Karoline Leavitt slams long-used Presidential justification
'It is incredible. If you think back to the campaign, which you guys covered, and I was part of, the President really promised so many things, but really two things, right, defeat inflation and secure the border.' Leavitt, 27, added that no president before Trump was able to achieve their two primary campaign promises in half a year. 'It's so remarkable, and they did it all via executive power and orders,' she added.
Host Josh Holmes interjected: 'We were told reliably you couldn't do that. Yeah, we were told you needed a bill to secure the border, which was bull[expletive],' Leavitt quickly remarked, prompting the hosts to chuckle. 'You just needed a new president,' she continued.
When Trump entered office earlier this year he enacted a slew of executive actions to immediately address illegal immigration. His actions, some of which were put into action on his first day in office, mobilized the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to deploy armed forces to enhance border security.
Thousands of troops were subsequently rushed to the border and given temporary control over 100,000 acres of border land to protect. Trump's orders also significantly altered the asylum process to make it more difficult for migrants to cross illegally into the U.S. and then claim protections, though the effort has faced legal challenges. In February, the president signed another action restricting illegal migrants from receiving federal funds. Another Trump order in April cracked down on 'Sanctuary Cities.'
For those that 'remain' sanctuary jurisdictions, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem then 'shall pursue all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures to end these violations and bring such jurisdictions into compliance with the laws of the United States.' Other migrant-related actions, like the president's challenge to birthright citizenship, have been helped up in court. The flurry of orders has delivered results. In June, there were approximately 25,000 migrant encounters in the U.S., a record low for Customs and Border Protection, according to the agency.
Last spring, as hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over the world showed up monthly at the U.S.-Mexico border, often illegally crossing into the U.S., Biden urged Congress to pass legislation to address the crisis. Biden repeatedly told reporters that he could not do anything about the border flooded with migrants without the legislative branch. A bipartisan bill at the time would have approved billions of dollars for additional beds for migrants, funding immigration judges and give the president additional authorities over shutting down immigration altogether.
The proposal would have enabled the president to shut down the border if 4,000 migrants crossed the per day over the course of a week - meaning 28,000 migrants would have to cross before the president could act. Trump called on Republicans to oppose the measure, saying its weak restrictions would do nothing but hand Biden a political alibi.
Biden eventually enacted an executive order that stemmed the flow of illegal immigration without action from Congress. Former President Obama also called on Congress to act so that he could make immigration reforms. 'I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue, and Congress chooses to do nothing,' he said in a 2014 speech.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
MTG hints that she might be finished with the GOP: ‘I don't know if the Republican Party is leaving me'
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a well-known far-right Republican and loyal ally to President Donald Trump, has expressed deep frustrations and a growing rift with her political party. Over the last few weeks, Greene has notably broken with her party and the president on several matters she cares deeply about. She condemned Israel's war in Gaza and called it a 'genocide,' opposed Trump's recent artificial intelligence executive order, and advocated for the administration to release the Epstein Files. The pattern, Greene said in an interview with The Daily Mail this week, represents her frustrations with the Republican Party, which she believes is abandoning policies geared toward regular Americans. 'I don't know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I'm kind of not relating to the Republican Party as much anymore,' Greene said. 'I don't know which one it is.' The Georgia congresswoman said she felt as if the party had given up on issues that she resonates with, such as stopping foreign aid, using the Department of Government Efficiency to make cuts across the federal government, and driving down inflation. Greene had long advocated for the U.S. to stop sending military aid to Ukraine amid the Russia–Ukraine conflict – something that has not ceased. She has also criticized the administration for involving itself in the Iran–Israel conflict. Since Elon Musk, the de facto head of DOGE, left the White House, the administration appears to be less focused on using DOGE to make cuts. While DOGE staffers are still present throughout the government, reports indicate they have less authority. 'Like what happened to all those issues? You know that I don't know what the hell happened with the Republican Party. I really don't,' Greene said. 