Karoline Leavitt (04:43):
Good afternoon everybody. I apologize for my tardiness, but I came directly from the Oval. I have some newsy updates to share from the President, which I know you all very much value and appreciate, so let's get to it. The President promised millions of Christians across the country on the campaign trail that he would create a White House Faith Office when he returned to the White House and he has delivered on that promise. The White House Faith Office has put together an extraordinary week-long celebration, currently underway for Holy Week ahead of Easter Sunday. The President signed a Holy Week proclamation, filmed a special Presidential video message, and we'll be hosting a pre-Easter dinner tomorrow night and a White House staff Easter worship service on Thursday. The President and the First Lady are honored to continue the tradition of the White House Easter egg roll, which will take place on the South Lawn next Monday.
(05:35)
Another news, President Trump is turning America into a manufacturing superpower again. Yesterday there was a monumental announcement by NVIDIA, one of the largest companies in the world. This is just the latest example. For the first time ever, chip-making giant NVIDIA will produce AI supercomputers entirely in the United States as part of its pledge to produce $50 billion worth of AI infrastructure in our country over the next four years. With their manufacturing partners, they have commissioned more than a million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test NVIDIA Blackwell chips in the great state of Arizona and AI super computers in the great state of Texas. NVIDIA's founder and CEO Jensen Huang touted how the engines of the world's AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time. This is the Trump effect. This follows trillions in other US investments announced already including $500 billion from Apple in US-based manufacturing and training, $100 billion from TSMC in US-based chips manufacturing, and the $500 billion private investment led by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
(06:52)
Under President Trump, we're going to produce the cars, the ships, the chips, the airplanes, minerals, and medicines that we need right here in America at the hands of American workers. On the border, President Trump continues to break records and protect our homeland. According to CBP, border patrol apprehensions along the southwest border for the entire month of March, 2025 were lower than the first two days of March, 2024 under Joe Biden. Incredible law enforcement officers are arresting violent, illegal aliens from American communities every day. Here are a few examples from the latest ICE report, which I received this morning. ICE Los Angeles arrested a 54-year-old citizen of Mexico, convicted of rape by threat, sodomy with a person under 14 years, and kidnapping in San Jose, California. ICE Houston has arrested a 23-year-old citizen of Mexico convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in Cook County, Illinois. ICE Houston arrested a 64-year-old citizen of Honduras convicted of murder in Los Angeles County, California.
(07:58)
ICE Chicago arrested a 49- year-old citizen of Guatemala, convicted of assault and arson in Prince Williams, Virginia, not far from here. ICE Denver arrested a 36-year-old citizen of Mexico who is registered as a sex offender and has been convicted of sexual assault of a child in Lake County, Colorado. ICE Baltimore arrested a 50-year-old citizen of China convicted of sex trafficking in Bel Air, Maryland. And ICE Boston arrested a 46-year-old citizen of Jamaica convicted of three counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery of a child under 14 in Boston, Massachusetts. President Trump and our administration will not rest until every single violent illegal alien is removed from our country. The safety of the American people is too important to settle for anything less. On that note, the Democrat and media outrage over the deportation of Abrego Garcia, an MS-13 El Salvadorian illegal alien criminal who is hiding in Maryland has been nothing short of despicable. Based on the sensationalism of many of the people in this room, you would think we deported a candidate for Father of the Year.
(09:09)
That's because unfortunately many in this country care more about this "Maryland father," a illegal alien MS-13 gang member than a Maryland mother and an American citizen who was brutally murdered at the hands of a different illegal alien. Of course, I am referring to Rachel Morin. And if you didn't see yesterday, a Maryland jury found illegal alien Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez guilty of murdering Rachel Morin in August of 2023. She was a thirty-seven-year-old mother of five who was jogging in an otherwise safe community northeast of Baltimore when this monster ambushed, strangled, and beat her to death before stuffing her brutalized body in a tunnel drain. The Morin family finally got justice yesterday, but they will never get Rachel back. Our hearts go out to Rachel's family, her five children,
Karoline Leavitt (10:00):
… children and her mother Patty, who has suffered the unimaginable loss of her daughter. In case you missed it. Last week, president Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum directing federal agencies administering federal land on the border to make land available to the Defense Department in a new national defense area. This followed the President's Day one executive order, committing his administration to marshal all available resources and authorities to stop the unprecedented flood of illegal aliens into our country and to obtain complete operational control of the borders of the United States of America.
