Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

1:13 P.M. EST

MS. LEAVITT: Good afternoon, everybody.

Q: Good afternoon.

MS. LEAVITT: How are we today?

Q: Great.

Q: Good.

MS. LEAVITT: Good.

During his inaugural address, President Trump promised that America would be a manufacturing nation once again, and liberal pundits mocked him for it, but those critics were proven wrong once again. On the heels of President Trump's Oval Office meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook last week, Apple just announced its largest-ever commitment to American jobs in industry with plans to spend and invest more than $500 billion in America over the next four years.

Over the course of the current Trump administration, Apple plans to hire around 20,000 new workers, creating high-paying jobs right here in America. And the investment isn't limited to one specific region of our country. Apple teams and facilities will expand all over our country: in Arizona, California, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. With President Trump in charge, America is open for business.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said it best in the company's announcement, "We are bullish on the future of American innovation."

On top of this incredible Apple announcement, President Trump already announced more than $1 trillion in pledged investments into the United States.

And on another important note that the American people entrusted President Trump to fulfill, this administration's efforts to seal the border continue to prove extraordinarily successful.

In President Trump's first month back in office alone, illegal border crossings hit lows not seen in decades, down 94 percent over the past year, while interior arrests are up 134 percent.

And this past Saturday -- this is a significant statistic that I wanted to share with all of you -- there were only 220 illegal border crossings on Saturday. This is a 15-year low. Think about that in comparison to the amount of illegal border crossings we saw under the previous administration.

Fox recently reported that a San Diego migrant shelter is closing its doors after saying they have not received new asylum-seeking families or individuals since January 20th. We all know what happened on January 20th, don't we?

And yesterday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the massive Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter in Manhattan will shut down in the next few months.

We're also seeing a reverse migration effect. There are now verified reports from the Associated Press of migrants abandoning their journey to the United States and heading back home. This is the first time the Border Patrol has received these reports since 2020, during President Trump's first term. The returning migrants claimed in interviews that the new heavy security posture adopted by the Trump administration was a significant reason for their decision to return to the countries of their origin.

Overall, the American people continue to overwhelmingly give President Trump very positive marks. Nearly every one of President Trump's policy initiatives are receiving strong majority support, and I have noted that in every briefing since Inauguration Day.

81 percent of Americans support deporting illegal migrant criminals from our nation's interior.

76 percent of Americans support the DOGE-led efforts of a full-scale investigation to find and eliminate fraud and waste in government expenditures.

Again, this is from a Harvard/Harris poll, a very legitimate pollster.

76 percent of Americans support closing the border.

69 percent of Americans support President Trump's commonsense efforts to ban men from women's sports. As you all know, we celebrated that executive order at the White House a couple of weeks ago.

65 percent of Americans support the president's efforts to eliminate all preferences by race in the hiring and awarding of government contracts, which is another pledge that DOGE is working hard to fulfill.

And 61 percent of Americans -- the vast majority -- support the president's plan for reciprocal tariffs to ensure that other countries are treating us the way we have always been treated.

Despite what many Democrats and media members want you to believe, the Trump agenda is not only necessary, but it is overwhelmingly popular. Why? Because it's driven by common sense.

And finally, as you all saw yesterday, a federal judge denied the Associated Press's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order against myself; our deputy chief of staff, Taylor Budowich; and our chief of staff, Susie Wiles, for our decision to remove the Associated Press from the White House press pool for certain and special events.

The judge's ruling upholding our decision to deny the Associated Press such privileged access reinforces the truth, and it reiterates what I said from this podium last week when that suit was filed: asking the president of the United States questions in limited spaces, such as the Oval Office and Air Force One, is a privilege that unfortunately has only been granted to a few. It is not a legal right for all.

The Trump Administration has already proven to be the most transparent ever and this president the most accessible in history. This is evidenced by President Trump's daily press conferences in the Oval Office, where he takes many questions from the journalists who have the honor and privilege of standing before the beautiful Resolute Desk.

The president and this entire White House are committed to ensuring the American people continue to receive this same level of historic transparency, access, and visibility.

In fact, we want to double down and give even greater access to the American people. We want more outlets and new outlets to have a chance to take part in the press pool, to cover this administration's unprecedented achievements up close, front and center.

