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Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and OMB Acting Director Russell Vought
MS. SANDERS: I don't have any specific update on that front. I don't think there's a different policy.
Q All right. On the news of the day, the big vote is coming up this week in the Senate on the resolution with regards to the national emergency. What is the President doing to stop a rebellion among Republican senators? We know that a rising number - it's been reported as many as 10 or 15 - to vote against that. What's the President doing about that?
MS. SANDERS: He's doing his job. He's doing what Congress should be doing. He took an oath of office, and he has a constitutional duty to protect the people of this country. We have a humanitarian and national security crisis at our border, and the President is doing his job in addressing it. He gave Congress a number of opportunities to actually address it, and they've failed to do so. So the President is taking his constitutional authority that Congress granted him.
Let's not forget, the only reason he has the authority to call a national emergency is because Congress gave him the right to do so. They failed to do their job. The President is fulfilling his duty, and he's going to make sure he does what is necessary to protect the people of this country and secure our borders.
Q I meant more along the lines of calls or meetings that he might be taking with senators who he believes could be voting for that resolution.
MS. SANDERS: Certainly, we talk to a number of members every single day, certainly at the presidential and the staff level. And we're going to continue to engage with them in this process.
Q Sarah, what is the administration specifically doing to look into Secretary Acosta's role in the secret plea deal for Jeffrey Epstein? Does the President have any misgivings about the role that this top official played in this deal?
MS. SANDERS: That's currently under review. Because of that, I can't get into a lot of specifics, but we're certainly looking at it.
Hallie.
Q Do you have a timeline for that review, Sarah?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of a specific timeline.
Q So I have a question for you, but I also have a follow-up to my colleague because I didn't hear you actually answer the question. So, yes or no: Does the President truly believe that Democrats hate Jews?
MS. SANDERS: I am not going to comment on a potentially leaked document. I can tell you what -
Q (Inaudible.) Does he think Democrats hate Jewish people, as he said on the South Lawn?
MS. SANDERS: I think that they've had a lot of opportunities over last few weeks to condemn some abhorrent comments.
Q But I'm asking about the President specifically.
MS. SANDERS: I'm trying to answer you. If you'd stop talking, I'll finish my statement.
Q Just a yes-or-no question.
MS. SANDERS: The President has had - and laid out clearly his position on this matter. Democrats have had a number of opportunities to condemn specific comments and have refused to do that. That's a question, frankly, I think you should ask Democrats what their position is, since they're unwilling to call this what it is, and call it out by name, and take actual action -
Q So is that a yes?
MS. SANDERS: - against members who have done things like this, like the Republicans have done when they had the same opportunity.
Q So I want to ask you about Paul Manafort, but I just want to be very clear. You're not answering the question. Is there a reason?
MS. SANDERS: I believe I answered it twice.
Q You didn't say yes or no. Does he really believe Democrats hate Jews? I'm just trying to get a sense of that.
MS. SANDERS: I think that's a question you ought to ask the Democrats.
Q Let me ask you about Paul Manafort. Why hadn't - obviously, Paul Manafort goes for the second half of his sentencing this week. Why hasn't the President ruled out a pardon for Paul Manafort?
MS. SANDERS: The President has made his position on that clear, and he'll make a decision when he is ready.
Stephen.
Q Sarah, on the pardons. Last week, the President tweeted that Michael Cohen, quote, "directly asked me for a pardon." When did that happen? Was that when Cohen - was Cohen here at the White House? He came into the Oval Office and asked the President for a pardon? Did it happen on the phone? Do you have a date? Do we know when that happened?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not going to get into specifics of things that are currently under review by the Oversight Committee and other committees. What I can tell you is that Cohen's own attorney stated and contradicted his client when he said that he was aware that those conversations had taken place.
We know that Michael Cohen lied to Congress prior to his testimony most recently, and we know that he's lied at least twice in that hearing. I think that it's time to stop giving him a platform. Let him go on to serve his time, and let's move forward with matters of the country.
Q One budget question just to put it on the record, because a lot of people in the country want to know. Is there anything in the President's 2020 budget request that has Mexico paying for the wall?