(10:36)
Once again, the president is fulfilling another key promise. This new national defense area spans more than 170 miles across our border in New Mexico, but in the coming weeks, this administration will add more than 90 miles in the state of Texas. This national defense area will enhance our ability to detect interdict and prosecute the illegal aliens, criminal gangs, and terrorists who were able to invade our country without consequence for the past four years under the Biden administration. It will also bolster our defenses against Fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics that have been poisoning our communities. With all of this work being done to make America great again, we continue to see a positive response from the American public. A brand new poll published from the Daily Mail and JL Partners this morning found that President Trump's approval rating is at an all-time high. That's because the president is working tirelessly to keep his promises to the American people as I just saw him doing today in the Oval Office.
(11:32)
We have a reporter in our new media seat today, Matthew Foldi. I like your boots, Matt. Who is the editor-in-chief of the Washington Reporter. Washington Reporter is a new fast-growing outlet that breaks stories about legislation and interviews leaders in Congress and across the administration, the publication's readership includes the highest levels of business in government. And with that, please kick us off, Matt.
Matt Foldi (11:54):
And we've interviewed you as well. So Karoline, thanks so much for having me here on behalf of our readership and the billions of Americans who I think appreciate what you're doing with the new media seat here and making this a more accessible briefing room.
(12:06)
I'm curious with Harvard, we saw the Trump administration today announce it's cutting around $2 billion or freezing $2 billion in funds to Harvard because the campus has serious problems with violence and with anti-Semitism. We saw President Obama, former President Obama side with Harvard, which rejected the Trump administration's demands. I'm curious, where does the administration see this going with Harvard and with other colleges and universities in America that are refusing to reform in wake of the sort of craziness that we've seen take over some of them?
Karoline Leavitt (12:37):
Thank you, Matt, for being here, and thanks for the question. When it comes to Harvard, the President's position on this is grounded in common sense in the basic principle that Jewish American students or students of any faith should not be illegally harassed and targeted on our nation's college campuses. And we unfortunately saw that illegal discrimination take place on the campus of Harvard. There are countless examples to prove it, particularly with the stunning confession by then Harvard President Claudine Gay, who said that bullying and harassment depended on the context. The president at that time made it clear to the American public he was not going to tolerate illegal harassment and anti-Semitism taking place in violations of federal law.
(13:21)
So the president made it clear to Harvard follow federal law no longer break Title Six, which was passed by Congress to ensure no student can be discriminated against on the basis of race and you'll receive federal funding. Unfortunately, Harvard has not taken the president or the administration's demands seriously. All the president is asking, don't break federal law, and then you can have your federal funding. I think the President is also begging a good question, more than $2 billion out the door to Harvard when they have a more than $50 billion endowment. Why are the American taxpayers subsidizing a university that has billions of dollars in the bank already? And we certainly should not be funding a place where such grave anti-Semitism exists.
Matt Foldi (14:04):
I'm curious, you had just mentioned Rachel Moran. I'm Maryland man, and I think most Marylanders appreciate what you were saying today. We've seen that Chris Van Hollen, who was Rachel Moran's senator, basically threatening to fly to El Salvador to press for the release of someone who was in America illegally and not as much sort of from him about Rachel Moran's horrific murder and the verdict that was, I think rightly reached yesterday. What does the administration think about the priorities we're seeing from Senate Democrats in terms of illegal immigrants instead of the work that agencies like ICE and DHS are doing with the Trump administration?
