>> jon: fox news alert, as promised, sean spicer's daily press briefing, let's listen in. >> press secretary spicer: allow him to take a few questions then resume their briefing and all of the fun that goes with it. without any further ado, director mick mulvaney. >> thank you so much good i want to talk a few minutes about the budget blueprint that the president started to speak about this money with the governors, want to talk a little bit about what it is and what it is not and then talk about where we are in the budget process and what it looks like from here. first of all, what this is not for this is not a full-blown budget. that will not come until may, so you're not going to see anything in here that has to do with mandatory spending, entitlement reforms, tax policies, revenue projections or the infrastructure plan. this blueprint was never going to be that as i made clear during my senate confirmation, it is a topline number only. as for what it is, these are the president's policies as reflected in topline discretionary spending. so that is a true america first budget that will show the president is keeping his promises and doing exactly what

he said he was going to do when he ran for office. prioritizing rebutting the military including restoring our nuclear capabilities, protecting the nation and securing the border, enforcing the laws currently on the books, taking care of veterans and increasing school choice. all of that without adding to the currently projected fy 2018 deficit. the topline defense discretionary number is $603 billion, that is a 50 for billion dollar increase, one of the largest increases in history. it is also a number that allows the president to keep his president to undo the military sequester, topline nondefense number will be $452 billion, as a $54 billion savings, the largest proposed reduction since the early years of the reagan administration. the reductions in nondefense spending follow the same model as the president keeping his promises and doing exactly what he said he was going to do. it reduces money we give to other nations, reduces deposit's programs and programs that some we do not work.

the bottom line is this, the president is going to protect the country and do so exactly the same with every american family has had to do over the last few years which is prioritize spending. the schedule from here, these numbers will go out to the agencies today in a process we describe as pass back, reports back will be due in the next few days and we will spend the next week or so it working on final budget blueprint and we expect to have that number to congress by march 16th. that puts us on schedule for a full budget including all of the things i mention which does not include with all the larger policy issues in the first part of may. with that, i will take a couple questions. >> reporter: in order to get to your topline on the rest of the discretionary budget, if you are not going to touch veterans benefits, you need to slice about 12% off the rest of government. can you do that without affecting the services the government provides? >> that is part of what the process is this week.

the numbers go out, in the numbers -- each agency gets a topline number along with recommendations about how we think we can hit that number then they can come back to us to say that it's a good way to reach that number, then they could come back with other suggestions for that is what the process is. it is fairly unusual for us to be coming to you this early in the process, but we wanted to let everybody know exactly where we were. >> reporter: not talking about 2-3%, double digits is a lot. >> it's going to be a lot of work -- again, the president is going to do what he said, less foreign aid overseas in more here, that will be reflected. >> reporter: thank you very much peered one quick follow-up, that accounts for less than 1% of overall spending, and i just spoke with an analyst that that would not really take care of that budget increase, so how do you square that court delete my? also why not deal with entitlements, which especially republicans say they need to be

cut? >> foreign aid, that is the same answer i just gave. yes, fairly small part of the discretionary budget but still consistent with what the president said. when eusebius reductions come you can stay tying it back to words that he said, we're taking his words and turning them into policies and dollars, so we will be spending less overseas and spending more back home. i forgot your second question. >> reporter: on entitlements, why not address them? >> this is a budget blueprint what some folks used to call a skinny budget, it would not be at all unusual for a larger policy decisions including tax reform, revenue projections not to be included in this budget. >> reporter: so down the line, could we see some type? >> a full budget would contain the entire spectrum of the president's proposed policy changes. >> reporter: on rebuilding the military, can you talk more about the breakdown of fat, tell us a little more? >> no, i can't, where we are in

this process is the number is going to the dod today, and over the course of the next ten days to two weeks, we will come up with those types of details. i have time for more one. reporter mike you are going to increase the military budget, but asking the people in the defense department to say where can we cut or look to make sure we are spending the amount of money, is that part of the process? >> absolutely calm that is what second mattis and i have always thought, he wants to drive more efficiency into the department of defense, and all of that will be incorporated in our larger budget in may. >> reporter: so not just a blanket throwing money and you do what you do. >> reporter: does this account for the presidents spending in the wall, or the $54 billion money, does that include the wall? >> more likely a little bit of both. we do expect to include some money in a future supplemental