MS. SANDERS: As the President has stated a number of times: through the USMCA trade deal that we look forward to getting passed soon; that will be part of how that takes place.
John.
Q Thank you, Sarah. Two brief questions. Following up on John's personnel question, does the President have full confidence in Secretary Acosta? Or is the Labor Secretary possibly leaving?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of any personnel changes. But, again, those things are currently under review. When we have an update, I'll let you know.
Q The other question is, is the President in discussion about signing an executive order to undo Executive Order 13166, President Clinton's executive order requiring -
MS. SANDERS: I was going to say, I hope you tell me what that one is. (Laughter.)
Q President Clinton's executive order, 19 years ago, requiring multiple languages. A new executive order, I am told, would make English the official language in government. Is he considering that?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of a specific executive order that's been drafted, but that is the position of the White House.
Jim.
Q Yes. Did the President ask Gary Cohn to intervene or block AT&T's merger with Time Warner?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of any conversations around that matter.
Q And just to get back to Jon and Hallie's question about the President's comments about Democrats and Jewish people, isn't that kind of rhetoric just, sort of, beneath everybody?
And do you think that the President has thought at all - going into this 2020 campaign - that the rhetoric just needs to be lowered, whether it's talking about Democrats, the media, immigrants? Or should we just plan on hearing the President use the same kind of language that we heard in 2016 and all through the first couple of years of this administration?
MS. SANDERS: Look, I think that the real shame in all of this is that Democrats are perfectly capable of coming together and agreeing on the fact that they're comfortable ripping babies straight from a mother's womb or killing a baby after birth, but they have a hard time condemning the type of comments from Congresswoman Omar. I think that is a great shame.
The President has been clear on what his position is, certainly what his support is for the people in the community of Israel. And beyond that, I don't have anything further for you, Jim.
Q Don't you think that just, sort of, drags down the rhetoric in the debate when you're saying something that's just patently untrue? I mean, obviously -
MS. SANDERS: Stating their policy positions is not patently untrue.
Q But Democrats don't - but Democrats don't hate Jewish people. That's just silly. It's not true. So -
MS. SANDERS: I think they should call out their members by name, and we've made that clear. I don't have anything further to add.
April.
Q But the President - you know, he -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry, Jim. April, go ahead.
Q His rhetoric after Charlottesville, saying that there "are very fine people on both sides" in Charlottesville, essentially suggesting that there are very fine people in the Nazis. You know -
MS. SANDERS: That's not at all what the President was stating, not then, not at any point. The President has been incredibly clear, and consistently and repeatedly condemned hatred, bigotry, racism, in all of its forms, whether it's in America or anywhere else. And to say otherwise is simply untrue.
April.
Q That's kind of along what I was asking - two questions - but that's kind of along what I was asking. Since the President did say that in Charlottesville - "some very fine people on both sides" - has he, in your opinion, or has he, for us - because I don't remember it - condemned the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville for their actions against the Jewish Americans there?
MS. SANDERS: The President has condemned neo-Nazis and called them by name, which is what we are asking Democrats to do when they see this same type of hatred.
Deborah.
Q And also, can we expect to have -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry, I'm going to keep moving. Deborah, go ahead.
Q Can we expect to have briefings more often now, since there has been a little bit changing atmosphere here?
MS. SANDERS: I haven't noticed a change in the atmosphere. I know that the President is the most accessible President in modern history.
Q (Inaudible.)
MS. SANDERS: I know that he takes questions from you guys nearly every single day. On days he doesn't, sometimes I do it from here. We answer hundreds of questions from reporters all over the world, every day. We're going to continue to do that. Sometimes we'll do it from this room. Sometimes we'll do it in other venues and other platforms.
Deborah.
Q In the new spending blueprint, why did the OMB include money for the Yucca Mountain -
MS. SANDERS: I'm sorry, can you say that a little louder?
Q Yes, I can. Why did the OMB include money for the Yucca Mountain waste - nuclear waste repository? And what are the chances it's in your spending blueprint? And what are the chances that Congress will actually enact that?
