And Customs Enforcement and rob herr, principle attorney general to talk about the department of Homeland Security and department of justice are doing to eradicate criminal organizations like ms13. Mr. Herl will speak to the Justice Department first and mr. Will answer your questions. As always, i put out a friendly reminder to stay on topic. After that ill come back up to take your questions. Thanks, guys. Thanks, sarah. Good afternoon. My name is robert herr. About five weeks ago i was sworn in as the principle associate Deputy Attorney general at the department of justice. In that role i serve as the principle advisor to the Deputy Attorney general. I appreciate the chance to talk to you about the Justice Departments aggressive efforts to achieve this administrations goal of dismantling the transNational Gang known as ms13. As you all know the president is traveling to long island tomorrow to talk about our fight to eradicate the violent threat of ms13. And as we speak the attorney general is in el salvador where he will spend the next two days addressing the root of this problem. The san salvadorian prisons that house the leaders of this gang. While there the attorney general will meet with members of the Justice Departments transnational Antigang Task Force on the ground in el salvador and the attorneys general from the northern triangle countries of el salvador, guatemala and honduras to discuss joint efforts to disrupt and take down ms13. Earlier in my career i served as a federal prosecutor in maryland where i personally prosecuted a number of ms13 racketeering cases. These included capital cases in which the defendants crimes were so violent and heinous that the government saw fit to pursue the death penalty. Through these prosecutions i learned firsthand from the victims their grieving and heartbroken families and other members of terrorized Communities Just what a scourge this group of thugs really is. This gangs chilling motto is [ speaking in a Foreign Language ] which means kill, rape and control. They seek to live up to this motto through truly shocking acts of violence designed to instill fear. Vicious ma chet tshet machete a rape and human trafficking. They use whatever they can get their hands on, guns, knives, machetes, baseball bats, tire irons, fists or feet. Not just inflikt violence. They use violence to shock, send a message and control territory here in the u. S. And in Central America. The attorney general has answered the president s call. And we at the Justice Department are moving forward aggressively against ms13. Specifically, pursuant to the president s direction and executive orders, the attorney general has directed the departments Law Enforcement agencies, atf, dea, fbi and the Marshal Service as well as federal prosecutors across the country to prioritize the prosecution of gang members, specifically ms13. The attorney general has issued charging guidance regarding Violent Crime and criminal immigration enforcement, both of which directly target ms13 members and their associates. In addition, the department of justice has requested funding for 300 more federal prosecutors to focus specifically on Violent Crime and criminal immigration enforcement. Weve also prioritized multiagency and cross border collaboration in order to attack ms13 from all angles. The Justice Department and the department of Homeland Security are coordinating our antigang efforts to ensure that we bring both criminal and immigration laws to bare in the fight against transNational Gangs. We continue our critical partnerships with state and loc local Law Enforcement around the country whose brave men and women are truly on the front lines of the fight against ms13. We work hand in glove with our partners in the northern triangle countries of el salvador, guatemala and honduras. They are helping us take the fight to ms13 on its home turf. It speaks volumes that the attorney general himself has traveled to the nerve center of ms13 and is standing in solidarity with our partners in Central America. Indeed, earlier today just hours ago el salvadorian prosecutors announced they have filed charges against and arrested over the past 36 hours hundreds of members of ms13 in el salvador. Many of the defendants are members of ms13s click who are centered in the la Paz Department of el salvador. Earlier this year members of this ms13 clique committed several high profile murders in el salvador. The shooter of these murders fled to the United States and is now in i. C. E. Custody pending proceedings. This prosecution showcases just how closely we are working with our partners in el salvador to combat ms13. Specifically, u. S. Law enforcement agents with i. C. E. Who are on the ground in el salvador are coordinating with their counterparts here in the u. S. To ensure that the shooter is removed from the United States as quickly as possible to face charges in el salvador. This investigation is being handled by salvadorian gang prosecutors trained and mentored by embedded doj prosecutors in el salvador and salvadorian Police Officers who were trained and mentored by the fbi and advisors from the state department. At the request of salvadorian prosecutors, the Justice Department has also arranged to have an essential witness to the murders transported to el salvador for court proceedings. United states Law Enforcement and federal prosecutors recently