for 2017 for the wall and the 2018 budget will also contain longer-term dollars for that. thank you all very much. >> press secretary spicer: thank you, director. let me get back to -- we will get to that in a second. this morning, the president dropped by the national governors association meeting with 49 cover my governors from both states and territories, cabinet members and senior staff to talk about how to work together to restart the economyp the country. heat released a statement on his forthcoming budget proposal which he will submit march 16th as you heard the director mention p the president's budget will first and foremost keep america safe which means investing in both of our nations physical and financial security. we will rebuild the nation's military and increase the defense spending including increased funding for veterans and that will be matched by equal deductions and non-defense programs. the savings will look at outdated and duplicitous programs. there reductions in spending

will be rational but also tough. with our nations debt spiraling out of control, we said we must take a look at the way we are spending taxpayer dollars. families across the country are being forced to make difficult choices because for too long the federal government has not treated their money with the respect they deserve. the national debt exploded under the last initiation from $10.6 billion on january 20th, 2009, $219.9 trillion the day before -- sorry, those are both trillion. the day before president trump's inaugural. every child born in america this year will inherit an average of over $60,000 in debt. that, frankly, is too much. our budget will restore, and respect the taxpayers dollar about finding all the necessary programs to keep our country safe and prospering. this meeting with the governors was a continuation of a weekend of engagement and discussion between the governors in the administration. the president and first lady welcomes the governors last night to the white house to the annual governors ball come in

yesterday the vice president had a very productive meeting with several governors. the initiation is proud to be working with the governors on rebuilding our nations infrastructure, reforming our healthcare system and putting americans back to work. i know that obamacare in particular was put into place without a lot of input from governors. we are committed to consulting and including them on this and so many other subjects as we solve the nation's biggest issues together. later this morning, the president had a listening session with some of our country's leading healthcare insurance companies come interestingly yesterday on abc this week i'm a minority leader pelosi actually laid out a great outline of how to judge obamacare's success based on what it was supposed to achieve. she said "had three goals, one to lower the cost, the other to expand benefits, and the third to improve and increase asset do not access" he let's go through her criteria. lowering costs, this year while four tears of obamacare insurance plans are facing double-digit increases in average premiums. just to take a look at one set of premiums, for standard plans

in the come 63% increase in tennessee, 69% increase in oklahoma, and a staggering 116% increase in arizona. on expanding benefits, in reality, the new laws and mandates have led to mass cancellations of coverage, soaring out-of-pocket costs and declining enrollment figures. millions are choosing to pay a tax over buying the government mandated insurance. increased access, with insurance fleeing the marketplace, americans are facing a dwindling number of insurance choices with 17% of americans left with only one insurer option available in their exchange. insurers will be indispensable partners in the transition period out of obamacare into the patient's first plan the president will be working with congress to put into place. the president's plan will encourage innovation, modernize our healthcare system and provide immediate relief and ensure access to truly affordable care. this afternoon, the president had lunch with vice president pence and ambassador nikki haley come afterward he met with speaker ryan and majority leader

mcconnell, and following that, he's going to meeting with secretary of state rex tillerso. the secretary is coming off a very successful trip to mexico where he was joined by secretary of homeland security kelly. i'm sure the president is looking forward to discussing that trip with the secretary. also this afternoon, the vice president will speak to in its ordinary group of 60 presence of historically black colleges and universities, there will be a full readout of the event and the vice president will release his remarks following the event. we can also expect a meeting with the president with them as well. this evening, the present will have dinner with regional press affiliates who are going to be in town for the joint session of congress. while it is tradition for republic do not representatives to meet with the president before his address, this is the first time to my knowledge that the opportunity has been expanded to include representation from 18 regional outlets around the country. the present will also have the traditional lunch with the network anchors tomorrow by younger so-called big five networks, we've also invited telemundo, univision, cbn, pbs,

c-span and tv one. tonight, the president looks forward to seeing his nominee for secretary of commerce, wilbur ross, confirmed by the senate. secretary designate has been an important champion for the u.s. struggling industries and private sectors and pending his confirmation this evening, he will now do the same post on behalf of the american people what he has done in the private sector. assuming everything goes according to the plan and the senate tonight, we expect at his swearing-in tomorrow at the white house. also tomorrow the president will deliver his first address to both houses of congress. in his speech, the president will lay out an optimistic view of the country crossing traditional lines of party, race and socioeconomic status. as i said before, it will be the renewal of the american spirit p he will invite americans of all background to come together in the service of a stronger and better future for our nation. in addition to laying out the concrete steps the president has already taken to make the american dream possible for all of our people, he will talk about the bold agenda he wants to work with congress.