As you all know, for decades, a group of D.C.-based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore.

I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows, and who listen to your radio stations.

Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team. Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join, fear not, but we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.

Just like we added a new media seat in this briefing room, legacy media outlets who have been here for years will still participate in the pool, but new voices are going to be welcomed in as well.

As part of these changes, we will continue the rotation amongst the five major television networks to ensure the president's remarks are heard far and wide around this world. We will add additional streaming services, which reach different audiences than traditional cable and broadcast. This is the ever-changing landscape of the media in the United States today.

We will continue to rotate a print pooler who has the great responsibility of quickly transcribing the president's remarks and disseminating them to the rest of the world. And we will add outlets to the print pool rotation who have long been denied the privilege to partake in this experience but are committed to covering this White House beat.

We will continue to rotate a radio pooler and add other radio hosts who have been denied access, especially local radio hosts who serve as the heartbeat of our country.

And we will add additional outlets and reporters who are well suited to cover the news of the day and ask substantive questions of the president of the United States, depending on the news he is making on that given day.

This administration is shaking up Washington in more ways than one. That's what we were elected to do. As I have said since the first day behind this podium, it's beyond time that the White House press operation reflects the media habits of the American people in 2025, not 1925.

A select group of D.C.-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House. All journalists, outlets, and voices deserve a seat at this highly coveted table.

So, by deciding which outlets make up the limited press pool on a day-to-day basis, the White House will be restoring power back to the American people, who President Trump was elected to serve.

So, in that note, in our new media seat today, we have Shelby Talcott, who is a White House reporter for Semafor. In 2022, Semafor launched as a global digital news platform with the aim of bringing meaningful innovations to the news industry. Today, they have nearly 1 million newsletter subscribers, spanning 11 separate editions.

With that, Shelby, I will take your questions.

Q: Thanks, Karoline. I've got two for you. One on foreign policy. Over the weekend, the president's special missions envoy, Ric Grenell, was talking about Venezuela, and he said that the president isn't someone who wants regime change. Other administration officials have made clear that they don't see Maduro as the rightful leader. What is this administration's policy on a new government in Venezuela?

MS. LEAVITT: I think the president has made his position on Venezuela quite clear. He stands in opposition to the Maduro regime.

And Secretary Rubio has spoken on this extensively as well.

Q: And then, on DOGE. Last night, Elon Musk said that a "Failure to respond a second time will result in termination." Will there be additional rounds of the "What did you do this week" email from DOGE to federal workers? And what's the guidance on the federal workers who have been instructed by their agencies not to reply?

MS. LEAVITT: So, a couple of things on this. First of all, let's just take a step back and talk about this idea. The president sent out a Truth last weekend to Elon Musk saying he loves everything Elon is doing, and he wants him to be even more aggressive, because DOGE, thus far, has proven incredibly successful in making our government more efficient.

And so, Elon and DOGE came up with this idea. Elon has implemented this at his private companies. It has proven successful. And it's a very simple idea, when you think about it. All the Office of Personnel Management is asking, all this administration is asking, President Trump is asking is for federal workers who live off of the American taxpayers' dime to send five bullet points of what they have done in the previous week. That is all we are asking for.

And so, the Office of Personnel and Management sent out additional guidance last night. Those responses should be directed to agency leadership, and the president defers to his Cabinet secretaries, who he has obviously entrusted, to pursue the guidance relative to their specific workforce.

And for some of the agencies that you've seen who have said "please don't send these emails," it's in their best interest for that specific agency, and the president supports that.

And let me be very clear, the president and Elon and his entire Cabinet are working as one unified team, and they are implementing these very commonsense solutions.

Q: Thank you.

MS. LEAVITT: You're welcome.

Jacqui.

Q: Thank you. One follow-up on her question. So, about the deadline, Alina Habba said that you have until tonight. Elon Musk said a "Failure to respond a second time would result in termination." So, is that a real deadline? Should -- should federal workers be looking to that guidance, or should they be looking to the agency heads? Like, what is the actual deadline?

MS. LEAVITT: So, again, the agency heads will determine the best practices for their employees at their specific agencies.

