing I would add -- the -- I’ve got a two-part question for
you. The first is just: Can you expand upon what steps the White House is going
to take to bring more voices, not less -- which is what our founder,
Andrew Breitbart, believed in -- into this room, where they rightly belong?
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah, absolutely. And as I said in my opening statement, Matt, it
is a priority of this White House to honor the First Amendment. And it is a fact
that Americans are consuming their news media from various different platforms,
especially young people. And as the
youngest press
Secretary in history, thanks
to President Trump, I take great pride in opening up this room to new media
voices to share the President’s message with as many Americans as possible.
In doing so, number one, we will ensure that outlets like yours --
Axios and
Breitbart, which are widely respected and viewed outlets -- have an actual seat
in this room every day. We also, again, encourage anybody in this country --
whether you are a TikTok content creator, a blogger, a podcaster -- if you are
producing legitimate news content, no matter the medium, you will be allowed to
apply for press credentials to this White House.
And as I said earlier, our new media website is WhiteHouse.gov /NewMedia, and so
we encourage people to apply. Again, as long as you are creating news-related
content of the day and you’re a legitimate independent journalist, you’re
welcome to cover this White House.
QUESTION: And secondly, Karoline, you sa- -- you laid out several of the actions that
President Trump has taken. Obviously, it’s a stark contrast to the previous
Administration and a breakneck speed from President Trump. Can we expect that
pace to continue as the hun- -- the -- you know, the first 100 days moves along
here and beyond that?
MS. LEAVITT: Absolutely. There is no doubt President Trump has always been the
hardest working man in politics. I think that’s been proven over the past week.
This President has, again, signed more than 300 executive orders. He’s taken
historic action.
I gaggled aboard Air Force One to mark the first 100 days of this Administration
-- 4:00 p.m. last Friday -- first 100 hours, rather. And this President did more
in the first 100 hours than the previous President did in the first 100 days.
So, President Trump, I think you can all expect to -- for him to continue to
work at this breakneck speed. So, I hope you’re all ready to work very hard. I
know that we are.
Zeke Miller.
QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline. A question that we’ve asked your predecessors of both
parties in this job. When you’re up here in this briefing room speaking to the
American public, do you view yourself and your role as speaking on -- advocating
on behalf of the President, or providing the unvarnished truth that is, you
know, not to lie, not to obfuscate to the American people?
MS. LEAVITT: I commit to telling the truth from this podium every single day. I
commit to speaking on behalf of the President of the United States. That is my
job.
And I will say it’s very easy to speak truth from this podium when you have a
President who is implementing policies that are wildly popular with the American
people, and that’s exactly what this Administration is doing. It’s correcting
the lies and the wrongs of the past four years, many of the lies that have been
told to your faces in this very briefing room. I will not do that.
But since you brought up truth, Zeke, I would like to point out, while I vow to
provide the truth from this podium, we ask that all of you in this room hold
yourselves to that same standard. We know for a fact there have been lies that
have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this
President, about his family, and we will not accept that. We will call you out
when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this
White House.
So, yes, I will hold myself to the truth, and I expect everyone in this room to
do the same.
QUESTION: And, Karoline, just on a substantive question:
Yesterday, the White House
Office of Management and Budget [OMB] directed an across-the-board freeze [M-25-13]1,2
with -- with some exceptions for individual assistance. We understand just federal grants.
MS. LEAVITT: Right.
QUESTION: It’s caused a lot of confusion around the country among
Head Start providers,
among providers -- from services to homeless veterans, provid- -- you know,
Medicaid providers, states saying they’re having trouble accessing the portal.
Could you put -- help us clear up some confusion --
MS. LEAVITT: Yes.
QUESTION: -- give some certainty to folks? And then also, is that uncertainty -- how
does that uncertainty service the President’s voters?
MS. LEAVITT: Well, I think there’s only uncertainty in this room amongst the
media. There’s no uncertainty in this building.
So, let me provide the certainty and the clarity that all of you need. This is
not a blanket pause on federal assistance in grant programs from the Trump
Administration. Individual assistance, that includes -- I’m not naming
everything that’s included, but just to give you a few examples -- Social
Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits --
assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this
pause.
And I want to make that very clear to any Americans who are watching at home who
may be a little bit confused about some of the media reporting: This
Administration -- if you are receiving individual assistance from the federal
government, you will still continue to receive that.
However, it is the responsibility of this President and this Administration to
be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. That is something that President Trump
campaigned on. That’s why he has launched
DOGE, the Department of Government
Efficiency, who is working alongside [the White House] OMB. And that’s why OMB sent out this memo
last night, because the President signed an executive order directing OMB to do
just this. And the reason for this is to ensure that every penny that is going
out the door is not conflicting with the executive orders and actions that this
President has taken.
