BREAKING NEWS: Karoline Leavitt Holds White House Press Briefing After Hundreds Of New Deportations

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Transcript

00:00Hello, everybody.

00:04Good afternoon.

00:06Happy Monday.

00:07Happy St. Patrick's Day.

00:08I see a lot of us are very festive and our green Peter Doocy, I like it.

00:13First today, I want to address the devastating tornadoes and storms that have impacted many

00:18states throughout the South and the Midwest.

00:22As of this morning, more than 40 innocent lives have been lost and many communities

00:27have been totally destroyed.

00:29The president has been actively monitoring the situation and the Trump administration

00:33is engaged with governors and local officials to restore affected communities and livelihoods.

00:40Everyone impacted is in our prayers and President Trump is fully prepared to assist state and

00:45local officials as they recover from the horrific damage.

00:50The president has had a very busy weekend, making our country and the world a much safer

00:56place.

00:57President Trump ordered decisive military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

01:02These Houthi terrorists have engaged in piracy, violence, and terrorism against American ships

01:08for years under the Biden administration, costing billions of dollars and putting innocent

01:14lives at risk.

01:16Joe Biden's pathetic weakness invited these unacceptable attacks, but there's a new sheriff

01:21in town and his name is Donald Trump, and the world is officially on notice.

01:27America has a commander-in-chief whose peace through strength approach is unwavering and

01:32should not be tested.

01:34As the president said, no terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels

01:39from freely sailing throughout the world.

01:42Houthi terrorists and their Iranian backers should not cross President Trump again, and

01:47the president has made that clear today.

01:50On another important matter, President Trump signed a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies

01:55Act regarding the invasion of the United States by the foreign terrorist organization Tren

02:01de Aragua.

02:02At the president's direction, the Department of Homeland Security carried out a counterterrorism

02:07operation deporting nearly 200 violent Tren de Aragua terrorists, which will save countless

02:13American lives.

02:15Thanks to the great work of the Department of State, these heinous monsters were extracted

02:20and removed to El Salvador where they will no longer be able to pose any threats to

02:25the American public.

02:27Tren de Aragua is one of the most ruthless terrorist gangs in the world, and they are

02:33responsible for some of the most heinous crimes that have occurred in our nation's history

02:38in recent years, including the savage murders of beautiful Lakin Riley and Jocelyn Nungre.

02:46President Trump promised Lakin and Jocelyn's families during his campaign that he would

02:51demand justice for their beautiful girls, and that's exactly what he did.

02:56As the president acknowledged during his inaugural address on January 20th, he pledged to invoke

03:02this act, and he has no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and

03:08invasions.

03:10President Trump will continue his historic efforts to seal the border and prevent these

03:14illegal invaders from coming here in the first place.

03:17As the New York Times acknowledged over the weekend, President Trump's policies are working.

03:24Here's how the Times summed it up.

03:26Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border are down to their lowest level in decades.

03:32Once crowded, migrant shelters are empty.

03:35Instead of heading north, people stranded in Mexico are starting to return home in bigger

03:40numbers.

03:41The border is almost unrecognizable from just a couple of years ago, when hundreds of thousands

03:46of people from around the world were crossing into the United States every month in scenes

03:50of chaos and upheaval.

03:53This is the Trump effect in action, and again, those are the words from the New York Times.

03:57We didn't need a border security bill.

03:59We just needed President Trump.

04:02All of these actions taken together are contributing to a wave of optimism about the direction

04:06of our great country.

04:08According to brand new polling from NBC News, more registered voters say the United States

04:13is heading in the right direction than at any point since early 2004.

04:19Americans support President Trump's common-sense approach that's getting our country back on

04:23track in record time.

04:25Meanwhile, the President's critics can't say the same.

04:29That same new NBC poll also found that the Democrat Party has reached an all-time low

04:35in popularity.

04:37It turns out, when you let your hatred of President Trump get in the way of doing what

04:41is best for America, the people reject you.

04:45Who would have thought?

04:46Joining us today in our New Media seat is Kelly Meyer.

04:49She is a White House correspondent with NewsNation.

04:53NewsNation started in 2021 and is one of America's fastest-growing cable news networks with a

04:57focus on news for all of America.

