NBC Reporter Pushes WH to Explain What ‘Constitutes’ a ‘Democrat Agency’ For Trump Cuts
NBC News White House Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell pressed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at Friday’s briefing on what exactly “constitutes being a Democrat agency?”
O’Donnell asked her question in the context of President Donald Trump promising to target “Democrat agencies” for sweeping cuts amid the ongoing government shutdown.
“How would this administration define what makes a Democrat agency, which agencies, and what constitutes being a Democrat agency?” O’Donnell pressed.
“I think this administration has been very clear, Kelly, that we’re not going to tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse in our government. And we’ve also been very clear to point out when agencies or when programs do not align with this administration’s values of putting our country first,” Leavitt replied, adding:
You’ve seen that with USAID and in various other cases where there’s been cuts made or funding has been slashed. And so again, unfortunately, we’re having to do a massive review of the bureaucracy to be good stewards of the American taxpayer dollar. And it’s the Democrats who have forced the White House and the President into this position by voting to shut the government down.
“You’ve talked about thousands of likely layoffs coming. Do you have an update on the timeline for that? How quickly? And if the government is restored to funding and back in operation, will that list of potential layoffs still be on the table?” O’Donnell followed up.
“Look, as I just stated, the Office of Management and Budget is in constant communication and contact right now with our cabinet secretaries and agencies across the board to identify, unfortunately, where layoffs have to be made and where cuts have to happen. But again, the Democrats have an opportunity to prevent this if they vote to reopen the government. That is all this administration and the President is [sic] asking for. Vote for a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open,” Leavitt replied.
Watch the clip above via Fox News.