Karoline Leavitt (14:42):
It's mind-boggling the priorities of the modern day Democrat party. I think it's atrocious that you have Democrats in Congress on Capitol Hill who swear an oath to protect their constituents and to serve them in Washington DC, spending more time defending illegal immigrant gang members than their own constituents and law-abiding American citizens like Rachel Moran.
(15:07)
And I saw the president personally on the campaign trail, and I continue to see him in his role as President of the United States, put American families first, reach out to the victims, of the families of victims at the hands of a illegal immigrant crime. And frankly, the actions and the words of the Democrat Party prove they could not care less about the American public. Maybe if they did, they'd see a bit higher approval ratings right now. Thanks for being here with us today. Peter.
Peter (15:35):
Thank you, Karoline. To follow up on something that you just said, why do Ivy League schools get so much federal funding?
Karoline Leavitt (15:40):
It's a very good question, and it's a question the President has obviously raised in his discussions in negotiations with not just Harvard but also Columbia and many other Ivy League institutions. We have the Anti-Semitism Task Force, which the President promised and delivered on, the Anti-Semitism Task Forces across the government representatives from various federal agencies who meet on a weekly basis to discuss the question that you just raised. And I think a lot of Americans are wondering why their tax dollars are going to these universities when they are not only indoctrinating our nation's students, but also allowing such egregious illegal behavior to occur.
Peter (16:17):
To follow up on immigration, deporting American citizens to Central American prisons. Is it legal or do you need to change the law to do it?
Karoline Leavitt (16:29):
Well, it's another question that the President has raised. It's a legal question that the president is looking into, and he talked about this yesterday with his meeting with President Bukele in the Oval Office. He would only consider this if legal for Americans who are the most violent, egregious, repeat offenders of crime, who nobody in this room wants living in their communities.
Peter (16:52):
And then there's this CHNV thing, President Biden let more than 530,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela into the US with this CHNV program. He did it with the stroke of a pen, and now a judge will not let President Trump undo it with the stroke of a pen. So are you guys going to give all 530,000 plus people individual deportation hearings or are you just going to try to deport them?
Karoline Leavitt (17:22):
I spoke to White House Counsel's office about this this morning because obviously another rogue district court judge is trying to block the administration's mass deportation efforts with this latest injunction. We will fight this in the court of law and we will ensure that every individual who illegally entered our country and was really taken advantage of by the previous administration because they abused the parole system in this country to fast track legal status, as they said, for these illegal immigrants. And they completely abused our legal system. Many of these paroled individuals were then given temporary protective status, which the intention of that TPS was only supposed to be used in times of war or storm or destruction in the home countries of these migrants. It was completely abused. These migrants came here for economic reasons and they illegally entered our country, and the president is not going to tolerate that. And so we will continue to focus on deporting as many individuals as we can. Jennifer.
Jennifer (18:26):
One on tariffs and one on Russia. Can you give us any sort of an update on which deals are in hand or are close, which countries are reaching a deal on tariffs? And then on Russia, can you give us an update on what the agreement was with Russia? The president yesterday said that he thinks we'll be seeing some very good deals very soon. Can you talk a little bit about what Russia agreed to?
Karoline Leavitt (18:44):
Sure. I don't want to get ahead of our United States Trade Ambassador and Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Treasury, all the great individuals who are working incredibly hard to cut these good trade deals. And the president's deeply involved in this as well. He has made it clear to his trade team. He wants to personally sign off on all of these deals too. And so I don't want to get ahead of them on announcements, but obviously as you've heard from numerous administration officials, there have been many talks with countries. We've had more than 15 deals, pieces of paper put on the table, proposals that are actively being considered. And as we've said, consistently, more than 75 countries have reached out. So there's a lot of work to do. We very much understand that, but we do believe that we can announce some deals very soon.
Jennifer (19:26):
And then on Russia, can you say, did Russia agree to anything with special envoy, Steve Witkoff?