So, what does this pause mean? It means no more funding for illegal
DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion]
programs. It means no more funding for the "Green New Scam" that has ta- -- cost
American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. It means no more funding for
transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies. No more
funding for
Green New Deal social engineering policies. Again, people who are
receiving individual asintan- -- assistance, you will continue to receive that.
And President Trump is looking out for you by issuing this pause because he is
being good steward of your taxpayer dollars.
QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline.
MS. LEAVITT: Sure.
QUESTION: How long is this pause going to last? And how is the Trump
Administration
recommending that organizations that rely on federal funding make payroll, pay
their rent in the meantime?
MS. LEAVITT: It is a temporary pause, and the Office of Management and Budget is
reviewing the federal funding that has been going out the door, again, not for
individual assistance, but for all of these other programs that I mentioned.
I also spoke with the
incoming director of OMB this morning, and he told me to
tell all of you that the line to his office is open for other federal government
agencies across the board, and if they feel that programs are necessary and in
line with the President’s agenda, then the Office of Management and Budget will
review those policies.
I think this is a very responsible measure. Again, the past four years, we’ve
seen the Biden Administration spend money like drunken sailors. It’s a big
reason we’ve had an inflation crisis in this country, and it’s incumbent upon
this Administration to make sure, again, that every penny is being accounted for
honestly.
QUESTION: Why impose this pause with so little notice? Why not give organizations more
time to plan for the fact that they are about to lose, in some cases, really
crucial federal funding --
MS. LEAVITT: There was --
QUESTION: -- at least for a -- for a period of time?
MS. LEAVITT: There was notice. It was the executive order that the
President
signed.
There’s also a freeze on hiring, as you know; a regulatory freeze; and there’s
also a freeze on foreign aid. And this is a -- again, incredibly important to
ensure that this Administration is taking into consideration how hard the
American people are working. And their tax dollars actually matter to this
Administration.
You know, just during this pause, DOGE and OMB have actually found that there
was $37 million that was about to go out the door to the World Health
Organization, which is an organization, as you all know, that President Trump,
with the swipe of his pen in
that executive order, is -- no longer wants the
United States to be a part of. So, that wouldn’t be in line with the President’s
agenda.
DOGE and OMB also found that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars
that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza. That is a preposterous waste of
taxpayer money.
So, that’s what this pause is focused on: being good stewards of tax dollars.
MS. LEAVITT: Again, it does not affect individual assistance that’s going to
Americans.
QUESTION: To follow up on Nancy, do you think there will be a list of who is affected
and how much money is affected? How -- how will these contractors and
organizations know if they are actually being -- having their funding frozen?
And then, secondly, if you’re willing, can you just clarify, is the end goal of
this to essentially challenge Congress or to -- to prove that the President can
withhold federal funding? Is -- in other words, is this an attempt to pick a
fight to prove that he can do this?
MS. LEAVITT: No, absolutely not. As it says right here in the memo, which I have
-- and I’d encourage all of you to read it -- it says, “The American people
elected President Trump to be the President of the United States and gave him a
mandate to increase the impact of every federal dollar.” “This memo requires
federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance
programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and
requirements.”
The American people gave President Trump an overwhelming mandate on November
5th, and he’s just trying to ensure that the tax money going out the door in
this very bankrupt city actually aligns with the will and the priorities of the
American people.
[Cross-talk.]
Brian Glenn.
QUESTION: Yes. Welcome.
MS. LEAVITT: Thank you.
QUESTION: You look great. You’re doing a great job.
MS. LEAVITT: Thank you.
QUESTION: You talked about transparency. And some of us in this room know how just
transparent President Trump has been the last five or six years; I think you’ll
do the same.
My question is, do you think this latest incident with the President of Colombia
is indicative of the global, powerful respect they have for President Trump
moving forward not only to engage in -- in economic diplomacy with these
countries but also world peace?
MS. LEAVITT: Absolutely. I’ll echo the answer that the
President gave on Air
Force One last night when he was asked a very similar question by one of your
colleagues in the media: This signifies peace through strength is back, and this
President will not tolerate illegal immigration into America’s interior.
And he expects every nation on this planet, again, to cooperate with the
repatriation of their citizens who illegally entered into our country and broke
America’s laws. Won’t be tolerated.
And as you saw, the Colombian government quickly folded and
agreed to all of
President Trump’s demands. Flights are underway once again.
[Cross-talk.]
Diana.
