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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday delivered a press briefing promising beefed-up federal assistance to root out crime in Portland, Oregon, while also addressing the third day of the “Democrat-led shutdown.”
“Despite the government shutdown, President Trump’s efforts to make America safe again continue,” she told reporters. “President Trump believes that American cities should be the safest places on Earth, and he is committed to making this a reality.”
Leavitt noted that a “crime crackdown” will continue in Portland, and confirmed that the president has directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to provide “all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland and any ICE facilities under siege by Antifa or any left-wing domestic terrorists.”
She described the rioting and protesting in Portland as left-wing “anarchy,” and noted that police officers in the region are “battered” and citizens are “terrified.”
According to Leavitt, Antifa has “laid siege” to the ICE field office in Portland since early June.
“[President Trump] has directed his team here at the White House to begin reviewing aid that can potentially be cut in Portland. We will not fund states that allow anarchy,” she said.
While reporters also asked multiple times how many jobs the White House expects to cut from the federal workforce amid the ongoing government shutdown, Leavitt was clear that the Office of Management and Budget is handling the logistics on that point.
They will “identify, unfortunately, where layoffs have to be made and what cuts have to happen,” Leavitt said.
However, she remained hopeful that Democrats would choose to vote for a clean continuing resolution and, therefore, allow the government to reopen as soon as possible.
In the meantime, many Americans are at risk during this shutdown, including seven million Americans and low-income mothers who depend on WIC support, for example. The press secretary also said that 13,000 air traffic controllers in America are currently working without pay.