leavitt. no doubt reporters have a lot of questions. they have access to the current president, which they have not in his years after being elected in 2016. so different from previous administrations under particularly joe biden. so this is different and they will have a chance. but of those questions get answered early part of the way because the current president talked preston fox to the press. it has been a week in office. a series of executive orders and actions. carrying out trump's campaign promises. and among those to the source of his is to reshape america into a golden age. to lift up the economy t up the idea that everybody can which the american dream. so that is where we said today. will see what questions they ask. we will be here for it on fox. "america reports" now. ♪ ♪

>> it is a big responsibility. i feel the weight the win that. i'm excited to speak on behalf of the person who has a real mandate from the american people to change their lives and to deliver on the premises. their transparency and their access to the leader of the free world will be increased and also to the press secretary as well. it is my job to, you know, the president's mention to the american people as effectively as possible. we look forward to bring you the truth and transparency back to the white house. >> that was when she joined us here in this program after getting the job back in december and now the youngest white house press secretary to ever grace the podium, karoline leavitt, will be taking questions in her first official briefing. and we will soon have a look at what that looks and sounds like. hello, and welcome everyone. i'm sandra smith and john cook great to be with you. >> john: wait to be with you. and this is america reports. take a look at the picture on the left and inside of your screen. when is the last time you saw the brady briefing room that crowded? it harkens back to the early days of the first from our administration when it was standing room only and people

were packed in like sardines. fire marshal -- might have something to say about that. but we're about to launch. plans to from -- to jump kicking up his second term. signing savvy five executive orders in his first week. trump's repertoire actions given reporters plenty of topics for today's briefing. >> sandra: you better believe it. john, the admission possum federal grants and loans starting today. jacqui heinrich has got a preview. she is life in that very busy jampacked white house press briefing room. jackie, set this up for us. >> reporter: it took a while to get to my seat because that rim is packed with people. i have never seen it like this in here the whole time i covered president biden. is the first briefing of this new trump administration and there's no shortage of things to ask about. they went there were 200 or so executive actions were taken.

the president has not signed another slate of five i believe orders in one action. and added more. two-minute warning. so new executive orders coming every day the news just developing for this event is yet to get underway is about the memo and pause all -- >> sandra: jackie, i don't know what it is. but we hear you and everybody else. and it is hard to make out exactly what you're saying. maybe that is just the nature of the packed room. but thank you for the preview and we just heard you say that there are inside the two-minute warning. aat least less you take take yor seat -- at least let you take your seat. we will hear jacqui heinrich after the briefing. now there's. >> what we're doing is we're targeting the worst. that is who we are getting. we're focusing on those targets in this demonstration, kind of taken some of the handcuffs off of us in a way. we are living that discussion with our officers and our officers are making good decisions out of there.

and we support them. >> john: that was an ice agent in chicago where the truck every station began its crackdown while ice tackles the issue in cities across the country. daily encounters at the southern border are falling dramatically under the new demonstration. take a look at these numbers, 11,000 daily encounters under biden in december down to just 5582. tape this month. lexis mcadams lives in new york city where the demonstration mpep weight today and hhs secretary kristi noem complete with blackjack witnessed it all. >> reporter: she ruled out what those. >> was at 3:00 in the morning new york city. this comes as these teams were trying to target the worst criminals fast looking for migrants they say committed violent crimes. >> we are getting the dirt bags off the. >> reporter: nome sharing photos of herself. hsa get a says she is doing is a clue what president rob promised

the american people he would do. this was a multiagency effort as the ice rays aim to remove violent criminals, which is not supposed to be in the country and the first place. like this one as well in migrant who was taken into custody out in the bronx this morning. identified by dhs as anderson's and prado petrenko. pacheco arrested on kidnapping, assault and burglary charges. social telling us he is part of this all american game tren de aragua he had a warrant out for his resignation to the bar will take over and andy barr -- at an apartment conference in aurora, colorado. you can see the migrants going up to these rooms and drawers with guns so that was just some of the people that were taken into custody. john. >> john: alexis mcadams, thank you so much. >> sandra: let's bring in that retired nypd lieutenant. this is what the voters wanted. is what we see in the polls. we are inside the two-minute warning to the briefing. you can only imagine all of the questions will be around some of these raids, chicago, new york,

and others. your thoughts? >> this is exactly what the american people wanted. the message to these big cities is get on board or get out of the way. this is what has to be done. it is triaging getting the worst of the worst out of this country. to of 1.32 million have to be removed and this is just the beginning of it. is going to get kenny pickett is going to become bigger numbers are going to be apprehended. they the local law enforcement corporation if they get in the way that there's ways to deal with it. >> sandra: ice just put these numbers up. as of today, the promise daily statistics. this is as of may 2. 169 arrests. eight. they have designated hitters large. you just mentioned the incredibly huge numbers that are currently here and how many currently targeting. is this enough. is just going at the pace you expected? >> i take the pace is going to put up immensely. once they start gathering everything at once law enforcement gets on board everybody will definitely see more change.