Again, this was an idea that Elon came up with. DOGE worked with OPM to actually implement the idea. And the secretaries are responsible for their specific workforce. And this is true of the hirings and the firings that have taken place.

And we advise federal workers, unless your agency has dictated you not to, to respond to this email. In fact, I can announce that we've had more than 1 million workers who have chosen to participate in this very simple task of, again, sending five bullet points to your direct supervisor or manager, cc'ing OPM. I actually participated it in [it] myself. It took me about a minute and a half to think of five things I did last week. I do 5 things in about 10 minutes. And all federal workers should be working at the same pace that President Trump is working and moving.

We have a country to save, and we want this federal government to be responsive to the needs of the American people who reelected this president to have historic, massive reform, and that's what the intention of this idea is.

Q: Can --

Q: Karoline --

Q: Can you clarify one thing, though, because Elon Musk also said that a reason that they wanted this "five things" email was just to see if people are actually alive, citing that there are some federal workers --

MS. LEAVITT: Yeah.

Q: -- who might not even be alive. So, meantime, NBC is reporting that these responses are going to go into an AI generator to evaluate whether these jobs are necessary. So, is it just to see if people are actually working, or is it an effort to maybe cut some of those jobs?

MS. LEAVITT: I have not seen that NBC News report, and I haven't heard that from DOGE or from Elon himself. Again, this is to ensure that federal workers are not ripping off American taxpayers, that they are showing up to the office, and that they are doing their jobs. That's what the American people expect, and it's a very simple task to complete.

I did it myself, and I was more than happy to do it because I'm very grateful that I am serving the American people on the American taxpayers' dime.

Q: Do you think DOGE should hire a spokesperson, just so that Elon Musk doesn't put out tweets that then confuse federal workers?

MS. LEAVITT: Are my press briefings not good enough for you, Jacqui? (Laughter.)

John.

Q: Karoline, thank you. In the -- in the ruling by Judge McFadden yesterday, who dismissed the lawsuit that AP brought against yourself and -- and your -- and your team members here and President Trump, in there, he said, "Why not just do away with the entire White House Correspondents' Association along with it," because, essentially, they have no authority. They just usurped it. What is your reaction to that?

MS. LEAVITT: Well, first of all, John, it's great to see you.

Q: Thank you.

MS. LEAVITT: And you are one of those individuals who has a streaming platform that hundreds of thousands of people tune into every day.

Q: Thank you.

MS. LEAVITT: So, it's great to see you in the briefing room.

I did address that, actually, in my opening remarks by announcing that the White House press team and this administration will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office.

There are, as you know -- look at this room -- hundreds of journalists who show up to this building every single day and are not granted that luxury of flying on Air Force One and asking the president of the United States questions. And so, we want to ensure, again, everyone has a seat at that highly coveted table.

But, alas, the legacy media outlets who have been doing this for quite some time and have invested resources into covering the White House, their spots will remain, just like they have in this briefing room as well.

Q: Thank you.

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Steve.

Q: Could you give us an update on the negotiations around the Ukraine minerals deal? And -- and when is President Zelenskyy going to v- -- come visit?

MS. LEAVITT: So, the president talked at length about this yesterday, the critical minerals deal, with President Macron --

Q: Yes.

MS. LEAVITT: -- and in the more than hour-long press conference he gave all of you in the Oval Office himself.

There hasn't been significant updates since the president's remarks last night, but I will just reiterate his position. It's critical that this deal is signed. He expects President Zelenskyy to sign a deal. This is to recoup American tax dollars that have been funding Ukraine's national defense. And it's also great for the Ukrainian people, who have been put through hell because of this war. And it will create a lasting economic partnership, as Ukraine will need to rebuild their country because of this brutal war.

Q: And then just to follow. Has Steve Witkoff delayed his trip to the Middle East so he can concentrate on this minerals deal?

MS. LEAVITT: I don't want to comment on Mr. Witkoff's travel plans or read anything out, just for obvious reasons.

But he, you know, remains very much working. That man is working around the clock to secure this deal with Russia and Ukraine, alongside Secretary Rubio and Secretary Bessent, General Keith Kellogg.