QUESTION: Two questions on deportations, if I may. President Trump had said on the
campaign trail that he would deport pro-Hamas students who are here on visas,
and on his first day in office, he signed an
executive order that said, quote,
“The [United States] must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present
in the [United States] do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture,
government, institutions, or founding principles.” So, should we take this
executive order as Trump saying he would be open to de- -- deporting those
students who are here on visas, but, you know, hold pro-Hamas sympathies?
MS. LEAVITT: The President is open to deporting individuals who have broken our
nation’s immigrations laws. So, if they are here illegally, then certainly he is
open to deporting them, and that’s what this Administration is hard at work at
doing.
We receive data from DHS and from ICE every single day. From what we hear on the
ground, ICE agents are feeling incredibly empowered right now because they
actually have a leader in this building who is supporting them in doing their
jobs that they were hired to do, which is to detain, arrest, and deport illegal
criminals who have invaded our nation’s borders over the past four years. That’s
what the President is committed to seeing.
QUESTION: One more.
MS. LEAVITT: Peter.
QUESTION: Just following up on that, Karoline --
QUESTION: Karoline, if I could ask you very quickly, just following up on the question
on immigration. First, President Trump, during the course of the campaign in
2024, said the following about illegal im- -- immigration. He said, “They’re
going back home where they belong, and we start with the criminals. There are
many, many criminals.” NBC News has learned that ICE arrested 1,179 undocumented
immigrants on Sunday, but nearly half of them -- 566 of the migrants -- appear
to have no prior criminal record besides entering the country illegally. Is the
President still focused exclusiv- -- which is a civil crime, not a --
not a -- it’s not criminal --
MS. LEAVITT: It’s a federal crime.3
QUESTION: It’s a fed- -- so, I’m asking though, he said he was going to focus on those
violent offenders first. So, is violent offenders no longer the predicate for
these people to be deported?
MS. LEAVITT: The President has said countless times on the campaign trail --
I’ve been with him at the rallies; I know you’ve been there covering them too,
Peter -- that he is focused on launching the largest mass deportation operation
in American history of illegal criminals.
And if you are an individual, a foreign national, who illegally enters the
United States of America, you are, by definition, a criminal. And so, therefore
--
QUESTION: So, to be clear, it’s not exclusively --
MS. LEAVITT: -- you are subject deportation.
QUESTION: I apologize for interrupting. So, to be clear, it’s not -- violent criminals
do not receive precedence in terms of the deportations taking place?
MS. LEAVITT: The President has also said -- two things can be true at the same
time. We want to deport illegal criminals, illegal immigrants from this country.
But the President has said that, of course, the illegal dr- -- criminal drug
dealers, the rapists, the murderers, the individuals who have committed heinous
acts on the interior of our country and who have terrorized law-abiding American
citizens, absolutely, those should be the priority of ICE. But that doesn’t mean
that the other illegal criminals who entered our nation’s borders are off the
table.
QUESTION: Understood. Then let me ask you a separate question about the confusion that
still exists across the country right now as it relates to the -- the freeze --
or the pause, as it’s described. President Trump, of course, ran -- one of the
key policy items was that he was going to lower prices, lower the cost of
everything from groceries, as he often said. But in many of the cases, it would
seem that some of these moves could raise prices for real Americans on
everything from low-income heating -- that program; childcare programs. Will
nothing that the President is doing here, in terms of the freeze in these
programs, raise prices on ordinary Americans?
MS. LEAVITT: What particular actions are you referring to that would --
QUESTION: I’m referring to LHEAP [LIHEAP] right now. That’s the low-income heating program, for
example. We can talk about -- there’s no clarity, so I could refer to a lot of
them. We don’t know what they are specifically. Can you tell us that LHEAP --
that
LIHEAP is not one of those affected?
MS. LEAVITT: So, you’re asking a hypoc- -- -thetical based on programs that you
can’t even identify?
QUESTION: No, I just identified -- I --
MS. LEAVITT: What I can tell you is that the --
QUESTION: Well, just to be -- just to be clear, since you guys haven’t identified, let’s
do it together, just for Americans at home. Medicaid, is that affected?
MS. LEAVITT: I gave you a list of examples -- Social Security, Medicare, welfare
benefits --
QUESTION: Medicaid too, correct?
MS. LEAVITT: -- food stamps -- that will not be impacted by this federal pause.
I can get you the full list after this briefing from the Office of Management
and Budget.
But I do want to address the cost cutting, because that’s certainly very
important, and -- and cutting the cost of living in this country. President
Trump has taken historic action over the past week to do that. He actually
signed a memorandum to deliver emergency price relief for American families,
which took a number of actions. I can walk you through those.
He also
repealed many onerous Biden Administration regulations. We know, over
the past four years, American households has been essentially taxed $55,000 in
regulations from the previous Administration. President Trump, with the swipe of
his pen, rescinded those, which will ultimately put more money back in the
pockets of the American people. So, deregulation is a big deal.
