White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defends President Trump’s immigration policies amid DHS funding negotiations, citing his commitment to enforcing laws and supporting ICE/CBP despite Democratic calls for reform. She clarifies Trump’s "naturalize voting" remark as support for the SAVE Act, which aims to curb election fraud, and highlights trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi to advance Ukraine peace efforts while blaming Biden’s leadership for Russia’s recent attacks. Leavitt also touts Trump’s economic policies, including a $500B Indian trade deal excluding Russian oil, and dismisses comparisons of ICE agents to Nazi forces, citing past enforcement under Obama without controversy. The episode underscores Trump’s focus on election integrity, manufacturing growth, and addressing perceived border security failures, framing his actions as responses to urgent national concerns rather than partisan motives. [Automatically generated summary]
So that's one of the names that both Democrats and Republicans on the committee wanted to depose.
He's 88, so we're trying to make exceptions with respect to his age and physical condition.
But certainly we nailed down that deposition.
That'll happen in a couple of weeks.
So this investigation will move along.
Hopefully we can get everything in that we need, depose everyone that I think most Americans feel like should be deposed, and then go from there.
We'll see what we have.
We'll see if we can answer the basic question is how did the government fail the victims?
And hopefully we can provide some type of closure or justice for the victims because that's what this investigation is about.
It's not for entertainment purposes.
It's not for political purposes.
It's to provide justice for the victims.
So thank you all very much.
unidentified
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Also, today down Pennsylvania Avenue, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt spoke to reporters about the two-week period set aside to negotiate funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
She also emphasized that President Trump remains committed to enforcing immigration laws.
This is about 13 minutes.
Hello, Caroline.
Hello, Caroline.
What can you tell us?
I'm sorry about the meeting with President Gustavo Petro.
The meeting was just wrapping up as I was walking out here.
So I will go in and get a readout from the president, which I myself, or I'm sure he will provide to all of you directly on Truth Social.
But I spoke with the President before the meeting, and he was in a very positive headspace, and he was looking forward to sitting down with President Petro to have a conversation.
What does President Trump mean when he says Republicans ought to naturalize voting?
What does that look like in practice?
What the President was referring to is the SAVE Act, which is a huge common sense piece of legislation that Republicans have supported that President Trump is committed to signing into law during his term.
And he spoke with the Speaker directly about that yesterday, about the need to get that bill on the floor for a vote because it provides very common sense measures for voting in our country, such as voter ID.
I don't think any rational person who's being honest with themselves would disagree with the idea of requiring citizens of this country to present an ID before casting a ballot in a federal election or frankly in any election.
And that's something the president wants to see happen.
So that's what he was referring to.
unidentified
To be clear, he does believe the state should oversee all.
The president believes in the United States Constitution.
However, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections.
And again, voter ID is a highly popular and common sense policy that the president wants to pursue and he wants to pass legislation to make that happen for all states across the country.
unidentified
Just to follow up on that, he said specifically that they should take over elections in 15 states.
Can you tell us what he meant by that, what 15 states he's referring to in terms of Republicans taking over elections?
Again, what I was just telling you is that with the passage of the SAVE Act, voter ID will be implemented across all 50 states.
The president was referring to specific states in which we have seen a high degree of fraud.
If you look at states like California or if you look at New York City, for example, non-citizens are allowed to vote in elections in places like California and New York City.
That just creates a system, an electoral system, that is absolutely ripe with fraud.
And you cannot deny the fact that, unfortunately, there are millions of people who have questions about that, as does the president.
He wants to make it right, and the SAVE Act is a solution to doing it.
Can you hear me?
unidentified
Carol, the January ISM manufacturing PMI hit a score of north of 52.
It's the best score since August of 2022.
What should that tell Americans about manufacturing activity possibly surging under the Trump administration?
Well, the President's tariffs are working and his economic agenda is working.
When you combine tariffs and reshoring American manufacturing and investments in this country, which the President has played a huge role in directly recruiting those investments from countries and companies all over the world to the United States, you're creating jobs.