>> sandra: caroline yaffa -- karoline leavitt is out the podium. >> secretary leavitt: potential is back and the golden age of america has most definitely began. the senate has already confirmed five of present trump's exceptional cabinet nominees secretary of state marco rubio. defense secretary pete hegseth. cia director john radcliffe. homeland security secretary kristi noem. and share her signatry scott bessent. it is imperative that the senate continues to confirm the remainder of the's well-qualified nominees as quickly as possible. as you are seen during the past week, potential is hard at work fulfilling the promises that he made to the american people on the campaign trail. since taking the oath of office, pattern trump has taken more than 300 executive actions, secured nearly $1 trillion in u.s. investments, deported illegal alien rapists, and suspected terrorists and resorts

promises to the federal government. i want to take a moment to go to some of the extraordinary actions. on day one, president rob declared a national emergency at our southern border to end the four year long invasion of illegal aliens under the previous administration. additionally, potential signed an executive order to end catch and release and finish construction of his effective border wall. by using every lever of his federal. up at the truck has sent a loud and clear message to the entire world. america will no longer tolerate illegal immigration. and this person expects that every nation on this planet will cooperate with the repatriation of their citizens. as proven by this weekend, when plans to swiftly directed his team to issue harsh and effective sanctions and chairs on the colombian government, upon hearing they were denied the u.s. military aircraft full of their own citizens who were

deported by this administration. within hours, the climate government agreed to all of present trump's demands, proving america is once again respected on the world stage. sell 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. and -- every day, americans are safer because of the violent criminals that present trump's administration is removing from our communities. on january 23rd, ice new york arrested a turkish national for entry without inspection who was 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 st. paul has arrested a

citizen of honduras who was convicted of first-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 american. who has a conviction for second-degree murder. criminal was convicted for murder for beating his pecking wife to death in front of her five-year-old son. ice st. paul also arrested a citizen of mexico who was convicted of possessing photographic material of a minor on a work computer. these are the heinous individuals that this demonstration is removing from an american communities every single day into the brave state and local law enforcement officers, ice agents who are helping in the facilitation of his deportation operation, president-elect trump has your back and he is grateful for your hard work. on the economic front, pattern

trump. initially action to lower cost for families who are suffering from four long years of the biden administration's destructive and inflationary policies. pattern trump ordered the head of all executive departments and agencies to help deliver emergency price relief to the american people. untangle our economy biden's migratory constraints and in the reckless war on american energy. present 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 america -- eight merit pay society. but to also signed an executive order declaring it is now the policy of the federal government that there are only two saxes, male and female. sanity has been restored. before i take your questions, i

would, i would like to point out to all of the 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, parked in front has held multiple news conferences, cackled on air force one multiple times, and sat down for a two-part interview on fox news, which aired last week. as political sum it up best, trump is everywhere again. and that is because plans to 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 to the truck white house will speak to all media outlets and personalities. not just that legacy media who are seated in this room. because according to recent

polling americans trust in mass media has fallen to a record low. millions of americans especially young people have turned from traditional television outlets in newspapers to consume their news from podcasts, blogs, social media, and other independent outlets. it is essential to our team that we share president trump's message everywhere and adapt this white house into the new media landscape in 2025. to do this, i'm excited to announce the following changes will be made to this historic james s brady briefing room. where mr. brady's legacy will indoor. this white house believes strongly in the first amendment. so it is 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 are also opening up this breathing room to new media voices who produce no real -- news related content and whose advent is not already

represented by one of the seats in this room. we welcome independent journalists, podcaster's, 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/new media. 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 exceed. my team will review the applications and give credentials to new media applicants who meet our criteria and past united states secret service requirements to enter the white house complex. so in light of these announcements, are 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 -- from potential threat to an update on the new jersey drone. 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 and in time it got worse due to curiosity. this was not the enemy. in 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 wallace from breitborde, mike, why don't you go ahead? >> does the president see anything fishy about either the origins or the cause and china's ability to make these models quicker, cheaper, effect [indistinct] affect our thinking about expanding generation data