05:00It's part of a larger ecosystem, Nexstar, which is home to NewsNation, the political

05:05website The Hill, the broadcast network The CW, and local Nexstar stations.

05:10With that, kick us off, please, Kelly.

05:12Thank you, Caroline.

05:13What do you say to Americans who want safe streets but are concerned due process is being

05:21violated?

05:22The President is using every lever of his executive authority and his constitutional

05:27authority within the bounds of the immigration laws of our country to ensure that our streets

05:32are safer for law-abiding American citizens.

05:35And this administration is focused on detaining, arresting, and deporting illegal criminal

05:40aliens.

05:41And as you saw this past weekend, the President used his authority under the Alien Enemies

05:45Act to deport foreign terrorists.

05:48Tren de Aragua is now a designated foreign terrorist organization.

05:53And as I said, there were nearly 200 Tren de Aragua members who were sent to El Salvador

05:58this weekend.

05:59Countless lives will be saved because of this action.

06:02And if you talk to the families, the Angel families, as I mentioned, Blake and Riley

06:06and Jocelyn Nungre, they understand the grave cost of life at the hands of these illegal

06:12terrorists.

06:14And the President is proud to deliver on that promise for them.

06:17And just to follow up on that, this will be challenged later today in the courts.

06:21Does the President, you know, does this allow him to defy the court order without having

06:27the checks and balances and the separation of power?

06:31No.

06:32This administration acted within the confines of the law, again, within the President's

06:36constitutional authority and under the authority granted to him under the Alien Enemies Act.

06:41We are quite confident in that and we are wholly confident that we are going to win

06:45this case in court.

06:46Peter.

06:47Thank you, Caroline.

06:48If you guys can't send 200 Tren de Aragua terrorists at a time to El Salvador, where

06:54are you going to send them instead?

06:56It's a very good question.

06:58You'd have to ask the courts and the people on the left who are trying to fight this administration

07:02for doing the business that this President sought out to do, which is to deport these

07:07foreign terrorists.

07:08And we're very grateful to President Bukele and to El Salvador for accepting these heinous

07:13monsters where they will face justice.

07:16And if these guys are terrorists at war with the United States, is President Trump considering

07:21anything more lethal to address them than just sticking them on a plane somewhere else?

07:26Well, it sounded like you had a little bit of curiosity in the premise of your question,

07:30so I want to address it.

07:32These are designated foreign terrorists.

07:34The President signed a proclamation on February 20, 2025, designating TDA as a foreign terrorist

07:42organization that was in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of

07:46Treasury that was pursuant to 8 U.S. Code 1189.

07:51The President has the right to do that.

07:52And I think nobody would argue that Tren de Aragua should be designated a foreign terrorist

07:57organization.

07:58So if you want to have that argument, I'm happy to do it.

08:00These are heinous monsters, rapists, murderers, kidnappers, sexual assaulters, predators who

08:07have no right to be in this country, and they must be held accountable.

08:10And something different.

08:12There is now a member of the European Parliament from France who does not think the U.S. represents

08:17the values of the Statue of Liberty anymore.

08:20They want the Statue of Liberty back.

08:22So is President Trump going to send the Statue of Liberty back to France?

08:27Absolutely not.

08:29And my advice to that unnamed, low-level French politician would be to remind them that it's

08:36only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right

08:40now.

08:41So they should be very grateful to our great country.

08:44Kelly.

08:45Is the administration prepared to give the court what it wants in terms of the time of

08:50the flights that departed that went to El Salvador and some of those details that the

08:55judge is asking for in trying to determine the timing?

08:58Clearly, the five named individuals were not deported.

09:02That's right.

09:03But looking more broadly, wanting to know about the timing of flights and so forth,

09:07because the verbal order did say turn around the flights if there's an issue.

09:11So is the administration prepared to provide that information?

09:14I'm prepared to provide it right now.

09:16All of the planes that were subject to the written order, the judge's written order,

09:21took off before the order was entered in the courtroom on Saturday.

09:25And the administration will, of course, be happily answering all of those questions that

09:29the judge poses in court later today.

09:31And for people who have due process questions about making certain that there wasn't anyone

09:37who was swept up who did not meet the criteria that you laid out, is there a way for the

09:42administration to provide more detail about how that was determined, who the individuals

09:47were that met this deportation order?