Karoline Leavitt (19:31):
I don't want to get ahead of those negotiations as well. What I can tell you is that they were, a productive conversation was had. As the presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff said last night, he believes that Russia wants to end this war and the president believes that as well. There is incentive for Russia to end this war, and perhaps that could be economic partnerships with the United States, but we need to see a ceasefire first. And the president and the presidential envoy, Witkoff made that very clear to
(20:00)
Yeah.
Karoline Leavitt (20:00):
… to the Russians. Gabe.
Gabe (20:02):
Thank you, Karoline.
Karoline Leavitt (20:02):
Yeah.
Gabe (20:03):
And I also want to thank your press office for releasing that information that you cited up there regarding the ICE arrests over the last couple of days. And I have them right here, but what I might ask is why not release the same information for those who were deported to El Salvador?
Karoline Leavitt (20:20):
Well, first of all, the information was released by the Department of Homeland Security. The individuals on the flights to El Salvador are foreign terrorists and those are counter-terrorism operations. They are much different than the arrests and final order of removals that you see on a day-to-day basis that law enforcement agents are conducting around the country.
Gabe (20:38):
That information, to that detail, was not released by DHS though.
Karoline Leavitt (20:42):
I just told you the reason. It was a counter-terrorism operation, a deportation of foreign terrorists, not illegal criminals who have been convicted of heinous crimes living in our American communities. It's two different things, foreign terrorists, illegal immigrant criminal, two different things, two different definitions. You should look them up. Christian, go ahead.
Christian (21:00):
Yeah, thanks, Karoline. Does the President support raising the corporate tax rate to pay for all these other tax cuts he wants to see move through Congress?
Karoline Leavitt (21:09):
Look, I've seen this idea proposed. I've heard this idea discussed. But I don't believe the President has made a determination on whether he supports it or not.
Christian (21:16):
And then secondly, do you have any information on the status of Edan Alexander? Hamas says they lost contact with the unit guarding him following an Israeli airstrike earlier today.
Karoline Leavitt (21:28):
I don't have updates. I have not seen that report, but I can certainly check in with our National Security Counsel. I have spoken to the President about Edan Alexander, and he's made it very clear to our National Security Team that finding him is a priority. But unfortunately, I don't have any updates to share, but it's a very important matter and certainly we can check in. Sure.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Hi.
Karoline Leavitt (21:46):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
How concerned is the President that a federal judge could hold a Trump administration official in contempt of court for defying deportation orders?
Karoline Leavitt (21:57):
We are complying with all court orders, so I see what you're trying to do there with that question. But we're very confident that every action taken by this administration is within the confines of the law, and we continue to comply with the court's orders. And you have seen that, and the President made that clear yesterday in the Oval Office with President Bukele. Sure.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Thanks, Karoline. Just going back to El Salvador, could you just explain to us a little bit more about the legal basis on which you may be able to send US citizens to prison there? I know you said that President Trump is looking at it, but can you explain to us a little bit more about how that might be possible?
Karoline Leavitt (22:35):
We're looking at it, and when I have more for you to share, I certainly will. Sure.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Thanks. Still going off the El Salvador questions, yesterday in the Oval Office administration officials made it very clear that El Salvador is responsible for Mr. Abrego Garcia, yet El Salvador's president said, "We are not going to do anything with him." So my question is, who is responsible for this man and where he's going to end up?
Karoline Leavitt (22:59):
Well, no. First of all, President Bukele said that he is not going to smuggle a foreign terrorist back into the United States of America, as many in this room in the Democrat Party seemingly want him to do. Abrego Garcia was a foreign terrorist. He is an MS-13 gang member. He was engaged in human trafficking. He illegally came into our country, and so deporting him back to El Salvador was always going to be the end result. There is never going to be a world in which this is an individual who's going to live a peaceful life in Maryland because he is a foreign terrorist and MS-13 gang member. Not only have we confirmed that, President Bukele yesterday in the Oval Office confirmed that as well.
(23:43)
So he went back to his home country, where he will face consequences for his gang affiliation and his engagement in human trafficking. I'm not sure what is so difficult about this for everyone in the media to understand, and it's appalling, truly appalling that there has been so much time covering this alleged human trafficker and this gang member, MS-13 gang member. It's truly striking to me. Karen.