centers? >> secretary leavitt: sure. the question was about -- was asked about deepfake when he cackled for the third or fourth time throughout the weekend with members of the traveling press corps. the president says that he believes that this is a wake-up call to the american a.i. industry. the last administration sat on their hands and allowed china to rapidly develop his a.i. program. and so president trump police in restoring american a.i. dominance and that is why he took a very strong executive action this past week to sign executive orders to roll back some of the onerous regulations on the a.i. industry and president trump has probably appointed the first a.i. in crypto czar at this white house, david sacks, who i spoke with yesterday. the very knowledgeable on this subject and his team is here written every single day to ensure american a.i. dominance. as for the national security applications, i spoke with anna segars money. they are looking into what does may be and when i have an update, i will share that with

you. >> you said restore u.s. dominance. as it appeared that the u.s. is falling or has fallen behind and how would the president make sure u.s. states in it? >> secretary leavitt: the president is confident that we will restore american dominance in a.i. >> first off, thank you to you in part the term actually hearing voices to the media outlets that represent millions and millions of americans. the thing i would add, i got a report question for you. the first is, can you expand upon what steps the white house is going to take to bring new voices, not last, which is what [indistinct] breitbart believed in into this room where they rightly belong. >> secretary leavitt: yeah absolutely and as i said in my opening statement it is a party of this white house to under 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 present from, 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 breitborde, which are widely respected and viewed outlets have an actual seat in this room every day. we also encourage anybody in this country whether you are a tiktok content creator, a blogger, a podcaster cap if you are a 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, new media website is whitehouse.gov/new media. and so we encourage people to apply. as long as you are creating news content, and you are an independent journalist, you are welcome. >> you laid out several actions from 10 trump. it is in stark contrast with the previous demonstration. can we expect that pace to

continue as the first >> secretary leavitt: absolutely , there's no doubt present from has always been the hardest working man in politics. i think there has been proven over the past week. this person has again sent more than 300 executive orders. he is taking historic action. i can go through the board air force one to mark the first 100 days of this demonstration, 4:00 p.m. as friday. first hundred hours. and this person to martin the first hundred hours of the previous precedents in the first 100 days. person from, i think you can expect for him to continue to work at this breakneck speed. i hope you're ready to work vey hard. i know we are. >> a question that we asked. when you're up here speaking to the -- you yourself and your role as on advocating on behalf of the person or the truth that is not to like to the american

people. >> secretary leavitt: i commit to telling the truth every single day. >> me to speak on behalf of the president of united states. that is my job. and i will say it is easy to speak truth from this poem when you have the presidents who is implementing policies that are widely popular. and that is exactly what this demonstration is doing. it is tracking the lies and the wrongs of the past four years. many of the last have been told to april faces in this very reason room. i will not do that. since you brought up to the sick, i would like out that while i failed to provide the truth from the podium. we asked to all of you hold yourself to that same standard. we know for a fact there have been recognized 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 help you out when we feel that you are -- your reporting is wrong or there is a misinformation about this white house. so yes. i will myself to the truth and i expect everyone it is wants to

do the same. >> karoline, just a question, you should take up the white house budget director across the board, [indistinct] individual assistance we understand that federal grants. it has caused a lot of confusion across the country. head start providers. and medicaid providers. and they are having. >> accessing the portal. could you help us clear up some confusion and is that uncertainty, how does the answer to service the president? there's only certainty in this room. window uncertainty it is building program we provide a certainty and clarity that all of you need. this is not a blanket pause on federal assistance in grant programs from the trump administration. individual assistance kit that includes, i'm not naming everything that is included but just to give you a few examples. social security benefits, medicare benefits, food stamps. welfare benefits.

assistant 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 immediate reporting. 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 campaign cam payne that is what he has launched coach, the department of government efficiency that is working one side will and that is why ownby sent out this memo last night because the president signed an executive order directing will be to do justice. and the reason for this is to ensure that every penny that is going out of the door is not conflicting with the executive orders and actions that this president has taken. so what is the spot's maine girl mean? it means no more funding for legal the a.i. programs. images no more funding for the green nukes camp that cost american taxpayers tens of

billions of dollars. image number finding for transgenderism and volkan's across our federal bureaucracy and agencies. no more funding for green new deal. again, people who are receiving individual assistance to assistance, you will continue to receive that. in prison for looking out for you by issuing this pause because he is being a good steward of your taxpayer dollars. >> karoline, how long is this pause going to last? and how is the trump administration recommending organizations that rely on federal funding make payroll pay their round in the meantime? >> secretary leavitt: it is a tip a pause in 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 mention. i also spoke with the incoming director of will be this morning and he told me to argue 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, and the office of management and budget will review those policies. think this is a very responsible measure. again, past four years, we have seen the biden administration spent money like drunken sailors. it is a vigorous and we have had inflation crisis in this country. and it is incumbent upon this hs admission to make sure again that every penny is being accounted for honestly. >> 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. for a period of time? >> secretary leavitt: it was the executive order that the president signed. there's also a freeze on hiring as you know, regulatory freeze and there's also a risk on foreign aid. and this is again incredibly important to ensure that this emaciation is taking into consideration how hard the american people are working. and their protectors actually matter to this a demonstration.