09:51Yes.

09:52I can assure the American people that Customs and Border Patrol and ICE and the Department

09:56of Homeland Security are sure about the identities of the individuals who were on these planes

10:01and the threat that they posed to our homeland.

10:04They take this incredibly seriously.

10:06They are putting their lives on the line to deport these designated terrorists from our

10:11country, and they should be trusted to do that.

10:13And that's exactly what the American people elected this president to do.

10:16Go ahead.

10:17Thanks, Caroline.

10:18Just to follow up on that, then.

10:19So you're saying definitively you can – that the administration can prove everyone that

10:23was put on those flights in El Salvador who's either a member of Trinidad-Agua, MS-13, or

10:29some other entity?

10:30Yeah.

10:31We've already provided the breakdown in the effort of transparency about the 261 illegal

10:35aliens who were deported.

10:37A hundred and thirty-seven of those were deported under the Alien Enemies Act.

10:40One hundred and one of those were Venezuelans removed via Title VIII, which as you know

10:45are just regular immigration proceedings.

10:47And 23 of them were MS-13 Salvadorian gang members.

10:51There were also two MS-13 ringleaders as part of that group of 23 who President Bukele particularly

10:58expressed his gratitude for their return so he can demand justice in his home country.

11:03Jennifer.

11:04Just follow up.

11:05What criteria, though, other than, say, tattoos or maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong

11:11time, are they using to determine that someone is actually a member of one of these organizations?

11:18Intelligence and the men and women on the ground in the interior of our country who

11:22are finally being allowed to do their jobs.

11:24Their hands were tied under the previous administration, and as I said, they take their jobs very seriously.

11:30They should be trusted and respected by the American public with this operation.

11:35And of course, as I said to Kelly, the administration will provide all details to the questions

11:41that the court poses.

11:42Jennifer.

11:43One more follow-up on that.

11:44Can you say how much the U.S. is paying El Salvador to imprison these Venezuelans?

11:50And then a different question on Russia.

11:52I was wondering if you could give us an update on the ceasefire negotiations, and is there

11:56anything you can share on the list that Putin gave, passed along to President Trump for

12:01the things he's requesting?

12:02Sure.

12:03To your first question, it was approximately $6 million to El Salvador for the detention

12:08of these foreign terrorists.

12:11And I would point out that is pennies on the dollar in comparison to the cost of life and

12:16the cost it would impose on the American taxpayer to house these terrorists in maximum security

12:21prisons here in the United States of America.

12:24And I would echo the message of our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who expressed his gratitude

12:29to President Bukele and El Salvador's government for their cooperation in this deal.

12:35As for Russia, as you know, the President announced last night on Air Force One on his

12:38return from his very busy weekend in Florida that he will be speaking to President Putin

12:44tomorrow.

12:45I won't get ahead of those negotiations, but I can say we are on the 10th yard line of

12:49peace, and we've never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment.

12:54And the President, as you know, is determined to get one done.

12:57Caroline?

12:58Sure.

12:59Kaitlan.

13:00I have two questions for you, one on the flights.

13:01But first on the President's post overnight, saying that he is – that the pardons that

13:06were issued by President Biden preemptively to members of the January 6th committee, that

13:11they're now null and void.

13:13Have attorneys here at the White House told President Trump that he has the legal authority

13:16to undo a pardon simply because it was signed by auto pen, as he said?

13:22The President was begging the question that I think a lot of journalists in this room

13:26should be asking about whether or not the former President of the United States, who

13:30I think we can all finally agree was cognitively impaired – I know it took people some time

13:35to finally admit that, but we all know that to be true, as evidenced by his disastrous

13:40debate performance against President Trump during the campaign.

13:43I digress on that.

13:45But the President was raising the point that did the President even know about these pardons?

13:50Was his legal signature used without his consent or knowledge?

13:55And that's not just the President or me raising those questions, Kaitlan.

13:59According to the New York Post, there are Biden officials from the previous White House

14:03who raised those questions and wondered if the President was even consulted about his

14:07legally binding signature being signed onto documents.

14:10And so I think it's a question that everybody in this room should be looking into, because

14:15certainly that would propose perhaps criminal or illegal behavior if staff members were

14:21signing the President of the United States autograph without his consent.

