White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made no mention of the Middle East in her first official news briefing on Tuesday afternoon other than responding to a question in which she called President Trump’s redesignation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization a “very wise move.”
Leavitt took questions for nearly an hour from reporters who packed the briefing room and squeezed into the aisles, standing on top of one another.
Questions centered around immigration and an executive order Trump signed Monday freezing trillions of dollars in federal funding.
Leavitt did not include the ceasefire negotiations or hostage releases when listing the administration’s early accomplishments.
She also gave a confusing answer when asked if Trump’s immigration executive order would give way for the deportation of international students who express Hamas sympathies.
Trump, Netanyahu meeting
Leavitt ended her news conference before being asked about Trump’s meeting next week at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
