Middle East not in focus at first White House press room briefing

Leavitt did not include the ceasefire negotiations or hostage releases when listing the administration's early accomplishments. 

 US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, January 27, 2025.  (photo credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)
US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, January 27, 2025.
(photo credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made no mention of the Middle East in her first official news briefing on Tuesday afternoon other than responding to a question in which she called President Trump's redesignation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization a "very wise move."

Leavitt took questions for nearly an hour from reporters who packed the briefing room and squeezed into the aisles, standing on top of one another. 

Questions centered around immigration and an executive order Trump signed Monday freezing trillions of dollars in federal funding. 

Leavitt did not include the ceasefire negotiations or hostage releases when listing the administration's early accomplishments. 

She also gave a confusing answer when asked if Trump's immigration executive order would give way for the deportation of international students who express Hamas sympathies. 

 Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attend a protest, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, May 18, 2024.  (credit: REUTERS/EDUARDO MUNOZ)Enlrage image
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attend a protest, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, May 18, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/EDUARDO MUNOZ)

Trump, Netanyahu meeting

Leavitt ended her news conference before being asked about Trump's meeting next week at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.