He's also working very hard to secure a peace deal in the Middle East as well. So, God bless him. And he's working alongside the president every single day.

Sure.

Q: Thanks, Karoline. The president's executive order creating DOGE called for the naming of a DOGE administrator.

MS. LEAVITT: Mm-hmm.

Q: Who is the DOGE administrator?

MS. LEAVITT: So, the president tasked Elon Musk to oversee the DOGE effort. There are career officials and there are political appointees who are helping run DOGE on a day-to-day basis. There are also individuals who have onboarded as political appointees at every agency across the board to work alongside President Trump's Cabinet to find and identify waste, fraud, and abuse, and they are working on that effort every day.

Reagan.

Q: So, is Elon Musk the administrator?

Q: Thank you.

MS. LEAVITT: Reagan.

Q: Thanks, Karoline. I have two for you today, one on the border wall and one on the DHS investigation.

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: First, on the border wall. Border wall construction has restarted in Texas and California under contracts awarded under Trump's first term. Is the president looking to secure new contracts? And how is he defining success in terms of border wall construction in this administration?

MS. LEAVITT: The border wall is a signature promise of President Trump's campaign. He talked about it way back in 2015 and 2016, and people laughed at him for bringing up this idea. It's proven to be not only an idea that he delivered on in his first term and continues to deliver on in his second term, but it's also proven to be highly effective.

In fact, we know where there were parts of President Trump's border wall built and standing under the previous administration, illegal border crossings dropped 87 percent where there was a border wall. So, the wall is an incredible deterrent factor for illegal migrant caravans.

The president is committed to the continuation of the construction of the wall.

And, you know, the previous administration actually sold off the resources that the Trump administration secured to build the wall, and that's an egregious misuse of the American taxpayers' money. They just let those resources rot on the southern border. They actually sold them for pennies on the dollar.

So, this administration, DHS and ICE and Customs and Border Patrol and Tom Homan and all of the great people you know who are working on this effort are committed to continuing the construction of President Trump's border wall.

Q: On the DHS investigation into people who might be leaking within the administration. Will the White House release the names of the individuals that DHS Secretary Noem said were caught leaking details of the ICE raid? And can you share how many leakers have been caught so far and what agency they were a part of?

MS. LEAVITT: I would defer you to DHS on the leakers that they have identified, but I know the president and this White House commend Secretary Noem for launching an internal investigation to identify those leakers, because it's unacceptable for career bureaucrats who are standing in the way of the will of the American people in enacting President Trump's agenda.

If they don't want to adhere to the will of the 77 million Americans who reelected President Trump, then they should go find another job. And if they continue to leak information, especially information that is critical to protecting Border Patrol agents and ICE agents who are out there doing jobs that not many people are willing to do, putting their lives on the line to protect our national security, then those individuals absolutely should be fired, and this administration is committed to finding them.

Q: Karoline.

Q: Karoline.

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: Karoline, two questions for you, one related to Guantanamo Bay, the other to the White House Correspondents' Dinner. I wanted to get your response to some Washington Post reporting of the migrants who stayed over at Guantanamo Bay for the last two weeks. They told the Post they were "rarely let outside." They were shackled and placed in what they described as "cages," and alleged that they were not treated as human beings. Does the White House have any response to those conditions?

MS. LEAVITT: At Guantanamo Bay?

Q: Mm-hmm.

MS. LEAVITT: It's a promise the president campaigned on, that if you invade our nation's borders, if you break our country's laws, and if then you further commit heinous, brutal crimes in the interior of our country, like raping and murdering innocent law-abiding women and girls and committing heinous acts of violence, then you are going to be deported from this country, and you may be held at Guantanamo Bay. These are criminals we are talking about. Don't forget that.

Q: On the --

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: Yeah. Thank you. So, U.S. consumer confidence fell this month the most since August of 2021. What is your message for Americans who are concerned about the impact of things, such as tariffs, on prices?

MS. LEAVITT: Yeah, sure. Well, thank you for that question. It's obviously an important one.

The president campaigned on reigniting the Trump economy and fixing the mess that was created by the previous administration. We know they created an economic and an inflation nightmare for the American people, and I'm not going to stand up here and lie to you like my predecessor did about the state of our economy.