And then, when it comes to energy, I mean, the President signed an executive
order to declare a national energy emergency here at home, which is going to
make America energy dominant. We know that energy is one of the number-one
drivers of inflation, and so that’s why the President wants to increase our
energy supply: to bring down costs for Americans. The Trump energy boom is
incoming, and Americans can expect that.
QUESTION: Please share that memo. Thank you.
MS. LEAVITT: I will.
[Cross-talk.]
QUESTION: Karoline, I think -- some of the confusion, I think, may be here with this
pause on federal funding. You’ve made it clear you’re not stopping funds that go
directly to individuals, but there certainly are lots of organizations that
receive funding and then may pass along a benefit -- Meals on Wheels, for one.
They provide meals for over 2.2 million seniors.
What is the President’s message to Americans out there, many of whom supported
him and voted for him, who are concerned that this is going to impact them
directly, even if, as you said, the funding isn’t coming directly to their
wallet?
MS. LEAVITT: I have now been asked and answered this question four times. To
individuals at home who receive direct assistance from the federal government,
you will not be impacted by this federal freeze. In fact, OMB just sent out a
memo to Capitol Hill withQ and A to -- to clarify some of the questions and the
answers that all of you are a- -- are asking me right now.
Again, direct assistance will not be impacted. I’ve been asked and answered
about this OMB memo. There’s many other topics of the day.
Jacqui Heinrich.
QUESTION: But on indirect assistance, Karoline --
QUESTION: Thank you, Karoline.
QUESTION: -- if it’s going to another organization and then trickling down?
MS. LEAVITT: Direct assistance that is in the hands of the American people will
not be impacted.
Again, as I said to Peter, we will continue to provide that list as it comes to
fruition. But OMB right now is focused on analyzing the federal government’s
spending, which is exactly what the American people elected President Trump to
do.
[Cross-talk.]
QUESTION: Thank you, Karoline.
QUESTION: And one question on immigration, Karoline. On immigration.
QUESTION: Thank you, Karo- --
QUESTION: Of the 3,500 arrests ICE has made so far since President Trump came back into
office, can you just tell us the numbers? How many have a criminal record versus
those who are just in the country illegally.
MS. LEAVITT: All of them, because they illegally broke our nation’s laws, and,
therefore, they are criminals, as far as this Administration goes. I know the
last Administration didn’t see it that way, so it’s a big culture shift in our
nation to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal. But that’s
exactly what they are.
Jacqui.
[Cross-talk.]
QUESTION: Karoline, on tariffs.
QUESTION: But you made a point of going with the worst first.
QUESTION: On tariffs.
QUESTION: They all have a criminal record?
QUESTION: And welcome to the briefing room.
MS. LEAVITT: If they broke our nation’s laws, yes, they are a criminal.
Yes.
QUESTION: Thank you. On stripping security details for figures like John Bolton, Pompeo,
Brian Hook. Senator Tom Cotton said that he’s seen the intelligence and the
threat from Iran is real for anyone who played a role in the Soleimani strike.
He voiced concern it wouldn’t just impact those individuals but potentially
their family, innocent bystanders, friends -- anyone who is near them when
they’re out in public. Is the President open to reconsidering his decision?
MS. LEAVITT: The President was asked and answered this yesterday, and he was
firm in his decision, despite some of the comments that you had referenced. And
he’s made it very clear that he does not believe American taxpayers should fund
security details for individuals who have served in the government for the rest
of their lives. And there’s nothing stopping these individuals that you
mentioned from obtaining private security.
That’s where the President stands on it. I have no updates on that.
QUESTION: Is there any concern that this decision might jeopardize the
Administration’s
ability to hire the best advisers for these kinds of positions in the future?
MS. LEAVITT: No. In fact, I’ve talked to the Presidential Personnel Office who
has told me directly that there is such an influx of resumes for this
Administration that it’s incredibly overwhelming. There is no lack of talent for
the Trump Administration.
Reagan Ree- --
QUESTION: And would he -- would he take any responsibility --
QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline.
QUESTION: -- if anything happened to these people? Would he feel at all that his
decision was a factor in that?
MS. LEAVITT: The President was asked and answered this yesterday. I’d defer you
to his comments.
QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline.
QUESTION: Karoline --
MS. LEAVITT: Reagan, since you’re in the back row, I hear y- -- the back row
hasn’t gotten much attention in the last four years --
QUESTION: Yes, thank you.
MS. LEAVITT: -- so I’m happy to answer your question.
QUESTION: And I can project.
Does the President intend to permanently cut off funding to NGOs that are
bringing illegal foreign nationals to the country, such as
Catholic Charities?