14:24But President Biden is on the record talking about issuing preemptive pardons to these

14:28people.

14:29But was he aware of his signature being used on every single pardon?

14:33That's a question you should ask the Biden White House.

14:34Is there any evidence on that that he wasn't aware of it?

14:37You're a reporter.

14:38You should find out.

14:39Sean.

14:40I have a question on the timeline of the flights.

14:42You keep talking about the judge's written order, which hit the docket Saturday night

14:45at about 7.26 p.m., but he issued a verbal order before that at about 6.45 and 6.48 p.m.

14:52based on the court hearing of the order from the bench.

14:56Does the White House feel the need to comply with a verbal order from this judge?

15:00Again, as I said, all of the planes subject to the written order of this judge departed

15:06U.S. soil, U.S. territory before the judge's written order.

15:10But what about the verbal order, which of course carries the same legal weight as a

15:14written order and said for the planes to turn around if they were to—

15:17Well, there's actually questions about whether a verbal order carries the same weight as

15:20a legal order, as a written order, and our lawyers are determined to ask and answer those

15:26questions in court.

15:27Sean.

15:28So on Friday, the President suggested at length that it should be illegal to criticize judges,

15:34but he has repeatedly criticized judges who rule against him, and Elon Musk is calling

15:38for impeachment of judges who have opposed the administration.

15:42So how are those two things not in conflict?

15:44I have not heard the President talk about impeaching judges.

15:47I know you mentioned Mr. Musk's tweet, but I have not heard the President of the United

15:51States ask that.

15:52Mary.

15:53Hey, thanks, Caroline.

15:54I wanted to ask about this video I saw this morning set to the tune of, I believe, closing

15:58time about deportations of illegal migrants.

16:02What's the strategy behind the White House's videos they've been putting out on this, and

16:06can you kind of talk us through the thinking on these videos?

16:08Sure.

16:09I think the White House and our entire government clearly is leaning into the message of this

16:14President, and we are unafraid to double down and to take responsibility and ownership of

16:20the serious decisions that are being made.

16:22The President was elected with an overwhelming mandate to launch the largest mass deportation

16:28campaign in American history, and that's exactly what he is doing.

16:32And to this very day, we are now, I think, 56 or seven days into the administration by

16:37my count, the President still receives an overwhelming public support for the policies

16:43that he is enacting.

16:44So we are unafraid to message effectively what the President is doing on a daily basis

16:50to make our communities safer.

16:52And the specific video you referenced, I think it sums up our immigration policy pretty well.

16:57You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

16:59Caroline.

17:00Go ahead.

17:01Thanks, Caroline.

17:02I have two questions.

17:03First, will President Trump put sanctions on Russia if the talks on Tuesday don't go

17:07as hoped?

17:08And secondly, have any illegal immigrants self-deported through CBP home yet?

17:12To your first question, it's something the President has floated, and certainly he's

17:15willing to do if necessary.

17:17I don't have anything to read out, and I would never get ahead of the President on

17:20such a serious decision.

17:22To your second question about the CBP home app, I would have to check in with the Department

17:26of Homeland Security, but it's a great question, and we're very proud to repurpose this app,

17:31which the Biden administration abused to facilitate the mass illegal entry of illegal immigrants

17:37into our country.

17:38It was like a fast pass at Disneyland.

17:40That's not happening under this administration.

17:42We are encouraging illegal immigrants to actively self-deport to maybe save themselves

17:48from being in one of these fun videos.

17:50Caroline.

17:51Sure.

17:52John, good to see you.

17:54After President Trump strafe-bombed the Houthis yesterday, he said that if they retaliate,

18:00he was going to personally hold Iran accountable for that.

18:04Holding them accountable, what would that look like?

18:08Well, I would defer you to what the President put out this morning, John, where he said

18:12very clearly, I will read it, let nobody be fooled.

18:15The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen

18:20who are hated by the Yemeni people, are all created by Iran.

18:24Any further attack or retaliation by the Houthis will be met with great force, and there is

18:29no guarantee that the force will stop there.

18:32Iran has played the innocent victim of rogue terrorists from which they've lost control,

18:36but they haven't lost control.

18:38They are dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and

18:42highly sophisticated military equipment, and even so-called intelligence.