targeted leaders and members of the same clique operating here in maryland, charging 16 defendants with racketeering offenses involving murder and attempted murder, the last of whom was sentenced this year to life imprisonment. These are very significant b blows to ms13 and are made possible by our close cross border coordination. Weve also revitalized the Institutional Hearing Program which brings Immigration Judges to bureau of prisons facilities to adjudicate the immigration status of federal criminal alien inmates while theyre incarcerated. This results in much quicker deportation after these criminals serve out their prison sentences here in the United States. Finally, we are also holding sanctuary cities accountable for their lawless conduct. The attorney general will not allow sanctuary cities to become sanctuaries for criminals. Earlier this week the attorney general announced new grant conditions. Cities and states may only receive burn jag grants if they comply with federal law, allow federal immigration officials access to detention facilities and provide 48 hours notice before they release an illegal alien wanted by federal authorities. Taking on ms13 is a top priority of this administration and this Justice Department. We will not tire. And we will not fail. Im humbled to once again be in a position to work to reduce and ultimately decimate this gang to make our communities safe for all americans. Thank you. Good afternoon. Im tom homan, acting director of u. S. Immigrations Customs Enforcement known as i. C. E. Targeting members of violent street gangs sends a clear message to criminal enterprises around the world, you are not welcome in the United States and youll find no harbor here. President trump made a priority to get these criminals off our streets and when possible out of our country, thats exactly what the men and women of i. C. E. Are going to do. Every single day to help keep america safe. I. C. E. s Homeland Security investigation known as hsi, National Gang unit, leads our efforts along with our deportation officers to identify and arrest gang members while working to dismantle the organizational structure that supports them. Gang members are involved in a broad range of criminal activity including murder, extortion, narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes Border Security. Since the beginning of january this year i. C. E. Homeland security investigation has already arrested 3,311 gang members across the country, a number of targeted operation. Ill speak just about two. Project new dawn. A recent gang surge led by i. C. E. Hsi netted 1,378 gang arrests. Operation matador up in new york state since may 9th has netted over 100 gang members and affiliates, vast majority of ms13 members. Make no mistake organized violent transNational Gangs threaten the safety of our communities, not just in major metropolitan areas but in our suburbs like Suffolk County in new york, where ill be joining the president tomorrow to discuss this very issue. Let me share just a couple examples that demonstrate the violence of these criminals. Recently two ms13 members who were juveniles arrested as part of operation matador have been implicated in the quadruple homicide of four young adults in new york. Additional ms13 arrest admitted to being complicit in homicide of two juvenile females. Multiple arrests have led to admissions of narcotics trafficking, weapons smuggling and intelligence and other unsolved crimes in the region. The proliferation of ms13 remains an ongoing challenge for Law Enforcement everywhere. Our efforts to eradicate gangs such as this are much more effective in areas where our partnership with local Law Enforcement is the strongest. As i said, the last time i was here, i cannot stress enough our operations are more effective when there are strong local partnerships supporting them. Sanctuary city policies only make it more difficult if not impossible for i. C. E. To remove known gang members and other criminal alien who is are removed from this country without the opportunity to commit additional crimes. As i said when i was here at the podium a month ago, cooperation is critical. It is often state and local Law Enforcement, not i. C. E. , that first come into contact with transNational Gang members. Together through partnership we can keep our streets safe. Together our gang is bigger than theirs. In addition to making our communities safer, the intelligence gathered from operations targeting ms13 helps our agents and investigators continue their efforts to fully dismantle these global criminal enterprises from the command and control structure in el salvador to the street members walking our communities and everybody in between. In closing, ill say this, the progress were making would not be possible without the brave and dedicated men and women of i. C. E. These are professionals. American patriots who leave the safety of their homes and their families every day to help keep us safe, to keep people safe theyll never meet. And i am honored and proud to represent them here today. With that ill take questions. Sir. Thank you. Theres been ms13 activity, and when they had prosecuted from there, they have said that the members of ms13, some of them are citizens. And to get help from the immigrant community where they are being where theyre plaguing, the plague is on the immigrant community, that