MS. LEAVITT: I am actually quite certain that the
President signed an executive
order that did just that, and I can point you to that.
QUESTION: One more, Karoline.
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah.
QUESTION: President Trump issued an executive order on increased vetting for refugees in
visa applications.
MS. LEAVITT: That’s right.
QUESTION: Part of that order was considering an outright ban for countries that have
deficient screening processes. Has the President considered yet which countries
might fall into this category? Are countries like Afghanistan or Syria under
consideration for a full ban?
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah. So, the President signed an executive order to streamline the
vetting for visa applicants and for illegal immigrants in this country who are
coming, of course, from other nations.
It also directed the Secretary of State to review the process and make sure that
other countries around the world are being completely transparent with our
nation and the individuals that they are sending here. And so, the Secretary of
State has been directed to report back to the President. I haven’t seen that
report yet. We’ve only been here for a few days.
[Cross-talk.]
QUESTION: Karoline, two questions for you. One, on the freeze in federal funding. Who
advised the President on the legality of telling government agencies that they
don’t have to spend money that was already appropriated by Congress?
MS. LEAVITT: Well, as the OMB memo states, this is certainly within the confines
of the law.
So, White House Counsel’s Office believes that this is within the pe- --
President’s power to do it, and therefore, he’s doing it.
QUESTION: Okay. So, they disagree with lawmakers who say that they don’t have the power
to -- to freeze this funding?
MS. LEAVITT: Again, I would point you to the language in the memo that clearly
states this is within the law.
QUESTION: And on what happened on Friday night. The --
The Administration
fired several
inspectors general without giving Congress the 30-day legally required
notification that they were being fired. I think only two were left at DO- --
DHS and the DOJ. And then, yesterday, we saw several prosecutors -- I believe 12
-- fired from the Justice Department who worked on the investigations into the
President. As you know, they are career prosecutors; therefore, they are
afforded civil service protections. How is the Administration deciding which
laws to follow and which ones to ignore?
MS. LEAVITT: So, it is the belief of this White House and the White House
Counsel’s Office that the President was within his exe- -- executive authority
to do that. He is the [chief] executive of the executive branch, and, therefore, he has
the power to fire anyone within the executive branch that he wishes to.
There’s also a
case that went before the Supreme Court in 2020: Scaila [Seila]
Law LLC, v. the Customs -- the [Consumer Financial Protection] Bureau
Protection. I would advise you to look at that case, and that’s the legality
that this White House has rested on.
QUESTION: So, you’re confident that if they bring lawsuits against you -- those
prosecutors who were fired -- that -- that they will succeed?
MS. LEAVITT: We will win in court, yes.
QUESTION: And did he personally direct this, given they worked on the classified
documents investigation and the election interference investigation?
MS. LEAVITT: This was a memo that went out by the Presidential Personnel Office,
and the President is the leader of this White House. So, yes.
QUESTION: So, it did come from him?
MS. LEAVITT: Yes, it came from this White House.
[Cross-talk.]
QUESTION: Karoline.
MS. LEAVITT: Sir.
QUESTION: Thank you. Congrats on your first day behind the podium.
MS. LEAVITT: Thank you.
QUESTION: President Trump ended funding for
UNRWA
[United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] and also designated the Houthis a
foreign terrorist organization.4
MS. LEAVITT: That’s right.
QUESTION: Both were decisions that the previous
Administration had reversed. So, here’s
my question: Will there be an investigation into who gave the previous
Administration this terrible advice?
MS. LEAVITT: Well, that’s a very good point. I haven’t heard discussions about
such an ins- -- investigation, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea, considering that
the Houthis cer- -- certainly are terrorists. They have launched attacks on U.S.
naval ships across this world, and so I think it was a very wise move by this
Administration to redesignate them as a terrorist group, because they are. And I
think it was a foolish decision by the previous Administration to do so.
As for an investigation, I’m not sure about that, but it’s not a bad idea.
[Cross-talk.]
Josh.
QUESTION: Thank you for the question. I appreciate it. Can you give us an update on the
President’s plan for his tariff agenda? He spoke a lot about this yesterday, and
there’s a couple of dates coming up that --
MS. LEAVITT: Sure.
QUESTION: -- he’s spoken to. Number one, February 1st. He’s alluded to both the
potential for tariffs for Canada and Mexico but also China to take effect on
those days. Where is -- What’s he thinking about that?
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah.
QUESTION: Should those countries expect that on the 1st?
MS. LEAVITT: Again, he was asked and answered this question this past weekend
when he took a lot of questions from the press, and he said that the February
1st date for Canada and Mexico still holds.