We've seen construction jobs have surged in the past few months.
That's because those factories are being built right here in the United States and we're putting Americans to work.
So our manufacturing sector is obviously something the president cares a lot about.
That's why he's so determined and dedicated to his tariff policy, which as you all saw yesterday, the president struck another great trade deal with India.
He spoke with Prime Minister Modi directly.
They share a very good relationship.
India committed to not only no longer purchasing Russian oil, but buying oil from the United States, also perhaps from Venezuela too, which we know will now have a direct benefit on the United States and the American people.
And in addition to that, Prime Minister Modi committed to $500 billion of investments into the United States, including for transportation, for energy, and for agricultural products as well.
So this is another great trade deal, thanks to President Trump.
unidentified
Why is Tulsi Gabbard involved in a domestic law enforcement search in Georgia?
Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by the President of the United States to oversee the sanctity and the security of our American elections.
She's working directly alongside the FBI director, Kash Patel.
This is a coordinated whole-of-government effort to ensure that our elections, again, are fair and transparent moving forward.
I don't see anything wrong with the President tasking cabinet member to pursue an issue that most people want to see solved.
Maybe you don't, but I know many Americans do want to make sure our elections are protected, and that's what Tulsi Gabbard is focused on doing.
unidentified
Is there something specific that the President has concerns about that led him to ask the Director of National Intelligence to go down to Fulton County?
I just explained the President's concerns with voting in this country, and it's something that he wants to see solved for future elections, and I think that's something all Americans can get behind.
unidentified
As told President Petro, drug dealer, talk, lunatic, and President Petro has called the American Army to not pay attention to President Trump.
Well, look, I just spoke with Special Envoy Whitcoff, and these talks, as of right now, are still scheduled.
President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango.
You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy.
And that's something that Special Envoy Witkoff is intent on exploring and discussing.
As always, though, of course, the President has a range of options on the table with respect to Iran as commander-in-chief.
I think they learned that quite well last year with the strike in Operation Midnight Hammer, which was wildly successful and obliterated their nuclear capabilities.
But those talks will continue later this week as far as we're concerned right now.
unidentified
President Trump was talking yesterday about how President Putin had agreed to a week-long halt on attacks on Ukraine because of the cold weather.
But today we've seen that Russia has launched some of the heaviest attacks this month.
I spoke with the president about it this morning, and his reaction was unfortunately unsurprised.
These are two countries who have been engaged in a very brutal war for several years, a war that would have never started if the president were still in office.
It started because of the weakness and incompetence of the previous president, Joe Biden, and that's why the president continues so aggressively to pursue diplomacy to end this war.
That's why Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be in Abu Dhabi tomorrow for another round of trilateral talks.
I would note the trilateral talks that took place last week or the week prior are historic by nature.
Never before have these, all three of our countries really been able to sit down at the negotiating table to move the ball forward towards peace.
So Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner and President Trump made the impossible possible with respect to peace in the Middle East, and I know they're looking to do the same with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war as well.
unidentified
Well, on Harvard, the president said yesterday he's now seeking a billion dollars from Harvard.
One, how do you arrive at that number?
And two, he said he went criminal, not just civil, charges against individuals in Harvard.
Does he want to see Harvard officials arrested there criminally?
Look, I will let the president and also the Justice Department and those who will be pursuing that against Harvard speak on the specifics of that matter.
But I know that the President wants to see a deal struck with Harvard that is appropriate and that ensures they are held responsible for the criminal behavior, the illegal behavior, the harassment and the targeting of Jewish American students on their campus that took place over the course of the last year, several years.
This is something the administration has been working on over the course of the last year, and the president himself has been directly involved, as evidenced by that true social statement as well.
unidentified
What does President Trump want to see happen during this two-week negotiation period for DHS funding?
Is he confident that a deal will be reached?
And what specifically is he willing to accept on some of the ICE and border patrol reforms that Democrats are asking for?