they have not been successful because theyre afraid of being taken out of the country, that youre going to deport them. So for those in the immigrant community who are being taken advantage of, are you going to offer any type of support for those who are not involved in ms13 who come forward to assist Law Enforcement because local Law Enforcement says thats the largest problem they have in getting people to come forward. They think theyre going to be deported. Well, you all can help with that message, right . I mean, the mismessaging that i. C. E. Is out doing neighborhood raids and roadblocks and things we were being accused of doing, we got to get the message straight. I. C. E. Prioritizes arrests based on criminal threats, National Security, those that violate immigration laws. However, if theyre a victim, were not looking for victims or witnesses. I believe ms13 they victimize the communities in which they lif. So if the immigrant community is being victimized, they dont want them to be in the community either. They should be safe to dpo to Law Enforcement and report the crime. Again, we dont target victims of crime. As a matter of fact, theres actually benefits to victims of crimes through the immigration process. They should feel safe to go and report criminal activity. Were going to target the most violent criminals, not the witness, not the victims, to remove them. We need their help. We need the communitys help. Most importantly we need local Law Enforcements help. Especially county jails that will have an ms13 booked in that county jail, but that county jails located in a sanctuary city, they get released back to the streets. Thats what we need to change. We need cooperation from local Law Enforcement. But youre saying pointblank maam. Youre not going to take advantage of the immigrant communities who are victims, right . Taking advantage of immigrant communities the victims are not going to be deported. We need the immigrant community to assist us in identifying the most heinous criminals of ms13. Its the most violent gang out there. Ill say this again, if theres a victim of crime and they come forward, were not looking to arrest a victim of crime. Were looking to arrest the bad guy, right . Now, let me make this clear, theres a population of illegal aliens are off the table, im not saying that, but victims of crime have certain protections and they need to take full advantage of their protections. Maam. Thank you. Do you have a count for actually how many people ms13 in cities across the country . And what has the reaction been from sanctuary cities to the new policy that was announced earlier this week by the attorney general . And if you could speak broadly about obviously the president s been very critical of the attorney general he is overseeing everything youre talking about, has that criticism in any way impacted the federal Law Enforcement to do their jobs . Thats a lot of questions. I can tell you thousands of ms13 members in the country. That number changes every day depending on who we deport and who sneaks in the country. As far as sanctuary cities, i dont know how they feel about recent actions taken by doj. But ill say once again, sanctuary cities are criminals biggest friend. If youre an alien smuggler and youre smuggling people in this country for a living, that is one sales pitch we can get you sanctuary city where that city will help shield you from immigration. So, you know, ive said it, every time i speak i say sanctuary cities need to help us keep the community safe. Sanctuary cities not only danger Public Safety, they endanger my Law Enforcement officers because when we cant get violent criminal out of jail, rather than arresting a violent criminal in the safety, security and privacy of a county jail, we got to go knock on a door, we have to arrest in the community, the community is put at risk, officers are put at risk, and the alien himself is put at risk. We have to start thinking about Public Safety and the men and women of i. C. E. , the men and women of Border Control who weve lost many in the last few years at the hands of violent criminal aliens. We got to join forces with these cities. The cities have to come through for us. They have to work with us to keep our community safe. Sir. What was the question, attorney general . The fact that the president s been criticizing him recently, has that in any way impacted your ability, federal Law Enforcements ability to do their job . I. C. E. Will do our job and continue to enforce law. The attorney general is a strong supporter of immigration enforcement, so is the president. And ill end it there. I can tell you nothings going to change the way we do our business. The men and women of i. C. E. Are professionals. Were going to keep enforcing the law within the orders of the executive order. Sir. The administration prioritize gangs. Are you telling the country now that it didnt . If youre not, what is different about your approach as compared to the previous administrations approach with ms13 and those gangs like it . I can tell you that the Prior Administration prioritized interests, not National Security threats. For those aliens booked in county jail, on the Prior Administration they needed a conviction before we could put a detainer on them before we could put them in our custody. Thats not necessary anymore. If youve been arrested for a serious