We understand there are people that are hurting, and this administration is wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that those individuals see relief and price reductions and tax cuts and in less regulations that are burdensome on their household and their businesses. And the president and this entire administration are focused on that every day.

I can go through the very long list of economic actions this president has taken. I know you work for Bloomberg, so I'm sure you're well aware of them. But I can assure the American people that the president is very much focused on bringing down the cost-of-living crisis in this country that was created by the previous administration.

Q: Thanks. If I could just ask a quick follow-up --

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: Is the president planning on whipping any votes to -- for support for the House budget vote? And if so, to whom is he making calls?

MS. LEAVITT: I'm not aware of any calls that he has made. I did talk to the president about his position on this just before coming down here, and he said that he's made it very clear to the Hill what his priorities for a budget are. He said it to the Speaker of the House. He said it to Leader Thune. The Senate and the House know what President Trump want and know what the American people want, and so he expects Congress to get it done.

He's looking at the proposal from the House. He will also be looking at the proposal that, I believe, the Senate is drafting up as well.

Q: Karoline.

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: Thank you. Thank you, Karoline. I have a few questions. Does the United States -- I'm sorry. Let me look at my notes.

(Cross-talk.)

MS. LEAVITT: Well, why don't you identify your question, and I'll come back to you.

Q: Karoline, wha- -- thank you.

Q: Karoline, can I follow up on the budget question?

MS. LEAVITT: Sure. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. So, what guarantee that Israel will withdraw from Lebanon soil after two weeks as the ceasefire terms was -- like, indicates?

MS. LEAVITT: I'm not sure about the guarantee that you're referring to.

I can tell you that this administration remains very much engaged. We know the deadline for the phase one ceasefire is imminent. So, Steve Witkoff, whom I mentioned earlier, and the president's administration and his team and the president himself remain very much engaged.

We want to see the ceasefire continue. And the president has made it very clear he wants to see all of the hostages who have been held in captivity in Gaza returned home.

Jeff.

Q: Karoline, I was wondering if -- is Elon Musk going to attend the president's first Cabinet meeting tomorrow?

MS. LEAVITT: He is, as a matter of fact. I spoke to the president about that before coming down here as well. And Elon, considering he is working alongside the president and our Cabinet secretaries, this entire administration will be in attendance tomorrow just to talk about DOGE's efforts and how all of the Cabinet secretaries are identifying waste, fraud, and abuse at their respective agencies.

We look forward to the meeting tomorrow, and I think you'll be hearing from the president and his Cabinet when they're on campus tomorrow. I hope you guys are excited.

Q: Since some of those Cabinet members were caught off guard by the email from Saturday --

MS. LEAVITT: Nobody was caught off guard.

Q: A few departments said they were caught off guard. The FBI was, the DOJ was, the Department of Defense was.

MS. LEAVITT: Did anonymous sources say that or did the Cabinet secretaries say that?

Q: The Cabinet secretaries and others have said that they were not aware that this was happening.

So, I'm wondering, like, will there be a give and take tomorrow at the Cabinet meeting? Is Elon Musk or the president open to any type of dialogue about who is actually in charge of the chain of command of these workers?

MS. LEAVITT: I would reject the premise of your question, Jeff. The Cabinet secretaries have not said that. I know anonymous sources, probably career bureaucrats, have leaked that to many of you in this room.

But as I said at the beginning of this press conference, everybody is working as one team, and the president respects the decisions of his Cabinet secretaries to tell their staff not to respond to that email because they did so out of interests of national security and they don't want to, obviously, risk confidential information. It's pretty common sense.

Dasha.

Q: Musk has obviously been doing a lot of work. He's been working every day and, a lot of the time, weekends. He is designated as a special government employee, which means that he can only work 130 days per year. Is the White House expecting him to limit his work to 130 days, or are you going to work around those rules? Do you want to see him extend beyond the 130 days?

MS. LEAVITT: So, today is February 25th, so I think we've been here about 35 days, roughly, so ask me in another 100 days.

Daniel.

Q: Karoline, thank you. You opened up with a major announcement from Apple: $500 billion, 20,000 jobs, doubling its advanced manufacturing fund.