this includes tax and regulatory reform toelief to hard-working americans and their businesses, making the workplace better for working parents, ensuring the families who have suffered under obamacare's skyrocketing rates see it replaced with a patient-centered route alternative, making sure every child in america has access to a good education, rebg our military in fulfilling our commitment to veterans who we obviously owe a great deal of gratitude. you can expect the speech grounded firmly and solving real problems for every american. how can we make sure every american who needs a better job get one comeback may have kids trapped in failing schools get to better ones come how we can keep gangs and drug violence out of our neighborhoods and communities? the president will address the americans who have been waiting for help from their leaders for too long and let them know that help is finally on the way. with respect to the speech, we'll be having a background briefing sometime this meeting here in the briefing room. we will have additional details later in the afternoon. as you might already know, the department of defense presented its plenum area plan to the white house today to defeat

isis. this plan had been delivered by second mattis and was currently briefing the principal on the options presented within today and seeking their input and feedback. finally, i want to note the president continues to be deeply disappointed and concerned by the reports that further vandalism at jewish cemeteries. they cowardly to construction and for duffy this weekend comes on top of similar accounts from missouri and threats made to jewish committee centers around the country. the president continues to condemn these and any other form of anti-semitic and hateful acts in the deepest terms. from our country's founding, we've been dedicated to protecting the freedom of our citizens rights to worship. no one in america should feel afraid to follow the religion of their choosing freely and openly. the president has dedicated preserving this originating put his back pillar of our nation. i do not want to get ahead on law enforcement but i was asked about the story in kansas, the shooting in kansas and while the story is evolving, early reports out of kansas are equally disturbing.

so with that, i would be glad to take your questions. >> reporter: there is a report this morning that you reached out directly to the cia director mike pompeo. did you directly contact him and ask them to knock down "the new york times" story on the russian connection? >> press secretary spicer: if i may, let me walk through the entire timeline. i think it is important. as i mentioned a week ago, the near times published a story about what they called contacts between members of the trump campaign and russian officials. the fbi deputy director was in a meeting here at the white house that morning. after the meeting concluded, he asked the chief of staff to stay back a second to tell him that the report in the near times was "b.s." for viewers at home, they can figure out what that means. i will leave it at that. at that time, the chief of staff said thank you for sharing that with me, can we let other people know that this story is not accurate? throughout the day, they went back and forth to see what they thought was appropriate, finally

came to the conclusion that they did not want to get in the process of knocking down every story that they had issues with. we then were informed that other people had come to the same conclusions, including at that time come at chairman devin nunes who said i'd been knocking these down, telling departments, we share the number with him of reporters that contacted us. when they contact us and we state that is not true to the best of our knowledge, they would say to point to someone else i can substantiate this. i think we did a good job of saying, sure, we will share with reporters other people who have come to the same conclusions. i would not go into the specifics. i will say i think we did our job very effectively by making sure that reporters who had questions about the accuracy and the claims made in "the new york times" that we were pointing them to subject matter experts who understood whether or not that story was accurate or not. i think just to continue to be very, very clear on this, it was

about the accuracy of the reporting in the claims that were made in there. plain and simple about whether or not a story that appeared in "the new york times" was accurate. individual after individual continued to say as far as they knew, they were not. most of you probably saw chairman nunez's comments this morning. he was very clear number one that he reached out to us to say i've been telling people, and then we shared that information with him. but he came to us to share that he equally had that issue brought up to him. he was briefed and felt, quote, no evidence that the story was accurate. so, the answer is, you know, we have continued to give reporters information and sources that went to the accuracy or lack there of, of a report that was in a newspaper. and i think, you know, i think chairman nunes said it's interesting how we literally were engaging with the press saying, if you have a question

about the sourcing on this, obviously when brought to our attention we said, it's not accurate as far as we know. but then most of you and your