Return to Transcripts main page
CNN News Central
White House Holds First Press Briefing Of Trump's Second Term. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired January 28, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- illegal immigrants from this country.
But the president has said that, of course, the illegal drug -- 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.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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?
LEAVITT: What particular actions are you referring to that would --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm referring to 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 L-HEAP --, that LIHEAP is not one of those affected?
LEAVITT: So you're asking a hypothetical based on a program that you can't even identify?
(CROSSTALK) LEAVITT: What I can you --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Well, just -- just to be clear, since you guys haven't identified, let's do it together just for Americans at home. Medicaid, is that affected?
LEAVITT: I gave you a list of examples:. Social Security, Medicare, welfare benefits --
(CROSSTALK)
LEAVITT: -- Medicaid, 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 have 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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you, Karoline.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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 wallets.
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 with Q&A to -- to clarify some of the questions and the answers that all of you 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 --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- direct assistance is going to another Organization and then trickling down?
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.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And one question --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- on immigration. 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?
LEAVITT: All of them, because they illegally broke our nations 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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- they all have a criminal record?
LEAVITT: If they broke our nation's laws, yes, they are criminals. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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's near them when they're out in public.
Is the president open to reconsidering his decision?
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.
[13:35:00]
And he's made it very clear that he does not believe American taxpayers should fund security details for individuals who have served in 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.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there any concern that this decision might jeopardize the administration's ability to hire the best advisors for these kinds of positions in the future?
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?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would you take any responsibility if anything happened to these people? Would he feel at all that his decision was a factor in that?
LEAVITT: The president was asked and answered this yesterday. I'd refer you to his comments.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you.
LEAVITT: Reagan, since you're in the back row, I hear you. The back row hasn't gotten much attention in the last four years, so I'm happy to answer your question.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). Does the president intend to permanently cut off funding to NGOs that are bringing illegal foreign nationals to the country, such as Catholic Charities?
LEAVITT: I am actually quite certain that the president signed an executive order that did just that. And I can point you to that.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: One more, Karoline. President Trump issued an executive order on increased vetting for refugees and visa applications.
LEAVITT: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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?
LEAVITT: Yes, 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 in 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.
(CROSSTALK)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Karoline, 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?
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 president's power to do it, and therefore he's doing it.
COLLINS: OK, so they disagree with lawmakers who say that they don't have the power to -- to freeze this funding?
LEAVITT: Again, I would point you to the language in the memo that clearly states this is within the law.
COLLINS: And all of what happened on Friday night, the administration fired several inspectors general without giving Congress the 30-day legally required notification that they we're being fired. I think only two were left at DOJ, 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?
LEAVITT: So it is the belief of this White House and the White House Counsel's Office that the president was within his executive authority to do that. He is the 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, Scala Law LLC versus the customs -- the bureau protection. I would advise you to look at that case. And that's the legality that this White House was resting on.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: So you're confident that if they bring lawsuits against you, those prosecutors who were fired, that that they will not succeed?
LEAVITT: We will win in court.
COLLINS: And did he personally direct this, given they worked on the classified documents investigation and the election interference investigation?
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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Karoline --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Karoline --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you. Congrats on your first day behind the podium.
LEAVITT: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: President Trump ended funding for UNRWA and also designated the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization.
LEAVITT: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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?
LEAVITT: Well, that's a very good point. I haven't heard discussions about such an investigation, but it wouldn't be a bad idea considering that the Houthis 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. (CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you for the question, I appreciate it.
Can you give us an update on the president's plans for his tariff agenda? He spoke a lot about this yesterday. And there's a couple of dates coming up that 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. Whereas, what's he thinking about that?
LEAVITT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Should those countries expect that on the 1st?
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.
[13:40:06]
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What about the China 10 percent tariff that he also had mused about last Tuesday, going into effect on the same day?
LEAVITT: Yes. The president has said that he is very much still considering that for February 1st.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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?
LEAVITT: Yes, 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.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Finally, he also was asked on the plane when he giggled about the potential for a universal tariff. He was asked maybe about 2.5 percent. There was a report about that.
LEAVITT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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.
He 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?
LEAVITT: All I can point you to is what the president has said on this front. The February 1st date for Canada and Mexico. 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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- what the Mexicans and Canadians 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.
LEAVITT: 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.
Phil?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you. Karoline.