crime in county jail, were going to drop container, take person into custody. What does that mean dropping detainer . Were asking local jurisdiction to hang onto them until we can take custody of them when theyre done with you. Is that proven effective . Yes. I think we have more jurisdictions coming to the table now. The story is we got sanctuary cities here and there, but more jurisdiction, more Law Enforcement come to the table now. The 287 agreements already doubled agreements on this administration, i expect to triple those agreements by the end of the year. Most Law Enforcement agrees with what im saying up here. The street cops want to work with us and identify these threats to the community and get them out of their communities. These people are not welcome in communities and local Law Enforcement are teaming up with us. The operation i spoke about in new york city, we worked with nassau county, Suffolk County, nypd, all these jurisdictions want to get the criminal element out of their neighborhoods. The immigrant communities themselves, they dont want these people in their communities. We all should be on the same page here. Again, new york city, one of those places where, you know, we cant get in the eye and put our hands on people here illegally in the criminal ail generals, when it comes to gang members, gang members walk out of sanctuary cities every day across this country. Thats what we need to change. Maam. How are suspected gang members being identified for i. C. E. Enforcement . Is it just through local Law Enforcement . Are there databases that youre using . How do you know how to find these gang members . Local Law Enforcement theyre usually ones that, you know, they have the most intelligence on gang members. As far as what we look for to find gang members i would rather not discuss that because i certainly dont want to share the information with the gang members who may be watching, okay, well do this a little bit different. Theres a myriad of factors we look. We dont arrest people for the way they look. I want to make that clear. Ive seen media accounts about people with tattoos and clothing. That is one of many, many factors we look at. Its really quite Law Enforcement sensitive how we identify target and locate gang members. So i can tell you that the men and women of i. C. E. Are well trained, other federal agency whether its the bureau or the Suffolk County, nassau county, they do this for a living. Theyre professionals. They look at a lot of factors including database checks. I would rather not share the factors we often consider to look at that. I dont want to share that with the criminal element who may be watching this program. Sir. You said that victims of crimes who are immigrants will not be targeted. In february your agency detained a woman in el paso, texas, who was seeking a protective order against a domestic abuser. Can you say now that your agency will not be doing that again . And if its been done in the past, why should we believe that it wont be done in the future . Okay. That case youre talking about you obviously dont know all the facts that i do. That is not the way theres much more of that story than youre presenting here today. I can tell you that was a solid arrest. And its under litigation. I cant give you the information i have. That was a good arrest. That was a Public Safety arrest and i cant say anymore because its in litigation. One last question. Focus, can the president focus tomorrow on most violent gangs and ms13, im reading a story from last month said the biggest number that i. C. E. Arrests are up of Illegal Immigrants and the sharpest spike seen for noncriminals. I think the other side of the issue would say that i. C. E. And this administration really is going after noncriminals and just using these moments to sort of suggest otherwise, what do you think about that . Its ridiculous. I mean, when under Prior Administration noncriminals were not a priority. So when you go from zero to 100, of course youre going to see the biggest rise in that. Executive orders are clear. Anybody reads executive orders, no population off the table. Those got a court order from a judge refuse to leave were looking for them. Those who enter the country illegally, ive said it 100 times, that is a crime to enter this country illegally. When they get their due process, at great taxpayer expense, billions of dollars are spent on Border Security, immigration court, detention, so when they give their due process and a federal judge orders them removed, that order needs to mean something or the whole system has no integrity. Nowhere else in Law Enforcement has anybody asked Law Enforcement agency to ignore a judges order from a bench. Theyve had their due process. Our job is to enforce those orders and thats what well do. For the people that say we concentrate too much on those that are not criminals beyond them committing the crime of entering the country illegally, you should ignore them, theyve been here, let them go. That message drives what happened in san antonio. That message drives what happened to victoria, texas, that i investigated back in 2003. If we send the message that if you get into the country, you get by Border Patrol and dont get arrested by local Law Enforcement for another crime, no ones looking for you, that is a magnet, that is a pull factor. We got to stop that messaging. We