Karen (24:11):
Thank you, Karoline. The President was posting on Truth Social today about helping American farmers. And last week in his Cabinet meeting he was talking about a plan to work with farmers to retain workers who are in the US illegally, provided that they leave and then come back through what he said would be a legal process. Can you give details on what that would look like: how many workers he's talking about, how long a plan like that would take to implement, and the timeline for more details on getting this actually to implementation?
Karoline Leavitt (24:38):
I can check in with our Immigration and our Policy Team and get you some more details on that, Karen.
Karen (24:42):
And is this something he wants to roll out soon? He was talking back and forth with Secretary Rollins.
Karoline Leavitt (24:48):
Right.
Karen (24:48):
This is kind of imminent that he wants to do this.
Karoline Leavitt (24:50):
Yeah. Look, the President is in constant communication with all of his Cabinet secretaries, particularly Secretary Rollins who has the backs of American farmers and ranchers. It's something that he spoke about with her in front of all the cameras in the Cabinet room. But I'll check in with not only our Immigration Team, but also with USDA and we'll get you an answer. Jonathan.
Jonathan (25:10):
Hi, Karoline.
Karoline Leavitt (25:12):
Hi. It's good to see you in here.
Jonathan (25:13):
You, too. The President has long said that it would be an abuse of power for a president to direct prosecutors to investigate him. Last week, President Trump explicitly directed the Justice Department to scrutinize Chris Krebs to see if it can find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing. How is that not an abuse of power to direct the Justice Department to look into an individual, a named individual?
Karoline Leavitt (25:39):
Look, the President signed that executive order. It's a position of the President in this White House that it's well within his authority to do it; otherwise, he wouldn't have signed it. And he signed it and that's his policy. Jeff, how are you doing?
Jeff (25:51):
Fine, thanks. Thanks, Karoline. A follow-up on Harvard, the President floated on Truth Social, I believe, the possibility of removing tax-exempt status. How serious is that threat, and are there other universities he's considering? And then, a follow-up question on foreign policy, can you give us an update on what the President hopes to come from the next round of talks with Iran?
Karoline Leavitt (26:11):
Mm-hmm. Sure. First, when it comes to Harvard, as I said, the President has been quite clear. They must follow federal law. He also wants to see Harvard apologize. And Harvard should apologize for the egregious anti-Semitism that took place on their college campus against Jewish American students. There were professors who said that he had engaged in discriminatory behavior against Jewish students. Of course, you had the former president of the university saying, "Bullying and harassment depends on the context." You also had an encampment on Harvard yard that we all saw play out before the cameras. The university failed to impose formal discipline on any students for this anti-Semitic conduct violations, including the occupation of a campus building and the disruption of classes with bullhorns. The President believes Harvard should apologize to its Jewish American students for allowing such egregious behavior. As for the tax-exempt status, I would defer you to the IRS for any updates.
(27:05)
I do want to answer your question on Iran, of course. The maximum pressure campaign on Iran continues. But as you know, the President has made it clear he wants to see dialogue and discussion with Iran, while making his directive about Iran never being able to obtain a nuclear weapon quite clear. And the President spoke to the Sultan of Oman today who helped facilitate these talks. I have a readout for all of you. He held a call with the Sultan of Oman today, and he thanked him for hosting the first direct meeting between the United States and Iran, and emphasized the need for Iran to end its nuclear program through negotiations. The two leaders also discussed the United States' ongoing operations against the Houthis, and emphasized that the Houthis will pay a severe price until they end their attacks on maritime traffic in the Red Sea. As you know, an additional negotiation between Steve Witkoff and Iran's representative has been scheduled for Saturday. And since these are ongoing negotiations, I have nothing more to add on that.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
A question on Iran.
