President Donald Trump continues to take sweeping executive actions in his second term, including an order this week targeting a senior official from his first administration who became one of his critics.
Focus continues on the legal battle regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who was living in Maryland when he was wrongfully deported by the administration.
Leavitt mocks Biden, claims Trump will protect Social Security
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mocked former President Joe Biden when asked about his speech Tuesday night that is focused on protecting social security.
"My first reaction when seeing former President Biden was speaking tonight was I'm shocked that he is speaking at night time. I thought his bedtime was much earlier," she said.
She then defended President Donald Trump's Social Security policy.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes a question during a daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 15, 2025 in Washington.
Win Mcnamee/Getty Images
"President Trump is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, taxpaying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program," she said.
Apr 15, 2025, 1:58 PM EDT
White House says Abrego Garcia will not be returning to US despite court orders
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was pressed by reporters about the White House defying court orders to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the El Salvador prison where he is reportedly being held. She was asked by ABC News' Karen Travers who is responsible for Abrego Garcia.
Leavitt claimed the administration is complying with court orders.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 15, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
She repeated unproven claims that the Maryland man was a member of MS-13 and involved in trafficking, citing the president and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.
"There is never going to be a world in which this is an individual who's going to live a peaceful life in Maryland," Leavitt said.
Apr 15, 2025, 1:49 PM EDT
White House claims Trump still looking into legality of deporting American criminals abroad
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked again on Tuesday about President Donald Trump's claims that he can deport American criminals abroad and said the president is still looking into the legality of it.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, April 15, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
"He would only consider this if legal for Americans who are the most violent, egregious repeat offenders of crime, who nobody in this room wants living in their communities," she claimed.
Apr 15, 2025, 11:28 AM EDT
White House aims to cut funding of PBS, NPR, calling it a 'waste'
The White House is looking to ax funding for NPR and PBS, two outlets that it alleges are left-leaning and a "waste" of taxpayer money.
The White House put out a memo Monday night laying out what it claimed was evidence against the two entities in a list of reporting that it said is "trash that passes for 'news.'"
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025.
AP
The list included a PBS documentary that it alleged was "making the case for reparations," a segment on PBS' Washington Week that it said "covered up Joe Biden’s clear mental decline" and a laundry list of stories exploring LGBT issues and racial identity.
The memo did not actually indicate its intention to pull funding.
"Eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have a devastating impact on American communities across the nation that rely on public radio for trusted local and national news, culture, lifesaving emergency alerts, and public safety information," NPR said in a statement Tuesday morning. "We serve the public interest. It's not just in our name — it's our mission."
The administration intends to ask Congress, through a recession request, to cancel funding from public broadcasting, foreign aid initiatives and other programs that have already been approved, according to the New York Post.