A quick programing note and then a question on taxes.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Well, in terms of programing, should we expect to see you here every day? How frequently will these press briefings be?
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. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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, 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?
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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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.
LEAVITT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When you read into the executive order, it seemed short of that. It asked for a series of studies.
LEAVITT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And reports back to him. Can you tell us whether the president has directed this? And if he is as 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 so forth?
LEAVITT: Well, 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 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 ban. This is a temporary pause and a freeze to ensure that all of the money going out from Washington, D.C., is in line with the president's agenda.
And as the Office of Management and Budget has updates on what will be kickstarted once again, I will provide those to you.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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 cut off because of the pause? [13:45:02]
LEAVITT: I'll check back on that and get back to you.
John?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thanks a lot, Karoline.
As you know, in the first week that the president was in office, he signed an executive order as it relates to birthright citizenship, trying to eliminate that.
About 22 state attorney generals have said that this is unconstitutional. A federal judge has just agreed with their argument. What's the administrations argument for doing away with birthright citizenship?
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 rule -- 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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Karoline --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- foreign policy. Karoline, 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?
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 President Trump's Peace Through Strength diplomatic approach.
Monica?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you, Karoline. And it's great to finally be called on as well in the briefing room. I appreciate that.
LEAVITT: You're welcome.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Of course, we know President Trump just got back from North Carolina and California, meeting with victims of natural disasters.
There is 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?
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 we're 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 is now -- that is 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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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?
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.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So could you clarify what the military's role was, where the water came from and how it got there?
LEAVITT: Yes. 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 roundtable 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, has and 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.
[13:50:05]
It's the United States of America. What happened to our freedom? Clearly, it's gone in California, but not anymore under President Trump.
(CROSSTALK)
LEAVITT: April?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Karoline, welcome to the briefing room.
LEAVITT: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Several questions. One on the pause. Will minority serving institutions, preferably colleges and universities, have those monies held back temporarily at this moment?
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. OK?
(CROSSTALK)
LEAVITT: Awesome, awesome. Secondly, when it comes to immigration, there is this southern border
focus. What happens to those who've 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 visas we're three times more than usual.
Will there be a focus on the overstays for visas as well?
LEAVITT: If an individual is overstaying their visa, they are therefore an illegal immigrant residing in this country and they are subject to deportation. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And also, lastly -- 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?
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 --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 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?
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, 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's leading the economic team here at the White House, on how we can address the egg shortage in this country.
As for costs, 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 doing that in the days ahead.
(CROSSTALK)
LEAVITT: Thank you, guys.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: One more border question.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- Medicaid portals down in all 50 states?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, that is the first White House press briefing of the new Trump administration. Karoline Leavitt there.
And we do want to bring in -- we have our Daniel Dale, Brian Stelter and Jeff Zeleny with us.
But I do want to go to you first, Daniel Dale, to talk about a very big issue that is going to affect a lot of Americans. And that is the recent pause by the White House on these federal grants and loans.
Look, Karoline Leavitt tried to say repeatedly that she had answered this question, that direct assistance like Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, if you're getting that direct assistance or that direct check from the government, it's not going to be affected.
But there's a lot of groups that you would expect, the nonprofits, that you would expect will asked about, Meals on Wheels, Head Start. She wouldn't answer that question.
And there's also so much other federal funding that goes to nonprofits, that goes to local and state entities. So not directly to individuals, but to entities that provide that essential aid than to individuals that's held up.
What did you think about what you heard?
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, I think, it's a -- it's a classic spinmeister tactic saying I answered that when you haven't answered it and apparently can't answer it right away.
There's considerable uncertainty around the country among nonprofits of various kinds, organizations of various kinds, and the people who get help from those organizations. So they may not get direct individual payments straight from the
federal government but their lives, their -- their situations, that they're living situations, in some cases, their food and transportation situations are very much dependent on the aid that comes through an intermediary organization.
And we still do not have clarity on what is happening with the funding that usually goes to those entities.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Let's go to the briefing room now with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who was asking questions of Leavitt, specifically about the legality of Trump freezing money that was appropriated to be spent by Congress.
[13:55:05]
Kaitlan, what did you make of her response?
COLLINS: Yes, that was a big question, obviously, that came from a lot of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, particularly Democrats, who have been outraged about this freeze in funding today.