MS. LEAVITT: Yeah.

Q: What does that signal that such a global brand would make what it called "its largest-ever spend commitment" just a month into President Trump's second term? What does that signal about his economic vision for the country?

MS. LEAVITT: President Trump is a dealmaker, and he has restored confidence in business leaders around this entire world. Apple is one of the largest companies on the face of the planet. They employ hundreds of thousands of Americans, but the president wants to see more Americans employed, more investments here in the United States of America.

And this is another fulfillment of the president's campaign promises. I recall President Trump at his rallies on the campaign telling the world that: If and when I am elected, America is going to be back, and we want your investments to be driven on shore. We want you to hire American workers, and you will have the lowest regulatory burden, the lowest tax cuts.

And the president has already proven he's committed to slashing regulation. He's counting on Congress to implement those tax cuts.

And so, people are encouraged by the president's -- again, as Tim Cook called it, they're bullish about American innovation because of the leadership of this president.

And that's a stark contrast to the leadership of the previous administration, Joe Biden, who I don't think spent any time trying to recruit any investments or jobs here at home.

Mary.

Q: Thanks, Karoline. We're hearing from some Republicans who are voicing concerns about how these cuts are being carried out. Congressman McCormick, a Republican from Georgia, tells us he's worried it's too rapid for real people to adapt to, and he says he's concerned that it could come off as "discompassionate," in her -- in his words, that it could risk undercutting the strong message that he feels you're trying to send about the need to cut government waste.

MS. LEAVITT: Well, I think that that was one comment from one senator, and I think, as I cited in my opening remarks in the poll, the most important people are the American people, and 77 percent of Americans at home support a full investigation into the waste, fraud, and abuse that the federal government has been spending their tax dollars on. So, that's the people the president cares about most, and that's why we're fulfilling this pledge.

And again, it should come as no secret to anybody. The president campaigned on doing this.

Q: I just want -- the president yesterday said if you don't respond to this email, you will be fired or semi-fired. What does it -- what does he mean by that?

MS. LEAVITT: Again, I've been asked and answered this question three times now. It is --

Q: But "semi-fired," what --

MS. LEAVITT: But it's --

Q: -- does that mean?

MS. LEAVITT: But it's in the memo. The president, again, has entrusted his Cabinet secretaries to oversee their workforce. That's why he nominated them to be Cabinet secretaries. And so, federal workers can be directed to their agency leadership.

Q: Sixth row. (Inaudible). Sixth row.

Q: Karoline.

Q: Karoline.

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: Great. Thanks, Karoline. I wanted to ask about -- a federal judge yesterday was saying that they didn't know who the DOGE administrator was and was asking the -- the lawyer for the administration who it was, and the lawyer responded, "I don't know the answer to that." Can you tell us who the administrator of DOGE is?

MS. LEAVITT: Again, I've been asked and answered this question. Elon Musk is overseeing DOGE. There are career offi- --

Q: So, he's the administrator?

MS. LEAVITT: There are -- no. Elon Musk is a special government employee, which I've also been asked and have answered that question as well.

Q: So, who is the administrator?

MS. LEAVITT: There are career officials at DOGE. There are political appointees at DOGE. I am not going to reveal the name of that individual from this podium. I am happy to follow up and provide that to you.

But we've been incredibly transparent about the way that DOGE is working.

Q: And if I could just ask about the --

MS. LEAVITT: Jon.

(Cross-talk.)

Q: Thanks, Karoline.

MS. LEAVITT: Jon.

Q: Thanks a lot, Karoline. Since your last briefing, there have been some personnel moves that have been announced by the president, and I wanted to ask you about them. One was the president replacing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General CQ Brown, Jr. What was the reason for the president naming a replacement for General Brown?

And then I'll follow up with another personnel announcement that's been made over the last few days.

MS. LEAVITT: He thinks he's doing a bad job, and it's time for a shake-up at the Pentagon. They failed seven audits in a row. The trust in our United States military, amongst the war fighters, is low. The president is shaking up the Pentagon and the Department of Defense, of course with Secretary Hegseth leading. And he has the right to do that. It's actually quite common from administration to administration to do such a thing.