18:47Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon from this point forward as being a shot

18:52fired from the weapons and leadership of Iran, and Iran will be held responsible and suffer

18:57the consequences, and those consequences will be dire.

19:00That is a statement from the President of the United States just moments ago.

19:04I have nothing additional to share, but our message to Iran is you better take this President

19:09seriously, and I think the Houthis learned that the hard way this past weekend.

19:12As I said in my opening remarks, there's a new sheriff in town, and this President is

19:16not just going to sit on his hands and allow terrorists to launch attacks on commercial

19:22vessels and U.S. naval ships.

19:24Those actions will not be tolerated.

19:26Sure, Edward.

19:27Yeah, thanks.

19:28Caroline, on the economy.

19:30So after mostly a down week last week in the economy, you've been very vocal, as well as

19:36other Cabinet members, about how we're in a transition and about how this economic transition

19:41is a plan, a long-term plan for tariffs on this.

19:44How concerned is the President that the markets and Americans, for lack of a better term,

19:48will freak out over these tariffs and be concerned about a long-term plan?

19:52Sure.

19:53I think I've been asked this question and answered this question respectfully, Edward.

19:57We are in a period of transition.

19:59The President has made that clear.

20:00He also has made his belief in tariffs and what they will do for our great country clear,

20:05restoring wealth back to our country.

20:07And if you look at the President's first-term economic formula, massive deregulation, tax

20:12cuts, lowering the cost of living with an energy boom, which the American people can

20:16expect soon.

20:18Wall Street and Main Street should both be assured by what President Trump did in his

20:22first term.

20:23It's the exact same formula.

20:24In fact, I would argue it's even better this time around.

20:27And if you look at some of the economic indicators in the last week, the latest CPI report last

20:31week beat expectations.

20:33Inflation is cooling.

20:34Core inflation dropped for the first time in four months.

20:37The national average of the price of gas is down 42 cents from one year ago.

20:42And there was also a new report out this morning about wholesale egg prices.

20:46They continue to fall.

20:47A dozen eggs are now $3.10 cheaper since January 24th.

20:52First, that's a 47 percent decrease overall.

20:56So I think the American people do have great reason to be optimistic about this economy.

21:00And as I've said repeatedly, it continues to be true.

21:03The administration has a whole-of-government effort to fix the economic mess created by

21:07Biden.

21:08So the President has pointed to that April 2nd tariff deadline, so to speak.

21:13Is the tariff back-and-forth sort of done now?

21:16We're just all looking towards April 2nd?

21:18Well, I think the President would tell you that all options are always on the table.

21:23And he's always ready to respond if he feels the United States is being unfairly treated

21:27by our allies and also our competitors around the world.

21:31But yes, the April 2nd day is a big day for the country, as the President has said.

21:36Reciprocal tariffs will go into effect.

21:38We'll have more details on that as the date nears.

21:41But our entire trade team, Secretary Lutnick, Secretary Besant, the Vice President, has

21:46been quite involved in these talks and discussions as well about what that will look like.

21:51And the President, as you always do, you will hear from him directly on it.

21:55Deborah Saunders, how are you?

21:57Fine.

21:58How are you doing, Caroline?

21:59Good, thanks.

22:00A former pardon attorney, Elizabeth Boyer, believes she was fired for refusing to sign

22:05off on a move to restore gun rights to actor Mel Gibson.

22:09DOJ's Todd Blanche says no.

22:12But I want to know, is the administration dedicated to restoring gun rights to felons

22:17who served their times?

22:18I ask this because I've talked to people who are pardoned.

22:20They felt that was important.

22:21Of course, this isn't necessarily for a pardon.

22:24What is the President's thinking on this issue?

22:26Sure.

22:27After you've served your sentence, should you have gun rights?

22:29It's an important question.

22:30It is one I have not spoken to the President about on his views, but I will take it to

22:35him this afternoon.

22:36I will tell him you asked, and we will get you an answer.

22:39You're welcome.

22:40Jonathan.

22:41Thanks a lot, Caroline.

22:42A question for you regarding the administration complying with judges' orders.

22:48I want to ask about an administration spokesperson whose the borders are, Tom Homan.

22:53He was on Fox News.

22:54We love Tom Homan.

22:55And he was talking about the deportations, and he said the following.

22:59He said, we're not stopping.