You saw Karoline Leavitt come out here in her first briefing, clearly understanding the confusion that this order has caused and the questions that it has raised.
I should note, not just among Democrats on Capitol Hill, but regular people all across the country wondering, does this affect their veterans organization? Does it affect homeless shelters? Does it affect Medicaid? That's still been a big question that was unanswered at this briefing.
And she came out and said that this is temporary, as we know, but it's not clear how long this could go on for. We know, in the memo, it's calling for a review that would go until February 7th at least. So presumably until then, though, we are still awaiting and seeking clarity on that front.
But also just looking at what this would affect and how whether or not this is legal to do. Because all of this money that they are saying that they want to review, to make sure it fits with their priorities, it's already been appropriated by Congress.
It's already there for these agencies to spend and to disperse out to -- to these programs and to these grants that it is set to go to. And so that is the question.
She said it was the White House Counsel's Office who advised the president on the legality of this, and that was present in that memo that she was referencing there.
That's going to be a big question, though, for Democrats on Capitol Hill who have been arguing we appropriated this money, it's already set to go out. You can't tell these agencies that they can't get it.
But then she did reinforce there that this is not a permanent ban on this funding. It is temporary. But again, that is still raising real questions from a lot of places around the country that are seeking clarity on this.
Most notably, we did not get an answer on whether or not Medicaid payments will be affected by this, whether they will be paused or what that will look like. We've already seen some complaints about the spending.
There were several other things that she hit there as she was asked questions about a lot of the executive actions that Trump has taken in the last week, but most notably when it comes to following the law.
I also had questions about the firing of all of those inspectors general on Friday night from many government agencies. Obviously, they are supposed to be there as nonpartisan. They're the watchdogs for that agency that people can come to, to -- to report wrongdoing or malfeasance.
This is something that has been in place since Jimmy Carter was here in the White House. And typically, when a president takes office, they are left in place because they're supposed to be insulated from politics.
Despite Trump saying that it was the norm for him to fire them, he only kept two in place.
And also the question of those career prosecutors who were fired from the Justice Department abruptly yesterday, who are afforded civil service protections. And we'll see if they respond to -- to their abrupt firings.
The question really, of course, is which laws does this administration follow and which ones do they feel that they don't have to follow?
She said that she's confident, if those former prosecutors who investigated Trump and the election interference case and the classified documents case, do bring lawsuits against the Justice Department and against this administration, that they will ultimately succeed.
One point of note there, though, Boris, was she said it was President Trump who personally directed the firing of them, that he instructed the personnel office here at the White House, which is led by a longtime aide of his, Sergio Gor, to do so.
That's notable because we heard from a Justice Department official yesterday who said that it was the acting attorney general who had made this call. Karoline Leavitt just told me it was actually President Trump.
KEILAR: Yes, that's a -- that's a big difference, Kaitlan.
And as you we're pressing on different issues of who is advising the president on the legality, did you get -- and I suppose it's not often that they pull back the curtain on what the White House Counsel is saying. But certainly if this did proceed to court, there would have to be
some reveal of what that is. Did you get a sense at all of what the rationale is for why these things are legal in their eyes, whether it's firing of the I.G.s or whether it is changing how they're allocating money that's already been approved by Congress?
COLLINS: Well, that's a real question. And just for those who don't know, the White House Counsel isn't always a household name position. It certainly was in Trump's first term because it was the White House Counsel, Don McGahn, who stepped in to stop Trump from firing Robert Mueller, for example.
And there were multiple other cases where they we're involved and they we're in the room. Later on, it was Pat Cipollone, who was there when Trump, of course, was just disputing the outcome of the 2020 election.
This time, it's Dave Warrington, a longtime aide to Trump. He's been his campaign attorney for years and someone who has certainly served very closely with him.
Initially, it was someone else, but -- but then he was replaced during the transition. That's obviously going to be a key role, because if this does go to court, what that aide -- or what that advice looks like is going to be something that the administration will be defending against.
[13:59:50]
Now, I'll note they feel confident that when it comes to firing the inspectors general, they don't have to notify Congress within 30 days. We've certainly heard from lawmakers on Capitol Hill who feel differently, and that that is something that's required.
But the real question is going to be with those career prosecutors and how they choose to -- to respond to this. Because there's kind of been a thinking that maybe they would just put them away in a different --