unique as just during this pause, -- 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 the sweat of his pen and the executive order is no longer wants erin seize to be a part of. that will not be in line with the pick and person's agenda. doge and omb found that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that wind out the door to fun condos in gaza. there is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money. so that is what this pause is focused on. for good stewards of tax dol dollars. [overlapping speakers] >> meals on wheels for headstart or disaster aid. does not affect individual assistant that is going to americans. to follow-up on nancy, do you think there will be a list of who is affected and how much money is affected? how will these contractors and organizations no if they are actually having their funding frozen? and then secondly, if you're willing to kill you just clarify, is the [indistinct] --

end goal -- end goal of this to essentially challenge congress or to prove that the person can withhold federal funding? in other words, is this an attempt to pick a fight to prove that he could do this? >> secretary leavitt: no, actually not. as he sat in the memo, which i said and i encourage all of you to read it. it says the american people elected president from to from to peter paddon empty united states. and give 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 person's policies and requirements. the american people a present from an overwhelming mandate on november 5th and he is 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. >> yes. welcome. you look great. you're doing a great job. he talked about transparency and some of us in this room look how the know how transparent plastic trap has been. i think you could do the same.

my question is, do you think this latest incident the president of columbia is indicative of the global powerful respect they have for president from moving forward only to engage in economic diplomacy with these countries >> secretary leavitt: absolutely i will echo the answer that the president gave on air force one last night when he was asked a very similar question but one of your college in the media. this signifies peace through strength is back. and this person 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 talk of the colombian government quickly folded and agreed to all of president trump's demands. sites are underway once again. >> to questions on deportation.

president trump has set on the campaign trail that he would support pro-hamas students who are here on visas and on his first day in office he signed an executive order that said, "he was must ensure that admitted errands and list of the school] in the u.s. do not bear hostile actions for the citizens for cultural government, institutions, or principles for. should we take this executive order as trump saying he would be open to supporting those students who are here on visas hold from our -- paha musk campus eats these quick. tran19 the president's open to supporting individuals who are poking our nation's immigration laws. if they are here illegally and certainly he is open to reporting them. that is what this administration is hard work doing. we receive data 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 and doing their jobs. they were hired to do. which is to detain arrest and

depart illegal criminals who have invaded our nation's borders over the past four years. that was the president is committed to saying. peter? >> just following on the question on immigration. president trump over the course of the campaign said the following. about illegal immigration. 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 1100 semien undocumented immigrants. nearly half of them, five to 66 of the magnet appeared to have no prior criminal record besides entering the country illegally. is the president still focus exclusive which is a civil crime not a -- is not criminal. >> secretary leavitt: it is a federal crime. >> i'm asking, though, he said he was going to focus on those violent offenders first? is violent offenders no longer the predicate? >> secretary leavitt: the present has says countless times, i've been with him at the rallies. 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 you are subject to deportation. >> i apologize for interrupting. while infidels do not receive president in terms of the deportations taking place? >> secretary leavitt: the president said, two things can be true at the same time. we want to deport illegal immigrants. the president has said that of course, the local 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 mayors and citizens absolutely those should be the priority of ice. but that does not mean that the other illegal crews who enter our nation's borders are off the table. >> understand. let me ask you a separate question as it relates to the freeze or pause as it is described. president trump ran one is the key policy items that he was going to lower prices and lower the cost of everything.

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 program childcare programs will not think that the person is doing here in terms of the fees and these programs raise prices for ordinary americans. >> secretary leavitt: what particular actions are you referring to? is back to low-income heating program. we can talk about the new clarity. i can refer to all of them. can you tell us that it is not one of those affected. >> secretary leavitt: you are asking the hypothetical based on programs that can't even identify. what i can tell you is that -- >> secretary leavitt: let's do it together -- >> let's do it together for americans at home. medicaid, is affected? >> secretary leavitt: i've given you a list of examples. social security, medicaid, medicare, food stamps. that will not be impacted by the federal prospect i can get you to focus after this meeting from the office of management and budget. what i -- but i do want to address the cost cutting because that is important. coding the cost of living in

this country. has taken historic action of the past week to do that. he actually signed a memorandum to deliver emergency price really for american family. >> which took a number of actions. i can walk you through those. he also repealed many on response and restoration regulations. window window over the past four years american household has been essentially taxed $55,000 in regulations from the previous and restoration. president trump with the swipe of his pants rescinded those which will ultimately pour more money back into the pockets of the american people. so the regulation is a big deal. when it comes to energy, 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 the so that is what the president wants to increase our energy supply to bring down costs for americans. the truck energy boom is incoming. and americans can expect that.