Well, look, President Trump will be the ultimate decider of any policy changes on anything, especially with respect to immigration enforcement.
What I will tell you is the president is never going to waver in enforcing our nation's immigration laws and protecting the public safety of the American people and his ardent support of ICE and Customs and Border Patrol, who unfortunately the Democrat Party has made a decision to demonize.
I heard Senator Schumer referring to them as Donald Trump's Nazi secret police force, I believe, where his words, I don't recall that same language being used when President Obama was in the White House and was deporting millions of illegal aliens from our country using this very same agency and these very same agents, who, by the way, have jobs because of the laws that were passed by Congress.
So as for policy discussions that will take place, Congress will have those.
The President will decide on those.
You saw yesterday Secretary Noam announced that DHS agents on the ground in Minnesota will begin using and wearing body cams.
That's something DHS is looking to roll out nationwide, assuming they have the funding for it.
So that could be part of the discussion.
I know Tom Homan has been on the ground in Minnesota.
He's there again today for direct dialogue with state and local officials to move these conversations forward as well.
And I think you'll be hearing more from Mr. Homan tomorrow on some of the progress that has been made.
So look, we're willing, obviously, to have this dialogue and to talk and to listen, but we are not going to concede in enforcing our nation's immigration laws and delivering on the mandate the president was given by nearly 80 million Americans to deport illegal alien criminals from our country.
unidentified
In Venezuela, any preparations for a visit from Delcey Rodriguez from Venezuela, and your statements on the political prisoners' situation in Venezuela?
I know it is something that has been discussed, but no firm plans at this point.
As for the release of the political prisoners, the president and this entire White House, and I think the whole country should be very pleased to see that.
It's a commitment that Ms. Rodriguez made, and she has kept, and we expect her to continue to keep it on.
unidentified
Is the administration still expecting ICE agents during the Super Bowl?
And what are the comments from President Donald Trump regarding what Bad Bunny said during the Grammy Awards, ICE Out?
I have not spoken with ICE or the Department of Homeland Security or Secretary Noam with respect to enforcement at the Super Bowl, so I don't want to speak on a topic that I don't have knowledge on.
Yeah, I mean, look, I think it's very ironic and frankly sad to see celebrities who live in gated communities with private security, with millions of dollars to spend protecting themselves, trying to just demonize law, again, law enforcement public servants who work for the United States government to enforce our nation's laws.
And you didn't hear this same type of uproar from celebrities in Hollywood when the previous administration allowed an invasion of our nation's borders and allowed innocent women and girls like Jocelyn Nungare and Lake and Riley to be killed and raped and murdered at the hands of people who should have never been in our country in the first place.
And now you have law enforcement who are simply trying to do their jobs to remove violent predators like those who took the lives of innocent Americans.
There was no uproar from Hollywood and the elitist crowd at the Grammys then, but there is now.
And I think that speaks to the unfortunate irony that we're seeing in Hollywood now.
But what the president obviously did with respect to Venezuela was a great thing for all Americans, but especially Venezuelan Americans who fled Maduro's illegitimate regime because of the horrors of communism.
And I think it's a good lesson for all Americans to learn.
unidentified
Thank you guys so much.
Thank you, Caroline.
Today, the House approved a revised funding package to end the partial government shutdown that began Saturday.
The legislation covers 78% of the federal government through the end of September and includes a two-week funding extension for the Homeland Security Department, allowing lawmakers more time to negotiate additional appropriations for the agency as Democrats push for potential reforms to current immigration enforcement operations.
C-SPAN's Unfiltered Democracy00:02:49
unidentified
That package now heads to President Trump, who plans to sign it into law.
When the House returns, be sure to follow our live coverage right here on C-SPAN.
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The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, testified on funds for his agency that have been frozen and the effect on research at the NIH.
He testified for two hours before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, fielding questions about several topics, including the The measles epidemic in the Hey Bill, you said my Marty Crawl last week.