The Daily Signal - Leavitt Press Briefing, Federal Funding Freeze, Republicans Plot Strategy | Jan. 28, 2025

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

On today’s Top News in 10:    Reporters peppered White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with questions on a range of topics during her first briefing. She promised to reverse former President Joe Biden’s decision to revoke the White House press credentials of 440 reporters. The Daily Signal’s Fred Lucas was among those who lost his credentials in 2023.    The White House announced it is freezing federal grants and loans while it undertakes a sweeping review of such spending to ensure it is aligned with the president’s priorities. In fiscal year 2024, he said the government distributed more than $3 million in federal financial assistance. That’s approximately 30% of the $10 trillion it spent.    House Republicans are gathered in Florida for a three-day meeting to sort out their strategy for enacting President Trump’s agenda. The Daily Signal’s Elizabeth Mitchell is in Miami for the meeting and interviewed several members of Congress about their plans for budget reconciliation and other upcoming legislative debates.    Additional headlines:    After dominating the news for weeks last year, Levitt announced the drones flying over New Jersey were authorized to be flown by the Federal Aviation Administration.  President Trump has another member of his Cabinet today after the Senate voted 77 to 22 for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.   Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is suggesting that the government enlist private citizens—or privateers—to help combat Mexican drug cartels.   Google Maps will comply with President Trump’s directive to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and rename Denali to Mount McKinley.    Keep Up With The Daily Signal    Sign up for our email newsletters: https://www.dailysignal.com/email    Subscribe to our other shows:    The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-tony-kinnett-cast  Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women  The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown    Follow The Daily Signal:    X: https://x.com/DailySignal  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/  Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal    Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day’s top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Desjardin, we speak business. We speak equipment modernization. We're fluent in data digitization and expansion into foreign markets. And we can talk all day about streamlining manufacturing processes. Because at Desjardin business, we speak the same language you do. Business. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us. And contact Desjardin today.

We'd love to talk, business. President Trump is back, and the golden age of America has most definitely begun. The White House briefing room was packed once again today as Caroline Levitt took questions from the press. I'm your host Rob Louie, and this is the Daily Signal Top News in 10 for Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Reporters peppered the White House press secretary with questions on a range of topics Tuesday during her first briefing. Levitt certainly had no shortage of news to discuss after President Domestic. Trump's historic first week in office. After years of inconsequential updates from the previous administration's press secretary, Corrine John Pierre, all eyes were on Levitt today. After serving as an

assistant press secretary under Kaylee McInady in Trump's first term, Levitt ran for Congress from New Hampshire in 2022. At 27, she is the youngest press secretary to hold the job at the White House. She was in full command behind the lectern as she faced a flurry of eager reporters with questions ranging from the federal freeze on grants to the White House's plans for Black History Month. Levitt began her briefing by talking about illegal immigration, the issue that defined the first week of Trump's second term. President Trump has sent a loud and clear message to the entire world. America will no longer tolerate illegal immigration, and this president expects that every

nation on this planet will cooperate with the repatriation of their citizens. As proven by this weekend, when President Trump swiftly directed his team to issue harsh and effective sanctions and tariffs on the Colombian government, upon hearing they were denied a U.S. military aircraft full of their own citizens who were deported by this administration. Within hours, the Colombian government agreed to all of President Trump's demands, proving America is once again respected on the world stage. So to foreign nationals who are thinking about trying to illegally enter the United States, think again. Under this president, you will be detained and you will be deported. Before taking questions, Leavitt promised to reverse former President Joe Biden's decision

to revoke the White House press credentials of 440 reporters. The Daily Signals, Fred Lucas, was among those who lost his credentials in 2023. Leavitt said those reporters would once again have access to the White House, along with members of the new media. My colleague Fred Lucas was in the briefing room today and now joins me in studio. Fred, welcome. Yeah, thanks for having me on. Fred, one of the big changes that we saw today were two reporters who were sitting to the right

of the lectern who were members of the new media, as Caroline Levitt defined them. That's a change from previous administrations. What can you tell us about that experience? Breitbart and Axio. So, Mike Allen and Matt Boyle were the first two questions. And those are two really high traffic websites. And Carolyn Levitt actually gave those two the very first questions in the press briefing. And she made it very clear.

Legacy media is no longer going to be de facto and questions and access from here on. That was certainly the case today. Finally, Fred, you've been covering the White House since 2009. You've had a lot of time in that briefing room. Did you notice any other changes today just in terms of the dynamic? than previous administrations. I thought she hit a lot of questions. I was there for some of Corrine Jean-Pier's questions.