sparked some of the confusion may be with his paws on federal funding. made it clear you're not stopping funds that go directly to individuals but there are a lot of organizations that receive funding and they may pass along the benefit. meals on wheels for one. they provide meals for seniors. was the president's message to americans out there, many of whom who voted for him who are concerned that this is going to impact them quickly even if as she said the fighting to come directly to -- >> secretary leavitt: i have been asked and answered this question four times. to individuals at home who receive direct assistance from the federal government, he would not be impacted by this federal freeze. in fact, omb just sent out a memo to capitol hill with q&a to clarify some of the questions in 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 i-memo. there's many other topics of the day. [overlapping speakers] >> trickling down. direct assistance that is in the

hands of the american people will not be impacted. as i said to peter, we will continue to provide the list as it comes to fruition. omb right now is focused on analyzing the federal government's spreading which is exactly what the american people elected president from to do. >> one question on immigration. the 3500 west ice has made so far, can you just tell us the numbers. how many have a criminal record versus though you are just in the country illegally? >> secretary leavitt: all of them, because they illegally broke our nation's laws. as far as this administration goes. and of the last administration did not see it that way. it is a big culture shift to you someone who breaks out immigration laws as a criminal. that is exactly what they are. >> welcome to the briefing room. >> secretary leavitt: yes, they are criminal. >> thank you. on stripping security details for figures like john bolton, pompeo, ron haddock, senator tom cotton said that he has seen the intelligence and the threat from iran is real for anyone who played a role in cell amani's

tiger. he was concerned it will not just impact those individuals but potentially their family. innocent bystanders, offense to anyone who is near them when they are out in public. is the present open to reconsidering his decision. >> secretary leavitt: the president was asked and answered just yesterday and he was from in his decision to despite some the comments that he had referenced and he has made it very clear that he does not believe him a contact space should find security details for individuals who have served in the government for the rest of their lives and just when things stopping these individuals that you mentioned from obtaining private security. that is where the present stance on it. >> is there any concern that this decision might jeopardize the m.a. station's ability to hire the best advisors for these kinds of positions in the future? >> secretary leavitt: no, in fact, i've talked to the personnel office who has told me that there is such an influx of resumes for this m.a. station that it is incredibly overwhelming. there is no lack of town for lack of town for the truck the

administration. >> what do you take any responsibility if anything happened to these people? would he feel that his decision was in fact others? >> secretary leavitt: the president was asked and answered this. the back row has not gotten much attention. i'm happy to answer your question. >> does the present intent to personally cut off funding to ngos that are bringing illegal foreign nationals such as charities. >> secretary leavitt: i'm quite certain that the president signed an executive order that did just that and i can point you to that. >> present from issued an executive order on increased funding for refugees and visa applications. part of that order was considering an bat for countries that have deficient screening practices. has the present considered yet which countries might fall into this category were countries like afghanistan or syria under consideration for a full band? >> secretary leavitt: the president signed an executive order to streamline the vetting for visa applicants and for illegal immigrants in the country who are coming.

of course from other nations. it tracking the saffa's day to review the process and ensure that other countries over the countries over the world are being completely transparent with our nation -- 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 have not seen that report yet. we've only been here for a few days. back on the face on federal study, who advised the president on the legal legality on telling federal agencies that they don't have to spend money? >> secretary leavitt: as the omb memo states that this is within the confines of the law. white house counsel's office believes that this is within the president's power to do it and therefore he is doing it. >> so they disagree with lawmakers who say they don't have the power. >> secretary leavitt: i will punt you to the memo -- language that clearly states this is the law back to the m.a. station fired several inspector general without even congress the 30 day legally required notification that they were being fired.

i think only two were left dhs let you take initiate we saw several prosecutors, who worked on the investigations into the person. is no, they are career prosecutors. therefore they are afforded civil service production. how is the m.a. station deciding which laws to follow and which ones to ignore? >> secretary leavitt: so it is believed of the white house and the office of the president was within his executive authority to do that. the executive of the executive branch and therefore he has the power to fire anywhere within the executive branch that he wishes to. there's also a case that would be for -- went before the same court, versus the customs, the beer protection, i would advise you to look at that case and that is the only county that is what house is resting on. >> so you are confident [indistinct] lawsuit against you that [indistinct]? >> that he personally wrecked this giving day work on the

classified documents classification? >> secretary leavitt: this was a memo that wind out by the potential personal office and the president is the leader of this house. yes. yes. >> thank-you. king batts on being behind the podium. >> thank you. >> to control and this running for [indistinct] and also designated the houthis a foreign terrorist organization. what were the decision to -- here's my question. will there be an investigation into who gave the previous demonstration this terrible advice? >> secretary leavitt: well, that is a very good. i'm not hurts discussions about such an investigation. but it will not be a bad idea considering the houthis certainly are terrorists. they have a lot attacks on u.s. naval ships across this world and so i think it will -- was a wise move that we designated them as a terrorist group. they are and i think it was a full decision by the previous administration to do so as for an investigation i'm not sure about that. it is not a bad idea.

