Karoline Leavitt: 'PEOPLE WILL BE IN HANDCUFFS'

Welcome back. Right now Health and Human Services pausing its annual 185 million dollar child care payments to Minnesota because this massive fraud investigation is growing

But governor Tim Walz still pointing blame at everyone else posting quote. This is Trump's long game We've spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It's a serious issue, but this has been his plan all along He's politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.

White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt joining us now. Caroline, thank you for being here. Happy New Year's Eve. Let's jump in right now with Governor Walz blasting President Trump and the Trump administration saying that this is all about politicizing this massive fraud that keeps growing that we are learning about. You see that is what you saw from Governor Walz saying

this is Trump's long game. We've spent years cracking down on fraud, search is a serious issue, but this has been his plan all along. Your reaction.

Governor Walz is completely incompetent. He always has been and President Trump has long called him out for his incompetence and his poor leadership in the great state of Minnesota. I want to commend Nick Shirley for his incredible video in Real Journalism that went viral this past week. He epitomizes what new media looks like and that's exactly why we at the White House under President Trump's direction have embraced new media journalists like Nick Shirley. We've welcomed them in to the White House press pool.

We invited Nick Shirley to brief the president of the United States at an Antifa roundtable earlier this year. And this fraud in Governor Walz's state in Minnesota is something the Trump administration has been working on since day one.

And since Nick Shirley's journalism really brought this issue further to light, we have surged resources across the board to the state. So I want your audience to understand this is a top priority for the administration. The Department of Justice as we speak is continuing to execute search warrants and subpoenas. People will be in handcuffs as a result of the fraud that Governor Walz has allowed to occur for the for many many years. The

Department of Homeland Security is conducting door-to-door investigations on the ground at potential fraud sites and they are also of course conducting continued deportations of illegal aliens in Minnesota's communities. We're also not afraid to use denaturalization. That's a tool at the President and the Secretary of State's disposal and it's one this administration has previously used before. I know the Health and Human

Services Department has also announced we are cutting off all child care funding to the state of Minnesota until we get to the bottom of this fraud. The Department of Labor is investigating their unemployment insurance program. The Department of USDA Agriculture Secretary Rawlins weeks ago sent a letter to Governor Walz demanding he turn over every single name of SNAP recipients on the books in Minnesota. And the Minnesota Attorney General actually sued the Trump administration for that. What are they hiding? Our entire administration is working around the clock to get to the bottom of it.

And President Trump is not going to let Governor Walz off the hook.

So Caroline, just very quickly to clarify, you covered a lot there, but you mentioned the denaturalization. House Majority Whip, Tom Emmer, a congressman from Minnesota, has called for all of the Somalis that are convicted of fraud to have their citizenship revoked. We know so far according to Pambandi that 98 of the people charged, 85 are of Somali descent. Does President Trump want those Somalis to have their citizenship revoked if convicted of fraud?

Absolutely and it's something the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State is currently looking at right now. it's something the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State is currently looking at right now. It's something this administration has already done. And we know that there are liberal activist judges across the country who will try to block and tackle this administration from pursuing justice at every turn. But that's not going to stop the president and his entire cabinet by acting on behalf of law-abiding, tax-paying citizens in the

state of Minnesota and in states across the country who have been ripped off by people who abused our immigration system, came to our country, do not love our country or respect our values, and now have been ripping off and stealing money from law-abiding Americans. This administration is not going to tolerate it. And again, this is a whole-of- of government effort. We've surged resources. As you pointed out, the department of justice has already charged and prosecuted nearly 100 people. In fact, some of the buildings

and some of the sites that Nick Shirley exposed in that video are under current investigation by the department of justice. One of those sites, the Midway building, building resulted in 13 defendants already being charged earlier this year under the leadership of Justice. One of those sites, the Midway building, resulted in 13 defendants already being charged earlier this year under the leadership of our attorney general and President Trump. So that is definitely going to continue.

CHATELAINE, to wrap up this topic, it's a hot one right now, of course, especially on social media, people following it. We're so happy to hear the pausing of those payments to the child care facilities in Minnesota as all this is sorted out. Are other states on your radar? There's been a lot of rumblings about similar things happening in other states. Ohio also being mentioned. What's next and what other states are you

going to be looking at shortly? Oh, yes. Right now, Minnesota is the top of the list. But we know there has been massive fraud in blue states across this country. Look at California. Look at New York. These states will all be under investigation and consideration as far as this administration is concerned. And again, just to remind your audience,

a cutting waste fraud and abuse from the federal bureaucracy is something that this president and administration has been focused on from day one. Look at USAID. It was a corrupt program that this administration shut down at the Department of State to save the American taxpayer money.

And so we're not going to stop doing that. And anybody who has been ripping off American taxpayers will be held to the fullest extent of the law as long as this president is in charge.

Carolina, moving on just a little bit, there are a list of accomplishments by the president so far that really go beyond a list. It's just everywhere in the country, but on the wall over here we have illegal border crossings. Basically, the border is closed. The GDP has grown, inflation has gone down.

Of course, they passed the big beautiful bill, and then brokering peace around the world, two big ones, obviously Israel and Iran, and of course the ending of DEI and federal programs. When I look at this list, the one thing I see is that only one of them is codified in legislation. President Trump can't do all this on his own, but he's kind of doing it on his own. Moving into 2060, expecting to get any help from Congress.

Well, the president has a great relationship with Congress. He has a great working relationship with Speaker Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Thune. The president's been very clear he wants to do away with the filibuster so Republicans can really play tough and smart and pass as much good legislation ahead of the midterms, but over the course of the president's next three years in office so we can truly and fully save America before President Trump departs in 2028.

But as for the next year, the American people have so much to look forward to. The president will continue to build off of his historic accomplishments. The border will continue to stay shut. Mass deportations will continue. The largest tax cuts in American history for middle-class Americans that President Trump signed into law last year will be going into effect this year. So hardworking Americans will start to see that money going back into their pockets.

We know that core inflation right now is at a five-year record low. The full weight of President Trump's economic agenda, everything that he and his economic team have been doing over the course of the last year is really going to come to fruition this year and I think you're going to see an economic boom you're going to continue to see a crackdown on crime in states across the country the president is just laser focused around the clock and I've seen this firsthand it's really remarkable how people how hard he works to make our country safer and more prosperous. And I think the best is yet to come in 2026.

Caroline, best is yet to come for America. Best is also yet to come for you. We're so happy to congratulate you. Soon to be a mom of two. We're so happy for you. What can you tell us and what is it gonna look like

for you to be a mom of two this summer?

Well, thank you so much. My husband and I are so excited to grow our family and to add a girl into the mix. I had my son during the midst of the 2024 campaign and got right back to work. So I'm very grateful to President Trump

and our Chief of Staff, Suzy Wiles, who have really fostered a pro-family working environment at the White House. Almost all of my West Wing colleagues have young children. So we're all raising our families together and working for the president.

It is a very busy season of life, but it's a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it all over again in 2026.

That is amazing. And Caroline, please tell your husband, take it from me and Joey, being a girl dad is the very best thing ever.

Absolutely it is. Thank you, Caroline. Happy New Year.

Thank you, guys.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.

I'm Steve Doocy.

I'm Brian Kilmeade.

And I'm Ainsley Earhart.

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