Go Back
Q All right. On the news of the day, the big vote is coming up this week in the Senate on the resolution with regards to the national emergency. What is the President doing to stop a rebellion among Republican senators? We know that a rising number - it's been reported as many as 10 or 15 - to vote against that. What's the President doing about that?
MS. SANDERS: He's doing his job. He's doing what Congress should be doing. He took an oath of office, and he has a constitutional duty to protect the people of this country. We have a humanitarian and national security crisis at our border, and the President is doing his job in addressing it. He gave Congress a number of opportunities to actually address it, and they've failed to do so. So the President is taking his constitutional authority that Congress granted him.
Let's not forget, the only reason he has the authority to call a national emergency is because Congress gave him the right to do so. They failed to do their job. The President is fulfilling his duty, and he's going to make sure he does what is necessary to protect the people of this country and secure our borders.
Q I meant more along the lines of calls or meetings that he might be taking with senators who he believes could be voting for that resolution.
MS. SANDERS: Certainly, we talk to a number of members every single day, certainly at the presidential and the staff level. And we're going to continue to engage with them in this process.
Q Sarah, what is the administration specifically doing to look into Secretary Acosta's role in the secret plea deal for Jeffrey Epstein? Does the President have any misgivings about the role that this top official played in this deal?
MS. SANDERS: That's currently under review. Because of that, I can't get into a lot of specifics, but we're certainly looking at it.
Hallie.
Q Do you have a timeline for that review, Sarah?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of a specific timeline.
Q So I have a question for you, but I also have a follow-up to my colleague because I didn't hear you actually answer the question. So, yes or no: Does the President truly believe that Democrats hate Jews?
MS. SANDERS: I am not going to comment on a potentially leaked document. I can tell you what -
Q (Inaudible.) Does he think Democrats hate Jewish people, as he said on the South Lawn?
MS. SANDERS: I think that they've had a lot of opportunities over last few weeks to condemn some abhorrent comments.
Q But I'm asking about the President specifically.
MS. SANDERS: I'm trying to answer you. If you'd stop talking, I'll finish my statement.
Q Just a yes-or-no question.
MS. SANDERS: The President has had - and laid out clearly his position on this matter. Democrats have had a number of opportunities to condemn specific comments and have refused to do that. That's a question, frankly, I think you should ask Democrats what their position is, since they're unwilling to call this what it is, and call it out by name, and take actual action -
Q So is that a yes?
MS. SANDERS: - against members who have done things like this, like the Republicans have done when they had the same opportunity.
Q So I want to ask you about Paul Manafort, but I just want to be very clear. You're not answering the question. Is there a reason?
MS. SANDERS: I believe I answered it twice.
Q You didn't say yes or no. Does he really believe Democrats hate Jews? I'm just trying to get a sense of that.
MS. SANDERS: I think that's a question you ought to ask the Democrats.
Q Let me ask you about Paul Manafort. Why hadn't - obviously, Paul Manafort goes for the second half of his sentencing this week. Why hasn't the President ruled out a pardon for Paul Manafort?
MS. SANDERS: The President has made his position on that clear, and he'll make a decision when he is ready.
Stephen.
Q Sarah, on the pardons. Last week, the President tweeted that Michael Cohen, quote, "directly asked me for a pardon." When did that happen? Was that when Cohen - was Cohen here at the White House? He came into the Oval Office and asked the President for a pardon? Did it happen on the phone? Do you have a date? Do we know when that happened?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not going to get into specifics of things that are currently under review by the Oversight Committee and other committees. What I can tell you is that Cohen's own attorney stated and contradicted his client when he said that he was aware that those conversations had taken place.
We know that Michael Cohen lied to Congress prior to his testimony most recently, and we know that he's lied at least twice in that hearing. I think that it's time to stop giving him a platform. Let him go on to serve his time, and let's move forward with matters of the country.
Q One budget question just to put it on the record, because a lot of people in the country want to know. Is there anything in the President's 2020 budget request that has Mexico paying for the wall?