Karoline Leavitt (28:01):
Sure.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Oh, thank you, Karoline. When you said that the President said that Iran will never have nuclear weapons, is the focus on dismantling the entire nuclear program or just restricting enriched uranium or the missile program?
Karoline Leavitt (28:18):
The President does not want to see Iran have a nuclear program. He does not want Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. He's been very clear about this. Shelby.
Shelby (28:26):
Thank you, Karoline.
Karoline Leavitt (28:27):
Shelby, you have a seat today.
Shelby (28:28):
I know, stole it.
Karoline Leavitt (28:29):
Glad to see it.
Shelby (28:30):
Two quick ones on TikTok. First, is the President expecting to extend the TikTok ban that's now June 19th if China doesn't come to the table on time?
Karoline Leavitt (28:38):
Well, June 19th is a long ways away obviously. I think it's two months away. Two months is a long time in the Trump administration, as you have all seen. We work at Trump's speed around here. We get a lot done, so definitely don't want to get ahead. The Vice President continues to lead these negotiations and talks. The President is involved, and they're ongoing.
Shelby (28:55):
And then, the President previously said he'd consider reducing tariffs on China in order to get a TikTok deal done. Is that option still on the table?
Karoline Leavitt (29:03):
Look, the President has made his position on China quite clear, although I do have an additional statement that he just shared with me in the Oval Office. "The ball is in China's court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don't have to make a deal with them. There's no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger. And China wants what we have, what every country wants, what we have, the American consumer; or to put it another way, they need our money." So the President, again has made it quite clear that he's open to a deal with China, but China needs to make a deal with the United States of America. Sure.
Speaker 5 (29:39):
On tariffs, yesterday in the Oval Office.
Karoline Leavitt (29:42):
Which outlet are you with?
Speaker 5 (29:43):
The Canadian Public Broadcaster.
Karoline Leavitt (29:44):
Oh, nice to see you.
Speaker 5 (29:45):
Thank you. Yesterday in the Oval Office, President Trump suggested that there could be some help for automakers. I'm wondering what that looks like. Is it tariff relief on the 25% tariffs that are in place right now, or the new tariffs that are coming up in May on auto
Speaker 5 (30:00):
… and a second on Canada, if I may. President Trump's tone when it comes to Canada-US relations, Canadians have noticed it's shifted a bit in the past few weeks. Ever since the election campaign started, he stopped talking about Canada becoming the 51st state, at least publicly. I'm wondering if that's on purpose, and why?
Karoline Leavitt (30:18):
I would reject the President's position on Canada has shifted. Perhaps he just hasn't been asked about Canada by questions from this group in the Oval Office when they see him almost every day. But the President still maintains his position on Canada. The United States has been subsidizing Canada's national defense, and he believes that Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America.
(30:40)
As for autos and auto parts, I don't have anything to read out for you there, but I think the point the President was making is flexibility, and he has flexibility when it comes to negotiations and talks. But ultimately, his goal in his fair trade deals that he is pursuing with many countries around the world is to put the American worker first. And we had automakers and autoworkers here at the White House on Liberation Day who believe in this President and his negotiating ability to put them first and to bring those jobs back to the United States of America, and the President's been very clear about that in his conversations with the automakers as well.
(31:18)
Deanna, go ahead.
Deanna (31:19):
Thanks, Caroline. One on Ukraine and one on China. On Ukraine, this past weekend, Zelenskyy offered an invitation to President Trump, extending an offer for him to visit Ukraine. Just wondering if there's any update on that, has Trump seen that offer and what he's thinking about?
Karoline Leavitt (31:34):
I don't know, actually. I haven't talked to the President about that or if he saw Zelenskyy's offer. I'm sure he did. I haven't spoken to him about it. I can ask him what he thinks. I certainly don't have any plans to share on a potential trip to Ukraine though.
Deanna (31:47):
And then, on China, this last week, Chinese officials were posting videos on social media sites depicting Trump, J.D. Vance, Elon Musk, in AI-generated videos, working in factories, putting together Nike shoes and iPhones and products like that. Does the White House, have they seen these videos, do you guys have a response to that?