23:01I don't care what the judges think, which seems to me, just reading that, that you don't

23:07care what orders come from the federal bench.

23:11Is that the case?

23:12Can you clarify that, please?

23:13Well, I think since you just quoted Tom, I'll quote Tom.

23:17He said, I don't care what the judges think, but I can assure you that the administration

23:21is complying with the court order.

23:23And as I've said repeatedly from this podium, all of the flights that were subject to the

23:28judges' written order departed before the written order, and we are prepared to make

23:32that case in court later this afternoon.

23:35Reagan.

23:36And then if I could, on Russia, the President, as you pointed out, Caroline, made some remarks

23:40on Air Force One coming back from Florida, and he seemed to indicate that the conversation

23:46tomorrow concerns essentially dividing up assets, dividing up territory associated with

23:52the war in Ukraine.

23:54Has President Zelensky given President Trump that authority?

23:58Is that what is going to take place tomorrow?

24:01Well, as you know, the President and his entire national security team have been engaged directly

24:06with President Zelensky and the Ukrainian team, and that has been part of the discussion

24:13between the President's team and the Ukrainians.

24:15As for where those lines will be drawn or any specifics, I am not going to get into

24:19that from this podium.

24:21It would be unwise for me to get ahead of the President's call with President Putin

24:25tomorrow.

24:26But again, I can assure you, in the effort of transparency, as this President always

24:30does, you will hear from him or one of us directly after that phone call tomorrow.

24:34Reagan.

24:35Thank you, Caroline.

24:36There's a lot of focus on the judicial branch right now.

24:39The President has about 40 judicial appointments that he could make at this moment.

24:43Do you have an update on what the timeline would look like for those judicial appointments,

24:47and does the President have a list of potential nominees that he's going to make?

24:51I do not have an update on a timeline, nor do I have a list, but I can certainly have

24:55our team gather that for you and provide it.

24:58You're welcome.

24:59Caroline.

25:00Caroline.

25:01Sure.

25:02Go ahead.

25:03Thank you, Caroline.

25:04Sure.

25:05Thank you, Caroline.

25:06Go ahead.

25:08Yes.

25:09Go ahead.

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25:37Yes?

25:38I may take more questions.

25:39I may take more questions.

25:40Alright, go ahead.

25:41Go ahead.

25:42Yes.

25:43Yeah, I understand you have some questions.

25:46I'm sorry and I'm filtering the questions.

25:52Actually what I'm asking you is, sir, how do you plan to traverse the country of the

26:01United States for the next four years.

26:04seen over the past several years.

26:06The President will be doing a tour of the center.

26:09In his business developer mind, I'm sure he will make some recommendations on how the

26:13center itself can be improved, but also will be discussing perhaps some future plays and

26:19musicals and theatrical programs that the center will be hosting under his new leadership

26:25and the board's new leadership.

26:26Daniel.

26:28Will the President be discussing with Putin tomorrow the future of Volodymyr Zelensky?

26:34Sort of a follow-up to John's question.

26:36Again, I've been asked to answer this question, and I'm not going to get ahead of the President's

26:40discussion tomorrow, but after the phone call takes place, I can certainly provide a readout.

26:44Daniel.

26:45Caroline, thank you so much.

26:46You mentioned earlier in the briefing that you guys are at the 10-yard line of peace.

26:50Given the amount of progress that you've made in such a short amount of time, is that an

26:54indictment of the previous administration's foreign policy stance, and is it just more

26:58proof that you need to talk to people to sort of get things done?

27:01I think so.

27:02I think the previous administration is the reason this war began.

27:05As President Trump often says, this war would have never started if he were still in office.

27:10It only started because of the incompetence and the weakness of the previous administration,

27:15and President Trump is very proud of the progress that he and his team have made in such a short

27:19amount of time, and hopefully tomorrow that progress will move forward.

27:22Sure.

27:24Thanks.

27:25There have been some media reports just in the last few hours that the administration

27:29has decided to withdraw from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of

27:34Aggression Against Ukraine, which is designed to hold Putin accountable for war crimes.

27:41Are you able to confirm that, and if that has occurred, why has that occurred?

27:45I'm not able to confirm it because I have not heard that.

27:48I will caution.