>> thank you for the question. could you give an update on the president's plan for his tariff agenda? and of a first to he has alluded to [indistinct] for canada and also china to take effect on those days. wears, what is he thinking about that? should those countries will expect that. >> secretary leavitt: he was asked and answered his question when he took a lot of questions from the press release at the very first date for canada and mexico still holds. backward about the charter 10% tariff? going in effect on the same day? >> secretary leavitt: the president has said he is considering that for february 1st. >> talk about [indistinct] carol spahn pharmaceuticals as well as semiconductor, computer chips aluminum and copper. what is the time on on those? is that a similar coming days thing? >> secretary leavitt: when the president talked about that person, that's was not a new announcement. i was within presidential memorandum that he sent them on the first place in the white

house on his america first trade agenda. so there's more details on those tariffs and as far as a date, i don't have a specific statement to reach out to you. with the person is committed to implementing tariffs effec effectively. >> he was also asked on the plane when he was asked about the potential for reversal -- 2 1/2%. and he wanted much bigger than that picture we understand that these tears would end up in august might have countries specific tariffs like canada, mexico, can. a potential universal. on top of that. due day stacked on one on the other? or what some take precedence over the other? >> secretary leavitt: what the person has said, the febr february 1st they for canada and mexico and the china tariff that he has discussed, he rejected the 2.5% tariff. he said that was a little bit too low. he wants it to be hired. i will leave it to him to make any decisions on that front. >> you have any comment on [indistinct]? >> secretary leavitt: i won't

get ahead of the present on advocating to foreign nations on what they should or should not 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 person 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, as far as i'm still checking and that was left the party to the president quickly, for a first is still on the books. of tea quick programming note and a question on taxes. in terms of programming, should we expect to see you here every day, how frequently will these press briefings be? >> secretary leavitt: it is a good question. the president is incredibly accessible. for state here he wanted all of you in the oval office. you got a 60-minute press conference with the leader of the free world. he was simultaneously signing executive orders. to me at that is pretty

impressive. i don't think the previous officeholder will be able to put such a thing of. so let, the president is the best spokesperson that is white house has. and i can assure you that you will be hearing from both him and me as much as possible. >> a question about tax cuts. the president has promised to extend the tax cuts from the previous term. i'm curious, does the present 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 has solution did during the first demonstration. >> secretary leavitt: the person is committed to their tax cuts and spending cuts and he has a great team negotiating on his behalf but there's no better negotiated and touchdown from and i'm sure he will be involved in this reconciliation process as it moves forward. >> karoline, the announcement that he made last night on the iron dome. aand set a precedent directed that the united states will build this iron dome. when he went into the executive order, it seemed short of that.

had asked for a series of studies and report. can you tell us whether the person has directed this and if he is as concerned on this issue, by the suspensions that was a listed by omb different nuclear programs, nonproliferation programs. programs to plant down nuclear weapons and so forth. >> secretary leavitt: festival, when it comes to the iron dome had the executive order directed the implementation of the iron dome. it also has a certain kind of directed research and studies to see 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 damac, this is a temporary pause and a freeze to ensure that all of the money going out from washington, dc 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 close to you. >> what you were what you are seeing before our medicaid. it was not clear to me whether you were saying with non-medicaid will be cut off obviously but a lot's goes to states before it goes to individuals. are you guaranteeing here that no individual network medicaid will see that, off because of the pause? >> secretary leavitt: i will check back on that and get back to you. john. >> thick's law to carolyn bruck as you know, the first week that person was in office signed an executive order as it relates to birthright is in shape, trying to eliminate that. 22 state attorneys general have said that this is unconstitutional a federal judge has just agreed with their argument. what is the administration's argument for doing away with birthright citizenship shape. >> secretary leavitt: the folks that you mention have a right to have that legal opinion. but it is in disagreement with the legal opinion of this

demonstration. this emaciation lease that birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. and that is why president rob signed the executive order. illegal immigrants who come to this country and have a child are not subject to a loss of this jurisdiction. that is the opinion of his demonstration. we have already appealed 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 set -- step to secure our nation's borders. >> foreign-policy if i may the person's commitment to the nato defense alliance is it as strong as they are administration? is it the same as when he served as president and his first term in office? >> secretary leavitt: as long as they pay their fair share. present from has called on nato allies to increase their defense spending. you saw the head of nato, davos,