QUESTION: And what about the
China 10 percent tariff that he also had mused about last
Tuesday going into effect on the same date?
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah, the President has said that he is very much still considering
that for February 1st.
QUESTION: And then, separately, yesterday, he
talked also about sectoral tariffs on, for
instance, pharmaceuticals, as well as semiconductor computer chips. He talked
about steel, aluminum, and copper. What’s the timeline on those? Is that a
similar sort of “coming days” thing or --
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah, so when the President talked about that in his speech
yesterday, that actually wasn’t a new announcement. That was within a
Presidential memorandum that he signed in one of the first days here in the
White House on his America First trade agenda. So, there’s more details on those
tariffs in there.
As far as a date, I don’t have a specific date to read out to you, but the
President is committed to implementing tariffs effectively, just like he did in
his first term.
QUESTION: And then -- and then, finally, he also was asked on the plane when he gaggled
about the potential for a universal tariff. He was asked maybe about two and a
half percent.
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah.
QUESTION: There was a report about that. He said he wanted “much bigger than that.”
Should we understand that these tariffs would add up? You know, in other words,
you might have country-specific tariffs like Canada, Mexico, China. You might
have sectoral tariffs, like on pharmaceuticals, as well as a potential universal
tariff on top of that. Do these stack on one or the other, or would one sort of
take precedence over another?
MS. LEAVITT: All I can point you to is what the
President has said on this
front: the February 1st date for Canada and Mexico and also the China tariff
that he has discussed.
He rejected the 2.5 percent tariff. He said that was a little bit too low. He
wants it to be higher.
I’ll leave it to him to make any decisions on that front.
QUESTION: Do you have any comment on what the --
[Cross-talk.]
QUESTION: -- what the Mexicans and Canadians --
MS. LEAVITT: Phil.
QUESTION: -- have done so far? Do you have any comment on whether that has met the bar
of what he wants to see on fentanyl? Thank you.
MS. LEAVITT: I -- I won’t get ahead of the
President, again, on advocating to
foreign nations on what they should or shouldn’t do to get away from these
tariffs. The President has made it very clear, again, that he expects every
nation around this world to cooperate with the repatriation of their citizens.
And the President has also put out specific statements in terms of Canada and
Mexico when it comes to what he expects in terms of border security.
We have seen a historic level of cooperation from Mexico. But, again, as far as
I’m still tracking -- and that was last night talking to the President directly
-- February 1st is still on the books.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MS. LEAVITT: Phil.
QUESTION: Thank you, Karoline. Quick programming note, and then a question on taxes.
MS. LEAVITT: A programming note.
QUESTION: Well, in terms of programming, should --
MS. LEAVITT: That sounds fun.
QUESTION: -- we expect to see you here every day? How frequently will these --
QUESTION: That’s a good question.
QUESTION: -- press briefings be?
MS. LEAVITT: It is a good question, April.
So, look, the President, as you know, is incredibly accessible.
First day here,
he wanted all of you in the Oval Office. You got a 60-minute press conference
with the leader of the free world -- while he was simultaneously signing
executive orders, I may add. That’s pretty impressive. I don’t think the
previous office holder would be able to pull such a thing off.
So, look, the President is the best spokesperson that this White House has, and
I can assure you that you will be hearing from both him and me as much as
possible.
QUESTION: And then a question about tax cuts. You know, the
President has promised to
extend the tax cuts from the previous term. I’m curious, you know, does the
President support corresponding spending cuts, as some Republicans have called
for in Congress? And will the new Treasury Secretary be leading those
negotiations with the Hill, as Mnuchin did during the first Administration?
MS. LEAVITT: The President is committed to both tax cuts and spending cuts.
And he has a great team negotiating on his behalf, but there’s no better
negotiator than Donald Trump, and I’m sure he’ll be involved in this
reconciliation process as it moves forward.
[Cross-talk.]
QUESTION: Karoline, in the announcement that you made last night on the Iron Dome, it
said the President had directed that the United States will build this Iron
Dome.
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah.
QUESTION: When you read into
the executive order, it seemed short of that. It asked for
a series of studies --
MS. LEAVITT: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- and reports back on -- can you tell us whether the
President has directed
this and, if he is this concerned on this issue, why the suspensions that we saw
listed by OMB included so many different nuclear programs, nonproliferation
programs, programs to blend down nuclear weapons, and s- -- and so forth?
MS. LEAVITT: First of all, when it comes to the Iron Dome, the executive order
directed the implementation of the -- of an Iron Dome. It also, as you said,
kind of directed research and studies to see if -- or -- or how the United
States can go about doing this, particularly the Department of Defense.