got to tell people its not okay to violate laws in this country. You cant want to be a part of this country and not respect its laws. You cant have it both ways. Until we get that message clear that there is no safe haven here and if youre in sanctuary cities, thats where we send additional resources, look for you at home, place of employment, we got to enforce the law. We got to stop sending the message. Previous question need cooperation of local community, hear that a lot from Law Enforcement including, you know, american immigrants, families that maybe have mixed situations. The President Trump the other day called it in a speech in ohio twice referred to criminal gang members as animals. I think there are some who would say, well, thats sort of another attempt to paint broader swaths of immigrants as criminal and violent. He wasnt that specific about who he was talking about necessarily. And im wondering if you think that kind of rhetoric is appropriate or whether that could, you know, potentially set back some of your efforts in trying to convince Community Members to work with your department. As a criminal Law Enforcement officer i can tell you criminal aliens are a threat not only to Public Safety but National Security. We got to enforce laws. Men and women of i. C. E. Do it in a professional manner. And i shared with you the last time i was here why its so important to let the folks know in Central America and mexico, let those that want to come to the United States to find themselves in the sanctuary city why its so important to send a message they should not make that dangerous trip. In my 33 years of doing this job, these are criminal organizations that transport these people into the country, the same organizations, the same pathways that smuggle drugs, smuggle weapons and smuggle people that want to do harm to this country. And by continuing to ignore that segment of the illegal population, we are bankrolling these criminal organizations. As i said earlier, sanctuary cities, thats an antismugglers best friend. Thats their advertisement. Well get you to a sanctuary city. Im telling you what ive seen in my career, ive seen People Killed for not paying their smuggling fee. Ive seen weve talked to women whove been raped, children molested, People Killed. I shared with media yesterday in phoenix, arizona, during the hostage crisis several years ago, people couldnt pay their fees, fees would double. They couldnt pay fees. We rescued one man who was duct tape from head to toe his whole face and had a hole poked in the mouth with a straw so he could breathe for two days. When i was in victoria, texas, i did step back from a tractortrailer of 19 dead aliens, what do you think that 5yearold suffered the last 30 minutes of his life . What do you think the father felt the last 30 minutes of his life [ inaudible ] im not calling anybody animal. Im saying those who break the law and those who dont break the law. You got to respect the laws of this country. Theres millions of people that are members of society that enter this country the right way. And thats what we need to push. We need to push, theres a legal way and illegal way. We got to be pushing the legal message out there and stop sending this message that if you dont commit yet another crime beyond the crime you committed when you came to this country that its okay to be here. Its not okay to be here illegally. Its not okay to violate laws of this country. Were going to enforce law. That is why in what everything youre reading right now, all these horrific events, thats why we need the 10,000 officers that President Trump has promised so we can go after the gangs harder and criminal alien population. We need the border wall. Border wall is one more tool in the tool box that might prevent things from happening. Thats why what President Trump is asking us to do, thats why hes proposing for Border Security makes sense for the Law Enforcement community. Not just to homan at i. C. E. But for the 20,000 men and women that work at i. C. E. , the agents that wear the uniform and step on the line every day, we need this help. We need these executive orders to make sense of what we do every day. Thanks so much, tom, really appreciate it. Thank you, tom. Just like the dedicated men and women of i. C. E. And doj who are unquestionably producing results every day in these fights against vicious cartels, Senate Republicans now have an opportunity this evening to deliver on one of our biggest promises to the American People. On the hill the senate is gearing up for a series of votes on the republican plans to finally repeal and replace obamacare and replace it with the Freedom Health care bill. Congressional republicans have been telling the American People that given the chance they would save them from this increasing damage of this disastrous law. After seven years of skyrocketing premiums and dwindling health care options, now is their chance to act. The president looks forward to seeing the senate fulfill that promise later tonight when they finally repeal obamacare and end the nightmares it has caused for American Families and businesses. I hate to start the q and a off on a low note, but i wanted to get ahead of some of the personnelrelated questions and just let you guys know ahead of time that, no, i cannot confirm whether or not sean spicer will be on dancing with the stars upon leaving the white house. And with that i will take your questions. Jonathan. Sara, does the president have confidence in his chief of staff . Look, i think ive addressed this question when it comes to staffing and personnel many times that if the president doesnt, then hell make that decision. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. And if it gets to a place where that isnt the case, hell let you know. So you cant say right now if the president has full confidence in chief of staff Reince Priebus . I think i just answered that. Look, i think what we have is this is a white house that has a lot of different perspectives because the president hires the very best people. Theyre not always going to agree. There are going to be a lot of different ideas unlike previous administrations this isnt group think. We all come and have a chance to voice those ideas, voice those perspectives. And have a lot of healthy competition. And with that competition, you usually get the best results, the president likes that type of competition and encourages it. The people that are here are here because they love the president. They love this country. They want to see the best things happen. And sometimes youre going to have different ideas come to the table. Thats all were talking about. This public humiliation of both the attorney general and now the chief of staff. Left to kind of wonder about their own fate, their own status within this administration. I dont know that the president has spoken about that, particularly on attorney general sessions. Hes been clear that he was disappointed with his decision to recuse himself. But at the same time as ive said, look, attorney general sessions knows better than anybody that the president and his campaign had nothing to do with russia. And his decision to recuse himself was disappointing to the president. At the same time, the president wants him to do his job. Do it properly, he wants him to be tough on the intelligence leaks. And he wants him to move forward. Lindsey graham says there will be holy hell to pay if attorney general sessions is fired. What does he have to say about that. I havent asked him about grahams comments. The president has announced that the president s statements via twitter did not change the transgender policy in the military and the white house has to issue a policy directive to the secretary of defense to make that change happen so two questions does the president plan to do so . And if so, how will that affect transgender troops that are currently serving . As i said yesterday, the white house will work with the department of defense and all the relevant parties to make sure that we fully implement this policy moving forward. And do so in a lawful manner. What is the policy . And was the president aware that he cant make policy changes via statements on twitter. Because the pentagon is saying i think he was making announcement of the policy change. The policy change hasnt been formalized . Theyll have to work out the details of how that moves forward to lawfully implement that policy change from this point. Thank you. So moving on to health care, you talked about how Senate Republicans have the chance tonight to really undo obamacare. But it seems like the thing thats most likely to get through is the skinny repeal. That would just kind of, that would maybe get rid of the mandate and some other things. But its not the massive overhaul that had been promised. So with the white house support just a skinny repeal, that being signed into law . We certainly support progress moving forward. And thats what were seeing taking place in the senate right now. And i think that thats a the place where weve been since we started this. As were looking for moving the ball forward down the field. Repealing or replacing it with a Better Health care system this is one step within that process. But does the white house believe that a skinny repeal on its own would be enough to address the issues of premiums, you know, rising premiums and deductibles and things like that . Would the president sign just a skinny repeal . Weve got to see what they get to tonight we havent seen a final piece of legislation, were continuing to work with the senate to make sure we get the best health care we can. Sarah, i want to ask you two questions, one about the president s management style and one about the immigration enforcement. Is the president aware that occasionally days like yesterday when he had a big jobs announcement he wanted to roll out that his seemingly impulsive decisions to make a decision on transgender troops steps on his own message . Is the president aware of that dynamic . And is he interested in changing that, do you know . I think the president is aware that he can walk and chew gum at the same time. This is a white house that takes on a lot of different things. Every day. Not just one. And were going to continue to do that moving forward. On immigration enforcement. So this week when the president spoke in ohio, he spoke on ms 13 and he gave a litany of the violence that theyre capable of. And then he said our guys are rougher than their guys. What did the president mean by that . I think the president means that our guys are going to do whatever it takes to protect americans, protect american lives. Protect our borders. Is that a license for the use of more force when it comes