Q: The president, when he swore him in as the chief of staff for the Air Force, called him "a great man" and "a great gentleman." Does he distance himself from the remarks that he made back in August of 2020?

MS. LEAVITT: I think replacing him speaks for itself.

Q: And then on --

MS. LEAVITT: James.

Q: There was one -- one other --

Q: Thank you.

Q: One other one, if -- I'm sor- -- thank you. On the FBI, the president also announced a new deputy director of the FBI, Dan Bongino. From what has been reported, and maybe this is not accurate reporting -- you can tell me -- the FBI director, Kash Patel, informed Republican senators that it would be an individual named as the deputy who was a special agent currently at the FBI. And, of course, Mr. Bongino is not. What was the reason for naming Mr. Bongino to this position? And was Mr. Patel not correct in making that assurance to those senators?

MS. LEAVITT: I'm not sure if anybody in this room has listened to Mr. Bongino when he talks about the past corruption at the FBI, when he talks about his experience serving the United States Secret Service. This is a man who loves his country and who has honorably served our country in ways that many people have not. He understands the depth of the corruption at these institutions, which the American people reelected President Trump to shake up.

And I think it's quite despicable to see many networks in this room who have had chyrons on their television screens labeling Mr. Bongino as a far-right podcaster. He is not. He is a former law enforcement agent. He is a former Secret Service agent who put his life on the line to protect this country. And that is why the president of the United States has entrusted him for this important role.

He's also an outsider to this Washington swamp, and we often see that when outsiders are appointed to such coveted positions, a lot of people in this city get very, very nervous. And they should be, because Dan Bongino and Kash Patel and Attorney General Bondi are focused on rooting out the corruption at these agencies and ending the weaponization of government once and for all.

I'd like to end with something. As you all know --

Q: Calling on James, as you were just about to do before you called on Jon.

MS. LEAVITT: You know what, James. I'm feeling generous. Go ahead. (Laughter.)

Q: Thank you. I will take it. Thank you, Karoline.

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: I wanted to ask about --

MS. LEAVITT: Don't make me regret this. (Laughter.)

Q: I -- I wanted to ask about the Macron visit and the -- the Russia-Ukraine talks in general.

MS. LEAVITT: Sure.

Q: It was pretty clear to my eye that President Macron was performing a kind of delicate dance, lavishing praise on the president while seeking in his own remarks to try to bind President Trump to positions and even specific language that the president has not committed to heretofore.

One of the most bracing comments from President Macron was when he said that the deal that President Trump is negotiating with the Russians must not be, quote, "a surrender" for Ukraine.

All of the public points that we have heard from President Trump, from Secretary Hegseth, and from other administration officials talking about these negotiations have averred to -- quite openly, to concessions from the Ukrainians that will have to be made: the minerals deal, the abandonment of their NATO ambitions, and other elements. So far, we have not heard any administration officials suggest a single concession that the Russians should be prepared to make.

And so, I wonder if you could assure us, at a minimum, that this negotiation process will not be as one-sided as the Europeans seem to think it is and that, in fact, President Putin will also be made to engage in some concessions to reach this deal.

MS. LEAVITT: Well, I think the president knows how to make a deal better than anyone who has ever assumed the office of the American presidency. And in order to make a deal, you have to bring both sides to the table. And typically, when you make a good deal, both sides leave that table a little bit unhappy.

I'm not going to outline the concessions that the president and his team are engaged in discussing. These are obviously ongoing negotiations, and it would be unwise of me to impede them from this podium.

But the president has made significant improvements in ending this conflict. He is committed to seeing an end to the war. He wants to see the bloodshed and the killing stopped. He wants to stop seeing young men being killed and slaughtered. This has been going on for far too long. The president inherited this mess because of the incompetence of the previous administration, and he's committed to fixing it.

And he's made, you know, some of those concessions clear, but I'm not going to get ahead of him on additional ones. But he is wholeheartedly committed to striking a peace deal in Russia and Ukraine, also in the Middle East.

Thank you very much, guys. Good to see you.

Q: Thank you.

MS. LEAVITT: We'll see you later.

Q: Thank you.

END 1:48 P.M. EST