When it comes to the other question that you asked about those specific
programs, again, I would say, this is not a -- a ban; this is a temporary pause
and a freeze to ensure that all of the money going out from Washington, D.C., is
in align with the President’s agenda.
And as the Office of Management and Budget has updates on what will be
kick-started, once again, I will provide those to you.
QUESTION: Can you clarify for a sec what you were saying before on Medicaid? It wasn’t
clear to me whether you were saying that no Medicaid would be cut off.
Obviously, a lot of this goes to states before it goes to individuals and so
forth. So, are you guaranteeing here that no individual now on Medicaid would
see a cutoff because of the pause?
MS. LEAVITT: I’ll check back on that and get back to you.
Jon.
QUESTION: Thanks a lot, Karoline. As you know, in the first week that the
President was
in office, signed an
executive order as it relates to birthright citizenship --
trying to eliminate that. Now, 22 state attorney generals have said that this is
unconstitutional. A federal judge
has just agreed with their argument. What’s
the Administration’s argument for doing away with birthright citizenship?
MS. LEAVITT: The folks that you mentioned have a right to have that legal
opinion, but it is in disagreement with the legal opinion of this
Administration.
This Administration believes that birthright citizenship is unconstitutional,
and that is why President Trump signed that executive order. Illegal immigrants
who come to this country and have a child are not subject to the laws of this
jurisdiction. That’s the opinion of this Administration.
We have already appealed the rul- -- the lawsuit that was filed against this
Administration, and we are prepared to fight this all the way to the Supreme
Court if we have to, because President Trump believes that this is a necessary
step to secure our nation’s borders and protect our homeland.
Monica.
QUESTION: And then on foreign policy -- on foreign policy, Karoline --
QUESTION: Thank you, Karoline. It’s great to see you, and you’re doing a great --
QUESTION: -- on foreign policy, if I may. The
President’s commitment to the NATO defense
Alliance, is it as strong as the prior Administration? Is it the same as when he
served as President in his first term in office?
MS. LEAVITT: As long as NATO pays their fair share.
And President Trump has called on NATO Allies to increase their defense spending
to 5 percent.
You actually saw the head of NATO at Davos last week
on Bloomberg
Television saying that President Trump is right and if Europe wants to keep
itself safe, they should increase their defense spending.
I would just add that there was no greater ally to our European allies than
President Trump in his first term. The world, for all nations in Europe, and, of
course, here at home was much safer because of Presidents Tru- -- Trump’s peace
through strength diplomatic approach.
Monica.
QUESTION: Karoline --
QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you, Karoline. And it’s great to finally be called on as well
in the briefing room. I appreciate that.
MS. LEAVITT: You’re welcome.
QUESTION: Of course, we know President Trump just got back from North Carolina and
California meeting with victims of natural disasters. There’s the two-year
anniversary of the East Palestine, Ohio,
toxic train derailment. Does the
President have any plans to go visit the victims of that toxic spill or just
visit in general?
MS. LEAVITT: Not -- no plans that I can read out for you here. If that changes,
I will certainly keep you posted.
What I can tell you is that President Trump still talks about his visit to East
Palestine, Ohio. That was one of the turning points, I would say, in the
previous election campaign, where Americans were reminded that President Trump
is a man of the people. And he, as a candidate, visited that town that was just
derailed by the train derailment -- no pun intended -- and he offered support
and hope, just like I saw the President do this past week.
It was a purposeful decision by this President, on his first domestic trip, to
go to North Carolina and to California to visit with Americans who were impacted
by Hurricane Helene and also by the deadly fires -- a red state and a blue
state, both of which feel forgotten by the previous Administration and the
federal government. That has now -- that has now ended under President Trump.
He will continue to put Americans first, whether they’re in East Palestine, in
Pacific Palisades, or in North Carolina.
[Cross-talk.]
Sure.
QUESTION: Thank you, Karoline. On California, could you please clarify what the military
did with the water last night, as referenced in the President’s Truth Social
post?
MS. LEAVITT: The water has been turned back on in California, and this comes
just days after President Trump visited Pacific Palisades and, as you all saw,
applied tremendous pressure on state and local officials in Pacific Palisades,
including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, to turn on the water and to direct that
water to places in the south and in the middle of the state that have been
incredibly dry, which has led to the expansion -- the rapid expansion of these
fires.
QUESTION: So, could you clarify what the military’s role was, where the water came from,
and how it got there?
MS. LEAVITT: Again, the Army Corps of Engineers has been on the ground in
California to respond to the devastation from these wildfires. And I would point
out that just days after President Trump visited the devastation from these
fires, the water was turned on. That is because of the pressure campaign he put
on state and local officials there, who clearly lack all common sense.