to making arrests against gangs . The president wants people to do their jobs. Not go beyond the scope of what they should do. But he wants to protect our country. He wants to protect American People. And hes asked the Law Enforcement agencies to step up and help be part of that process. As i think we would all expect for them to. Law enforcement agencies to change the rules of the use of force when it comes to making arrests against ms13 . Im not aware of any specific changes. Anthony scaramucci said about Reince Priebus, if he wants to prove hes not a leaker, let him do that. I cant imagine would you speak on anthonys behalf. But if he would, does he think that Reince Priebus is a leaker . Or does the president think that reince is leaking . Im not glg to comment on anthonys suggestion, ill let him answer for himself. I think i made pretty clear on where the president is, and i dont have anything to add beyond that. Does the president believe that tax overhaul should increase the budget deficit . Or should it be revenue control . Were continuing to make announcements on the details of the tax reform plan as im sure you all saw. There was a joint statement that came out earlier today and were making a lot of progress on this front as we get closer to lining out the final details, well certainly be putting those out in front of all of you. The big pieces are simplification and helping take off the relief for the middle class. Those are big places that were really focused and were going to continue to do that. As you saw from the statement, the border adjustment tax was taken off the table and thats another big step forward in the process. Pete centre. Sarah can i ask quickly about Anthony Scaramucci . Only if you do it quickly. Fine. Has he taken an oath of office . Im sorry. Has Anthony Scaramucci taken han oath of office . Not that im aware of. Has his security clearance gone through . We do not discuss security clearances. Is he an official member of the white house staff . Hes working at the white house. Other questions, i cant answer that. Were going to go with one question thursday. Were kind of tight on time. Let me ask you about the boy scouts if i can. Im going to go to john, sorry, peter. I do have to ask you about the health care bill. Many who were in the Freedom Caucus say that they would oppose the skinny repeal. That was referred to earlier. That if a measure came out with just ending the mandates and ending the tax on medical devices, and not address anything else, they would vote against it. Is the president aware of this . And is he make anything calls for specific parts of the repeal effort . Look, the administration has been working hand in hand on pushing repeal and replace of obamacare. We actually like the term freedom bill a lot better. Because we think it addresses what this bill actually is. It removes a lot of those mandates that allow people to have the type of freedom, have states are have the freedom that they want. That was one of the big priorities for this administration. Were happy about that progress. Were going to wait and see where the bill ends up late they are evening. John deck centre. Is the president just to follow up on what john just asked you. I dont know if youve got into that particular part of the question. Is the president picking up the phone . Is he calling those seven or eight republican senators, making the case for them that this may be their last best hope for repealing and replacing obamacare . And if he is, whats his message to those particular senators . The same one hes been making all along, lets get the job done. Lets replace a terrible Health Care System with a better one. And hes going to be engaged, and ill keep you posted on any specifics and people that he talks to. Peter . All the folks, republican senators, here at the white house last week, sarah guys, were real tight on time. I want to keep you to one question. Lets be polite to your colleagues. Anthony scaramucci said the president might veto the russia sanctions bill. Even though senator corker has withdrawn his objections. Is that in fact possible, would he veto a vote that passed with three negative votes in the house and two negative votes in the senate . The president and the administration supports sanctions against russia, iran and north korea. We continue to support strong sanctions against those three countries. And were going to wait and see what the final legislation looks like and make a decision at that point. As soon as we have a final piece of legislation, well let you know. In terms of working with the d. O. D. On the new policy, how long is it going to be before you find out what the details are. I dont have a specific timeline, but i believe theyre going to start moving on it quickly. Well keep you posted as the details come out. I dont have a specific timeline on what that looks like. But i know that theyre ready to start moving. And work on that implementation. Major . Some Senate Republicans have sent signals to this white house, one, were not going to allow, two theres not going to be a confirmation hearing if theres a new attorney general nominated. Theres a signal being sent dont do what we fear you might be contemplating. Can you for the betterment of the Senate Republicans, who are working with this white house on a lot of issues, put to rest once and for all the status of the attorney general . Hes not going to be fired, theres not going to be a need for a recess appointment and this issue can be laid to rest for the country and for Senate Republicans, who appear based on their public statements to be anxious about this prospect. I guess im not sure how many times you have to lay an issue to rest. Ive tried many times. But when you dont say the president has confidence and the president says time will tell as he said earlier this week im only telling you what Senate Republicans who are in a position to have to deal with this ive answered your question. And yesterday you probably saw statement come out from here that that was more fake news from the washington post. On the fact that were considering a recess appointment. I think that sums that up pretty clearly. This is a little maybe just a little bit offtopic. I want to run it by you, anyway. Is the president aware of this story thats probably good if we mix it up a little bit. The president aware of the story of the i. T. Staff of congressional i. T. Staffer who most recently worked for florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman schultz who was recently arrested and attempting to leave the country. Although he said he was not trying to flee the country. Is the president aware of that particular circumstance . And is he satisfied with the pace of the investigation . I havent had a conversation with him specifically about that. But i do think it is something we should fully look into. And there should be a thorough investigation. Kristen . Since we only have one question im going to ask you about the boy scouts. Make it count. Chief wrote this to family members. Who were at the president s events earlier this week. I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. That was never our intent, we sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the scouting program. Does the president owe the boy scouts an apology . I was at that event and i saw nothing but roughly 40 to 45,000 boy scouts cheering the president on throughout his remarks. And i think they were pretty excited that he was there. And happy to hear him speak to them. The boy scouts acknowledge there was a problem. A lot of parents expressed frustration in the wake of those comments. And felt the need to actually write a letter about it. So does the president owe them apology . I was at that event and heard nothing but a lot of cheering and probably one of the most energetic crowds ive seen in front of the president. And so i dont have anything to add. I havent seen the statement from the boy scouts. Soy cant comment any further. Than what i saw firsthand. And that was a lot of individuals roughly 40 to 45,000 as reported, cheering the president on. Zeke . For you real quick i have two. Remember, theres one. First on Anthony Scaramucci this morning on cnn, he said he had a conversation with attorney general jeff sessions, violate the doj guidelines. And secondly, out of alaska today, a local paper is reporting that senator murkowsky was receiving a phone call for the secretary of interior safety threatening the people, essentially threatening the services and federal dollars spent by the administrations policy towards the people of alaska if she voted a certain way on the health care bill. I was hoping if you could confirm that and discuss whether if that conversation did happen. Ill answer both of your questions, im not going to speak about conversations between cabinet members and other individuals that i wasnt apart of and havent had a chance to talk to either individual about. Francesca . Thank you, sarah. You suggested that the president continued to have confidence in Reince Priebus, based on the fact that hes still in his position and hes a friend of Anthony Scaramucci who is coming into the administration. At this point, based on what weve seen quite publicly playing out, does he think that they at least need to sit down to talk as House Speaker paul ryan said and get whatever this is out of their systems so they can start off on the right foot here . I dont know if he has an opinion on what they should do between the two of them. I think the president as always enjoys healthy competition and conversation and he sees that as such. Ive got to wrap up here because the president is getting ready to do an event which i know you all probably want to attend. And i want to leave you with just one last thing before i close out on an important development. You guys love to talk about russia and theres been nonstop coverage. And the one day that there might have been a question on russia, there wasnt. Often we have a lot of media with russia first and but today there was public testimony that further discredited the phony dossier thats been the source of so much of the fake news and conspiracy theories. And we learned that the firm that produced it was also being paid by the russians. This is yet the latest piece of evidence that vindicates what the president said, that this is a witch hunt and a hoax. And its a shame that the president and the country have this to go through this charade and hopefully this will help us move forward with the process. Thank you so much. What is the definition of healthy competition are they going for the same job . The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff marks reason jen Joseph Dunford is responding to President Trumps announcement b