Karoline Leavitt (32:10):
I have seen the videos. I'm not sure who made the videos or if we can verify the authenticity. But whoever made it clearly does not see the potential of the American worker, the American workforce. The President believes in the American people, and he knows that we have the best not only consumer base in the world, but also the best workforce in the world, and that's why he's so focused on bringing investments home and shoring up our critical supply chains and bolstering our manufacturing here as well.
(32:37)
Brett.
Brett (32:38):
Thanks, Caroline. Would the President support a ban on members of Congress trading stocks?
Karoline Leavitt (32:44):
I'm certain that's something the President would be interested in looking at, and I can ask him if he would support such a bill.
(32:50)
Sure, yes.
Speaker 6 (32:52):
I have a question about the President's post this morning on farmers. He asked farmers to be patient and just hold on, but a lot of the farmers that I've talked to in the last week or so have said they're in the middle of the spring planting season and that a trade war makes everything up in the air. What would his message to them be? And also, is there anything specifically planned to provide relief like in President Trump's last term?
Karoline Leavitt (33:15):
Yes. Well, relief is being considered. The Secretary of Agriculture I know has spoken to the President about that, and again, it's being considered. And as for the President's message to the farmers, he put it out himself, he could speak for himself much better than I can speak for him. And so, I would just direct you to the statement he had, telling the farmers again, reiterating his support for them in that he has their backs, which he certainly does.
(33:37)
Kelly in the back.
Kelly (33:39):
Thanks, Caroline. Two questions. The first one, a Georgia man was just arrested over alleged threats to kill Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. Reportedly, there is now increased security around the FBI Deputy Director. Can you talk about the level of threats against various administration officials? And then, a second one on Biden.
Karoline Leavitt (33:57):
I'm sorry to hear that, I had not seen that report. It's very unfortunately, and obviously the White House, the President and the entire administration condemn any threats of violence against any administration officials or public officials on both sides of the aisle here in Washington D.C. It shouldn't be tolerated, and we commend the local law enforcement agencies for arresting this individual.
Kelly (34:17):
One on former President Biden, he's said to deliver his first major speech since leaving office tonight. He plans to talk about what I'm told will be Social Security under the current administration, closing of offices, longer wait times, harder for seniors and people with disabilities to access earned benefits is what Democrats have been saying today. I wanted to get the President's response, or if he plans to respond to this, and comments on what Democrats are calling cuts to Social Security.
Karoline Leavitt (34:47):
My first reaction when seeing former President Biden was speaking tonight was I'm shocked that he is speaking at nighttime. I'd have thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight. I understand the topic of his speech will be Social Security. Let me make it very clear ahead of former President Biden's remarks, the President, this President, President Trump, is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, taxpaying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program. He will always protect that program, he campaigned on it, he protected it in his first term, and he's back again to continue protecting it.
(35:27)
On the topic of Social Security, I have some news before I let you all go. Later this afternoon, the President will be signing a presidential memorandum aimed at stopping illegal aliens and other ineligible people from obtaining Social Security Act benefits. The memorandum will direct the administration to ensure ineligible aliens are not receiving funds from the Social Security Act programs. It will expand the Social Security Administration's Fraud Prosecutor program to at least 50 US offices, and a Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prosecution Program in 15 US attorney offices. The memorandum will also require the Social Security Administration inspector general to investigate earning reports for individuals aged 100 or older with mismatched Social Security records to combat identity theft, and the memorandum will direct the Social Security Administration to consider whether to reinstate the use of civil monetary penalties against individuals who engage in Social Security fraud, an effort that has been paused for several years.
(36:28)
These taxpayer-funded benefits should be only for eligible taxpayers, and President Biden should think about what he did in his last term, which is allow tens of millions of illegal people into our country, many of whom were fraudulently receiving these benefits. So you'll hear from the President on that later, and we will see you later in the East Room. Bye guys.
Speaker 7 (36:47):
Thanks [inaudible 00:36:49].