And I will never forget being at that round table with the President last week
and hearing the frustration in the voices of Pacific Palisades residents who
feel as though their government has just gone insane. Before President Trump
showed up on the scene, Karen Bass was telling private property owners that they
would have to wait 18 months to access their private property.
So, this Administration, the President and his team that’s on the ground in
California --
Ric Grenell, who he has designated to oversee this great crisis --
ha- -- will continue to put pressure on Karen Bass and state and local officials
to allow residents to access their properties.
This is a huge part of it. These residents want to take part in their own
clearing out of their properties. They should be able to do that. It’s the
United States of America. What happened to our freedom? Clearly, it’s gone in
California, but not anymore under President Trump.
QUESTION: Karoline --
MS. LEAVITT: April.
QUESTION: Karoline, welcome to the briefing room.
MS. LEAVITT: Thank you.
QUESTION: Several questions. One on the pause. Will minority-serving institutions,
preferably colleges and universities, have those monies held back temporarily at
this moment?
MS. LEAVITT: Again, I have not seen the entire list, because this memo was just
sent out. So, I will provide you all with updates as we receive them. Okay?
QUESTION: Karoline --
QUESTION: And secondly -- als- --
QUESTION: Karoline.
QUESTION: Also, secondly, when it comes to immigration, there is this southern border
focus. What happens to those who have overstayed their visas? That is part of
the broken immigration system. In 2023, there was a
report by the Biden
Administration, the Homeland Security Department, that said overstays of visas
were three times more than usual. Will there be a focus on the overstays for
visas as well?
MS. LEAVITT: If an individual is overstaying their visa, they are therefore an
illegal immigrant residing in this country, and they are subject to deportation.
QUESTION: And also, lastly --
MS. LEAVITT: Yes.
QUESTION: Lastly, as we’re dealing with anti-DEI, anti-woke efforts, we understand this
Administration could -- is thinking about celebrating
Black History Month. Have
you got any word on that? Anything that you can offer to us?
MS. LEAVITT: As far as I know, this White House certainly still intends to
celebrate, and we will continue to celebrate American history and the
contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religion, or creed, have
made to our great country. And America is back.
Christian Datoc.
QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline. Just real quick. You mentioned the inflation executive order
the President signed, but egg prices have skyrocketed since President Trump took
office. So, what specifically is he doing to lower those costs for Americans?
MS. LEAVITT: Really glad you brought this up, because there is a lot of
reporting out there that is putting the onus on this White House for the
increased cost of eggs. I would like to point out to each and every one of you
that, in 2024, when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office -- or upstairs in the
residence sleeping; I’m not so sure -- egg prices increased 65 percent in this
country. We also have seen the cost of everything, not just eggs -- bacon,
groceries, gasoline -- have increased because of the inflationary policies of
the last Administration.
As far as the egg shortage, what’s also contributing to that is that the Biden
Administration and the Department of Agriculture directed the
mass killing of
more than 100 million chickens, which has led to a lack of chicken supply in
this country, therefore a lack of egg supply, which is leading to the shortage.
So, I will leave you with this point. This is an example of why it’s so
incredibly important that the Senate moves swiftly to confirm all of President
Trump’s nominees, including his nominee for the United States Department of
Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who is already speaking with Kevin Hassett, who is
leading the economic team here at the White House, on how we can address the egg
shortage in this country.
As for cots, I laid out -- costs -- I laid out the plethora of ways that
President Trump has addressed saving costs for the American people over the past
week. He looks forward to continuing to doing that --
2 And also:
Temporary stay against and later
official government
rescinding of the original...memo.
On the latter, an amusing comment
from Redditor HarwellDekatron states: "The argument is that they've
rescinded 'the memo', but that the order in the memo still applies. So
anyone who wrote an appeal pointing to the memo now has to rewrite it
and waste time. Absolute clown [redacted]." [Source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1id2d9t/white_house_says_that_only_the_original_memo/].
For its part, the Trump Administration argued that confusion
notwithstanding, the memo served its intended executive purpose of
marking the severity with which the Administration's EOs should be
taken.
3
Illegal immigration can be either a
(federal) civil offense or a (federal) criminal
felony. According to the American Immigration Council: "Physical
presence in the United States without proper authorization is a civil
violation, rather than a criminal offense. This means that the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can place a person in removal
(deportation) proceedings and can require payment of a fine, but the
federal government cannot charge the person with a criminal offense
unless they have previously been ordered deported and reentered in
violation of that deportation order. Likewise, a person who enters the
United States on a valid visa and stays longer than permitted may be put
in removal proceedings but cannot face federal criminal charges based
solely on this civil infraction. Those who enter or reenter the United
States without permission, however, can face criminal charges."
[https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigration-prosecutions]