MS. SANDERS: As the President has stated a number of times: through the USMCA trade deal that we look forward to getting passed soon; that will be part of how that takes place.
John.
Q Thank you, Sarah. Two brief questions. Following up on John's personnel question, does the President have full confidence in Secretary Acosta? Or is the Labor Secretary possibly leaving?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of any personnel changes. But, again, those things are currently under review. When we have an update, I'll let you know.
Q The other question is, is the President in discussion about signing an executive order to undo Executive Order 13166, President Clinton's executive order requiring -
MS. SANDERS: I was going to say, I hope you tell me what that one is. (Laughter.)
Q President Clinton's executive order, 19 years ago, requiring multiple languages. A new executive order, I am told, would make English the official language in government. Is he considering that?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of a specific executive order that's been drafted, but that is the position of the White House.
Jim.
Q Yes. Did the President ask Gary Cohn to intervene or block AT&T's merger with Time Warner?
MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware of any conversations around that matter.
Q And just to get back to Jon and Hallie's question about the President's comments about Democrats and Jewish people, isn't that kind of rhetoric just, sort of, beneath everybody?
And do you think that the President has thought at all - going into this 2020 campaign - that the rhetoric just needs to be lowered, whether it's talking about Democrats, the media, immigrants? Or should we just plan on hearing the President use the same kind of language that we heard in 2016 and all through the first couple of years of this administration?
MS. SANDERS: Look, I think that the real shame in all of this is that Democrats are perfectly capable of coming together and agreeing on the fact that they're comfortable ripping babies straight from a mother's womb or killing a baby after birth, but they have a hard time condemning the type of comments from Congresswoman Omar. I think that is a great shame.
The President has been clear on what his position is, certainly what his support is for the people in the community of Israel. And beyond that, I don't have anything further for you, Jim.
Q Don't you think that just, sort of, drags down the rhetoric in the debate when you're saying something that's just patently untrue? I mean, obviously -
MS. SANDERS: Stating their policy positions is not patently untrue.
Q But Democrats don't - but Democrats don't hate Jewish people. That's just silly. It's not true. So -
MS. SANDERS: I think they should call out their members by name, and we've made that clear. I don't have anything further to add.
April.
Q But the President - you know, he -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry, Jim. April, go ahead.
Q His rhetoric after Charlottesville, saying that there "are very fine people on both sides" in Charlottesville, essentially suggesting that there are very fine people in the Nazis. You know -
MS. SANDERS: That's not at all what the President was stating, not then, not at any point. The President has been incredibly clear, and consistently and repeatedly condemned hatred, bigotry, racism, in all of its forms, whether it's in America or anywhere else. And to say otherwise is simply untrue.
April.
Q That's kind of along what I was asking - two questions - but that's kind of along what I was asking. Since the President did say that in Charlottesville - "some very fine people on both sides" - has he, in your opinion, or has he, for us - because I don't remember it - condemned the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville for their actions against the Jewish Americans there?
MS. SANDERS: The President has condemned neo-Nazis and called them by name, which is what we are asking Democrats to do when they see this same type of hatred.
Deborah.
Q And also, can we expect to have -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry, I'm going to keep moving. Deborah, go ahead.
Q Can we expect to have briefings more often now, since there has been a little bit changing atmosphere here?
MS. SANDERS: I haven't noticed a change in the atmosphere. I know that the President is the most accessible President in modern history.
Q (Inaudible.)
MS. SANDERS: I know that he takes questions from you guys nearly every single day. On days he doesn't, sometimes I do it from here. We answer hundreds of questions from reporters all over the world, every day. We're going to continue to do that. Sometimes we'll do it from this room. Sometimes we'll do it in other venues and other platforms.
Deborah.
Q In the new spending blueprint, why did the OMB include money for the Yucca Mountain -
MS. SANDERS: I'm sorry, can you say that a little louder?
Q Yes, I can. Why did the OMB include money for the Yucca Mountain waste - nuclear waste repository? And what are the chances it's in your spending blueprint? And what are the chances that Congress will actually enact that?
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