27:49I know there have been many inaccurate and misleading reports from Reuters lately, so

27:54I would caution anybody taking that seriously, but I can check in and get back to you.

27:58Rachel.

27:59Thanks, Caroline.

28:00Is it the President's belief that the Justice Department should be investigating members

28:03of the January 6th Select Committee?

28:04Is he directing the DOJ to do that?

28:06As the President made it very clear in his address on Friday – I believe some of you

28:09were there, I was there – he made his vision for what he would like to see of the Department

28:14of Justice very clear, but he said that he has appointed great people and Attorney General

28:19Pam Bondi and also in our FBI Director Kash Patel to do what they think is best for our

28:25justice system and to stop the weaponization of justice that we saw under the previous

28:29administration against not just President Trump, but his supporters as well.

28:33We want to restore the Department of Justice to an institution that focuses on fighting

28:37law and order and crime and putting real criminals behind bars, not targeting Americans because

28:43of their religion or their political speech.

28:45We saw that under the previous administration, and it's unacceptable to this President.

28:49And just to follow up really quickly on just Homan's comments from earlier, a few weeks

28:52ago in the Oval Office, the President said he will always abide by the courts.

28:55We heard what Tom Homan said earlier today.

28:58So I'm only asking just to be clear for the American people, it is the administration's

29:02belief that they will – that you feel like you are bound to comply by the judge's orders?

29:05We are complying with the judge's orders.

29:07A question on the storms.

29:08Sure.

29:09What role does the President see for FEMA with these storms?

29:11He's talking about getting rid of FEMA, states handling their own disasters.

29:14Is he planning to change the federal government response to these storms?

29:18There hasn't been a change yet.

29:19That doesn't mean there couldn't be in the future.

29:22But as of right now, the President, the entire administration are actively monitoring the

29:26storms, as I said.

29:27In fact, before I came down here, there was an email note in my inbox from the Department

29:30of Homeland Security on what they are actually doing state by state across the board.

29:34So rest assured, Secretary Nome and her team is on it, and I would defer you to the Department

29:38of Homeland Security for any further details.

29:40One more question.

29:41The President referenced power plants with a conversation with Vladimir Putin.

29:46What is he referring to with power plants?

29:47What does that mean?

29:48There's a power plant that is on the border of Russia and Ukraine that was up for discussion

29:53with the Ukrainians, and he will address it in his call with Putin tomorrow.

29:55The nuclear plant?

29:56Correct.

29:57Yes.

29:58Caroline?

29:59Do you have a question?

30:00Yes.

30:01Okay.

30:02Go ahead.

30:03I wanted to ask you if you would be releasing more granular data about the people who were

30:06sent to El Salvador this week.

30:09Particularly, will you be releasing their names?

30:13I don't believe so because of the privacy concerns at this point in time.

30:16That doesn't mean we won't eventually.

30:18I would defer you to the Department of Homeland Security for more details on the individuals

30:22on the flights.

30:23But we have been incredibly transparent in giving you the breakdown of the numbers and

30:27also some of the crimes committed by these heinous criminals and individuals.

30:31Kidnapping, sexual abuse of a child, robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer.

30:36I would remind everybody in this room that Tren de Aragua is a foreign terrorist organization

30:41operating within the United States of America because the previous administration allowed

30:46them to invade our country.

30:47These are monsters who tortured, raped, and murdered a 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungre.

30:51They murdered 22-year-old nursing student Lakin Riley.

30:55They led a multi-state sex trafficking operation involving smuggling women into the United

31:00States, holding them in stash houses in Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia,

31:06and forcing them into prostitution.

31:08They kidnapped and murdered a 33-year-old woman in Texas.

31:11They sexually and physically assaulted a woman and her daughter in Wisconsin.

31:15They conducted a mass shooting in Illinois.

31:17They peddled untraceable ghost guns across New York City, took over an Aurora, Colorado

31:22apartment complex where they kidnapped and tortured victims.

31:25And by the way, many of you in the mainstream media said that didn't happen.

31:29It turned out that it did.

31:30And because of the effective immigration policies of this administration, those foreign terrorists

31:35were detained and they are no longer operating on American soil.

31:39And we have President Trump to thank for that.

31:41We'll see you guys later at the Kennedy Center.

31:42Thanks so much.

31:43Thanks, Caroline.

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