last week on bloomberg television saying that present present from his right hand if your wants to keep yourself safe, they should increase their defense spending. i would ask that there was no way to i like to our european allies and president trump in the first term. the world for all nations and europe and of course here at home was much safer because of president trump office peace through strength and diplomatic approach. >> thank you. thank-you. thank you to or land. and it is great to be called on as well. i appreciate that. 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 still have to create development. does the present have any plans to visit the victims of that toxic spill or visit in general? >> secretary leavitt: no plans that i can read out for you here. if that changes, i will keep you posted but what i can tell you is that president trump still talks about his visit to east palestine, ohio. that is one of the turning points i would say in the previous election campaign where americans were reminded that

person to is a man of the people and he as a candidate visited the town that was just derailed by the train development no pun intended and he offered support and h help. elects to pets on 2 this past week. it was a purposeful decision partners president on his first domestic trip to go to north carolina into california, to visit with americans who were impacted by hurricane helene and also by the deadly fires. a mint state and a blue state both forgotten by the previous demonstration in the federal government. that is now ended. under president trump. he will continue to put americans first whether they are in east palestine and pacific palisades or north carolina. >> thing to taylor betonte heilferty, could you please clarify what the military did with the water last night as referenced in the person's truth social post.

>> secretary leavitt: the water has been turned back on it california. is comes days after president trump pacific palisades and as you all saw, fly tremendous pressure on state and local officials in pacific palisades including los angeles mayor karen bass to turn off the water and to truck that water to places in the south in the middle of the state that have been incredibly write which has led to expansion the rapid expansion of these fires. >> could you clarify what the military purposeful was, with the water came from and how it got there? >> secretary leavitt: 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's did 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 back all common sense and i will never forget being at that round table with the president last week and hearing their frustration and the voices of pacific palisades residents who feel as though their government has just gone insane. before president trump showed up on the scene to karen bass was telling private property owners

that they would have to wait 18 months to access their private property. so this emaciation, the president and his team, and is on the ground in california, ric grenell, who has designated to oversee this great crisis, 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 is the united states of america states of america but what happened to our freedom. it is going in california. april. back welcome to the briefing room. will minority serving institutes perfectly co-students have those monies temporarily at this moment. >> secretary leavitt: this memo was just sent out i will provide you all with updates as we receive them. >> awesome. when it comes to immigration,

there is a southern border focus. what happens to those who overstate their thesis. that is part of the immigration system. 233, there was a report by the biden administration, home security and said over state pieces three times more than usual. will there be a focus on the overstates for visas as well? >> secretary leavitt: if an individual is overstaying their music that they are there for an illegal immigrant and they are subject for deportation. >> as we are dealing with anti-dei anti-woke efforts, we understand this emaciation could [indistinct] speaking about celebrating black history month, heavy, any word on that any anything? >> secretary leavitt: is what. >> secretary leavitt: it is what so lizzo intends to celebrate and we will continue to celebrate american history and contributions that all americans regardless of race, religion or creed have made to our great country and america is back. >> thanks, carolyn. real quick, you mentioned the inflation executive order the president signed but a crisis

has skyrocketed since present from the office. what specifically is he doing to lower those costs for americans karen >> secretary leavitt: 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. i would like to point out to each and every one of you in 2024 when joe biden was in the oval office, or upstairs in the residence leaving i'm not so sure egg prices increased 65% 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, will also to bring to the is that the biden administration and department of agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens which has led to a lack of chicken apply in this country. there for a lack of egg supply which is leading to the shortage. i will leave you i will leave you with this point. this is an example of why it is so incredibly important that the

senate moves swiftly to confirm all of president trump's nominees, including his nominee for the next day's department of agriculture, brooke rollins who is already speaking with kevin hassett who is leading the economic team here at the white house how we can trust the egg shortage in this country as for cost i made out, because i laid out the plethora of waste that president trump has addressed saving cost for the american people over the past week. he looks forward to continue to do that in the days ahead. [overlapping speakers] >> art medicaid portals down in all 50 states? >> sandra: that was the first white house press briefing with karoline leavitt at his new administration. lasting most lasting about 15 minutes 15 minutes, taking questions from those outside of the so-called mainstream media promising to bring in less traditional outlets and in fact making news talking about two new seats that would go to those otherwise that would not have

had seats in the white house press briefing room. making news on the tariffs no specific debt for tariffs. looking at the national security implications of the seek to mislead a lot of news in that briefing room and this was only the beginning, john. >> john: i had to check because she first call on my calendar with whom i used to sit in the living room during the clinton administration. so everything old is new again. you know what? just looking at this thing very for -- from a national perspective, she did a terrific job. she is 27 years old. she had to be up there with butterflies in her stomach and she handled herself incredibly, incredibly well. >> sandra: and it was a packed room as you can see, every time it was time for another question, all hands were up and that room was packed. one other thing on the federal funding is an interesting exchange there confirming that this is not a blanket pause where her words.