'But I'll tell you one thing, the course that it's on, I don't want to have anything to do with it, and I just don't care anymore,' she added. Greene has said online that she believes Republicans are pushing away younger voters by continuing to push the same unpopular policies. But she told The Daily Mail that the GOP may also be unpopular with conservative women based on how it treats them. 'I think there's other women in our party that are really sick and tired of the way men treat Republican women,' Greene said. The Georgia congresswoman specifically referenced Elise Stefanik, the Republican Rep. from New York. Trump initially nominated Stefanik to serve as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., but then reportedly pulled her nomination to maintain a safe majority in the House of Representatives. Instead, he nominated former national security adviser Mike Waltz. Greene said Stefanik got 'screwed' by Speaker Mike Johnson and people in the White House – Greene specifically said she did not blame the president. While Greene expressed frustrations with the current state of the Republican Party she did not say she would definitely rescind her affiliation with it.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Photos from 'In Women's Words' exhibition that showcases modern Iranian women artists
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Democrats turn to ‘hellcats' military veterans to win mid-terms
The Democrats are turning to military veteran candidates to help them win back the House of Representatives next year, including a group that calls themselves the Hellcats Democrats are already running in at least nine swing districts, but party officials are eyeing up more than 30 potential new veteran candidates for the House as part of a new strategy aimed at freshening up their image. 'We can't just have people who seem like tired old Democrats,' Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and former Marine, told the New York Times. 'It's a cycle when people are very frustrated with the Democratic Party – including Democrats.' Democrats are trying to rebuild in the wake of Mr Trump's sweeping election victory, in which Republicans won both the House and the Senate. The tactic to run military veterans reprises a strategy that helped deliver the House in 2018 and could be especially effective for making inroads into rural, Republican-leaning districts, according to Democratic political strategists. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who is assisting with candidate recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said that veterans made effective candidates because they didn't come across as part of a ruling elite. 'What Americans are really thirsty for right now are leaders, not just politicians,' he told The New York Times. Among the military veteran candidates running for the Democrats are four women who have a group chat called the 'Hellcats' – named after the first female Marines who served in World War One. JoAnna Mendoza, 48, a single mother who said she joined the Marines because there were 'no job opportunities' in her rural community, is challenging for a Republican seat in southeastern Arizona. 'The system isn't designed for people like me,' she said. During Mr Trump's first term, the Democrats won the House in 2018 off the back of a slate of veteran and female candidates who had worked in national security, including Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Elissa Slotkin, who is now a Michigan senator. The focus on ex-servicemen and women forms part of the Democrats' push to reclaim the mantle of being the party of patriotism – a message trumpeted by Ms Slotkin, who has emerged as a leading voice in the party since Mr Trump's return to office. 'We need to take the flag back from the people who are spitting on our democracy,' she said in a recent post on X. It comes as Democrat lawmakers have turned on each other over the party's failure to stand up to the president's assault on US institutions from government departments, to universities and law firms. Cory Booker, the New Jersey Senator, warned that history would remember members of his party's 'complicity in 'bending the knee' to Mr Trump. 'What I want to see more people doing is not doing what some law firms have done, bend the knee to Donald Trump…That to me is outrageous,' Mr Booker told CNN. The Senator this week launched a fiery tirade against his colleagues on the House floor, bellowing that 'the Democratic Party needs a wake up call'. In an effort to destabilise Mr Trump's agenda, Senate Democrats blocked more than 50 of the president's nominees from being confirmed on Saturday, prompting a furious backlash from Mr Trump. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, refused to vote to confirm the low-level appointments unless federal funds were released and Mr Trump agreed not to push more cuts to federal funding, sources told CNN. As a result, just seven of the nominees were confirmed, while the remainder will not be voted on until lawmakers return from their summer recess in September. The president responded by telling Mr Schumer to 'go to hell'. 'Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!' he wrote on Truth Social. 'Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS.'