Notably, she didn't have a binder. She didn't constantly flip through. And she seemed to be ready for everything. So it's going to be interesting going forward to see how she does. But she had a good debut. Fred Lucas, thanks for your work. We appreciate all your contributions to the Daily Signal. Yeah, thanks for having me.

The White House announced Tuesday it is freezing federal grants and loans. will it undertakes a sweeping review of such spending to ensure that it is aligned with the president's priorities. A memo from Matthew Veyeth, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, spelled out the administration's plans. In fiscal year 2024, he said the government distributed more than $3 trillion in federal financial assistance. That's approximately 30% of the $10 trillion it's spent. Career and political appointees in the executive branch have a double. duty to align federal spending and action with the will of the American people, they have said. He added, the use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and Green

New Deal's social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve. During Tuesday's press briefing, Levitt explained why the administration made the move. This is a very responsible measure. Again, the past four years, we've seen the Biden administration spend money like drunken sailors. It's a big reason we've had an inflation crisis in this country. And it's incumbent upon this administration to make sure, again, that every penny is being accounted for honestly. Democrats have already vowed to fight Trump's directive. New York Attorney General Leticia James announced that she was suing the Trump administration, and Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called it

illegal and unprecedented, warning that it could have devastating consequences. Be sure to visit DailySignal.com for more coverage. House Republicans are gathered in Florida for a three-day meeting to sort out their strategy for enacting President Trump's agenda. The Daily Signal's Elizabeth Mitchell is in Miami for the meeting and interviewed several members of Congress. She spoke with freshman Congressman Brad Nod about how Republicans plan to support Trump's efforts to halt illegal immigration. The people that are being prioritized right now, they are the most dangerous, they are the most vile. We have seen child predators. We have seen people that have 15 plus felony convictions.

All who are here illegally and the cost to our society, to our neighborhoods, our schools, it's immeasurable. So I fully support targeting these deportations effectively, efficiently on a broad scale, especially towards those who are the most dangerous. And then I also support changing the laws to make it more punitive for people who want to be here and commit crimes. Republicans will have an opportunity to provide the Department of Homeland Security with additional resources as part of the budget reconciliation bill that lawmakers are crafting now. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts appeared on Newsmax Tuesday morning to outline the various measures that he would like Congress to consider. Congress also has to play its part. Congress needs to tax remittances. We lose $150 billion a year to remittances, these payments back to home countries. We need to make it illegal for illegal aliens to get home loans. We need to cut off welfare benefits for illegal aliens.

These are all common-sense things that are just, they're fair. And also it brings us eventually to the point where maybe we can have a transparent immigration system. We've got a lot of work to do before we get there. The White House announced that illegal southern border crossings have dropped from more than 1,300 to less than 600 in just the past week. We'll be back with our news flash right after this. Black Friday is here at IKEA, and the clock is ticking one. savings you won't want to miss. Join IKEA family for free today

and unlock deals on everything from holiday must-havs to cozy at-home essentials, all the little and big things you need to make this season shine. But don't wait. Like leftovers at midnight, our Black Friday offers won't last. Shop now at IKEA.ca.ca.

Black Friday. Ikea. Bring home to life. Remember those mystery drones flying over New Jersey last year? After dominating the news for weeks And without any explanation from the Biden administration, Levin announced at today's White House press briefing. After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational, and private individuals that enjoy flying Jones.

In time, in time, it got worse due to curiosity. this was not the enemy. President Trump has another member of his cabinet today after the Senate voted 77 to 22 for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. He previously served in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019 and then joined Fox News. He is the sixth nominee confirmed,

joining Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was approved by the Senate on Monday night. Up next in the confirmation queue is Lee Zeldon to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, followed by Doug Bergam for the Secretary of the Interior, Chris Wright to be Secretary of Energy, and Doug Collins to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Senator Mike Lee of Utah is suggesting that the government enlist private citizens or privateers to help combat Mexican drug cartels. In a series of posts on X, Lee pointed to Article I,

Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution that gives Congress the power to grant letters of mark and reprisal. Congress could issue letters of mark and reprisal authorizing private security firms or specially trained civilians to intercept cartel operations, particularly those involving drug shipments or human trafficking across borders. It has been over 100 years since Congress authorized such a commission. Google will comply with President Trump's directive to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and renamed Denali to Mount McKinley. President Barack Obama had ordered the change to Denali in 2015. Google said that its Google Maps software would follow a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources. You should see the new names once the government's database known as the geographic names information system is updated. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thank you for listening to Top News & Ten.

Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on new episodes of Top News & Ten. or our weekend deep dive edition. Today's episode was produced by John Pop. Thanks again for listening and have a great night.