there's questions and concerns about this. if you're receiving assistance, you will continue to receive data. she says the pause does not include food stamps or welfare. they did get to a lot including drones in new jersey. she confirmed that they were authorized to be found by the faa for research and other reasons. and that they were allowed to be where they were. so drones made it into the briefing. >> john: and the obvious follow-up is, what research where they authorized to do? i think we still have not heard the end of the story. let's bring in fox news contributor katie. she joins us with more on this. 27 years old. she's got a lot of expense. i think she is an old soul. she has a run for congress. she narrowly lost in new hampshire. she worked at the white house before. she worked at fox for a time as well. i thought she did a terrific job and no shortage of things to talk about in this first briefing. is back yeah, she worked as a deputy for our colleague, kayleigh mcenany.

ran for congress as mentioned and was a press secretary for the campaign. she is well-positioned to take on this new test. she did a great job and covered a ton of topics. it is great to see that the room was packed full of reporters who have to love this. if you are a white house press secretary or rather corresponded under biden administration, it was a bit of a slog every day trying to get information about what the person was doing and answers to questions about what the federal government was implementing. and answers to american people but this time around it was interesting to listen to the questions that were asked. i heard a lot of substantive questions, something may be where technical tough questions but i didn't hear a lot of questions about character and that is a christian -- a difference with the press corps is the seemingly first-day taking upon themselves to do their jobs which is to serve the american people and get the information rather than serving themselves. we will see how long that lasts. >> john: yeah, certainly. >> sandra: it is a great point. she said she was here in

december. and she promised transparency and she promised, in her, that there would be sort of something different happening in that briefing room and we are really just going -- learn more about the details of that meeting directly from her there in the room. she said, my team will review the applications and give credentials to new media applicants who meet our criteria pass united states secret service promised to enter the white house complex talk about these two new seats. starting today the seat in the front of the roof which she said is usually occupied the press secretary staff will be called the new immediacy and katie, i think this really interesting because she is acknowledging that americans gets their news from so many other sources that -- that a traditional mainstream media. they get it from podcast. they get the from influencers on various social media outlets. they are going to give those folks an opportunity to get a question in the briefing room. >> and sandra cannot only do americans get a bonus from a bunch of different sources and

different ways but most importantly this is about making sure there's a diversity of viewpoints and covering the news inside the white house. for far too long, there has been a to their walk on the white house press corps and media general practice allows the american people to really get different perspectives on covering the news of the day, maybe asking different questions that someone who works at a certain outlet or for a certain type of media were not asked. and to serve a whole different audience. when you're doing a press briefing, you can only get to so many different questions in this gives people the opportunity to ask something on behalf of an audience that may be is not representative -- represented in that room on a daily basis. the country is a very diverse place. it is a huge country with lots of different opinions and people and issues that affect them and different levels and maybe people in new york or california, so it is an opportunity to bring diversity of ideology and thought into the briefing room which i think will survey the american people right well. >> john: just a quick question. i used to see her every day is a lower press conference.

bannick [indistinct] she did not spend any time here. she did have a rather heated exchange at one point go over the migrant track down. let's play this and listen to it. >> how many have a criminal record versus those who are in the country illegally? >> all of them because they illegally broke our nation's laws, as far as this imitation goes. and over the last and registration did not see it that way. is a big culture shift to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal. that is exactly what they are, but it was respectful back and forth. obviously she is armed with the facts. the fact that she will seem to be reading from her notes a couple of times in one time she was waiting official memorandum. it is a departure on the person who is to occupy the podium up until recently. >> yeah, she certainly has done her homework and has a lot of expense working with incoming cabinet officials with members on capitol hill. she has been to washington, dc before and that here, right here, understands how the government works and she is very clear on what the president's

agenda is given how much time she spent with him and how many years she has worked for him and she has happy to set the law and take a look, you know that you think there should be exceptions for lawbreaking but the law is and you enter the country illegally and without permission, you indeed have broken it. she is answering those questions and she started the briefing as we say off the top in this business with a lot of list of very violent criminals that they've been reporting and of course you have kristi noem the just recently confirmed the hs secretary in new york today on some of those ice raids. >> sandra: yeah, she said then they are going to be store the press passes of individuals whose passes were wrongly revoked by the biden administration and to my earlier points, she said we welcome independent journalist, podcaster's, social media influences, and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this white house. while she is making those changes, i mean, she also did call on the ap and cnn and msnbc in that room.

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