Return to Transcripts main page

WOLF

Funding Of U.S.-Mexico Wall; White House Holds News Briefing. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 25, 2017 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, we're standing by for the start of today's White House press briefing. The press secretary, Sean Spicer, will be briefing reporters.

You're looking at live pictures coming in from the west wing of the White House, the briefing room. We'll bring you that briefing, live, as soon as it begins momentarily.

Also, we just heard from President Trump in an interview with ABC News about his promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MUIR, ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: Are you going to direct U.S. funds to pay for this wall? Will American taxpayers pay for the wall?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ultimately, it will come out of what's happening with Mexico. We're going to be starting those negotiations relatively soon, and we will be, in a form, reimbursed by Mexico which --

MUIR: So, they'll pay us back?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, absolutely, 100 percent.

MUIR: So, the American taxpayer will pay for the wall at first?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, it is and we'll be reimbursed at a later date from whatever transaction we make from Mexico.

MUIR: Mexico's president said, in recent days, that Mexico absolutely will not pay adding that it goes against our dignity as a country and our dignity as Mexicans. He says that, simply, they're not paying.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think -- I think he has to say that. He has to say that. But I'm just telling you, there will be a payment. It will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form. And you have to understand. What I'm doing is good for the United States. It's also going to be good for Mexico. We want to have a very stable, very solid Mexico.

MUIR: When does construction begin?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As soon as we can. As soon as we can physically do it. We're --

MUIR: In months?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would say in months, yes. I would say in months. Certainly planning is starting immediately.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Later this hour, the president signs another executive action. This time green-lighting that wall along the border with Mexico.

He also plans to sign an order to end so-called sanctuary cities where local officials around the United States refuse to hand over undocumented immigrants.

Another issue that is sure to come up during today's briefing, the president's -- their refusal to back down from false claims of massive voter fraud during the 2016 election here in the United States.

Today, the president tweeted this. I will be asking for a major investigation into voter fraud, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal, and even those registered to vote who are dead and many for a long time, depending on results. We will strengthen up voting procedures. That was the tweet from the

president.

Let's get some more on all of this from our team of reporters who are watching these developments. Our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta is with us. Our Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Michelle Kosinski is over at the State Department. And our CNN Correspondent Leila Santiago is in Mexico City.

Jim, first to you. You just heard what the president said, a few moments ago in that interview with ABC News, that he believes Mexico eventually will pay the United States back for this border wall. That will be billions and billions of dollars.

What details --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right.

BLITZER: -- are you hearing about this new executive order or action that he's signing today on immigration?

ACOSTA: Well, there is some language in this executive order that deals with that, Wolf. Not clear whether or not it's going to be enough money to pay for the completion of a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexican border.

But according to a source that we have been speaking with about what's in this executive order, the Department of Homeland Security will be looking at aid that is provided to Mexico. So, that could be an avenue where they could be looking to funds to help pay for this wall.

But they're also -- from what I'm told by talking to a source, that they're going to be trying to use existing funding in the Department of Homeland Security that is authorized by the Secure Fence Act that was passed during the Bush administration way back in 2006.

So, Wolf, they're looking at using existing dollars, existing law to get this wall started, get it under construction.

We're going to hear from the president in just a couple of hours over at the Department of Homeland Security to offer up some more details.

But, Wolf, this executive order that President Trump is going to be signing later on this afternoon, dealing with immigration, it is going to be sweeping.

It is not just dealing with starting construction of that wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. It's going to be ordering immigration agents to step up enforcement, removal of what they call criminal, quote unquote, "aliens." Although we don't use that term. It's undocumented people in this country who are suspected of committing crimes.

BLITZER: I'm going to interrupt you right now. There's Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary, starting today's press briefing.

SEAN SPICER, U.S. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY (live): As soon as he gets going over there, I'm going to wrap up. So, we got -- we got a little while together. But we'll try to make sure (INAUDIBLE) to his remarks. When he gets there, we'll wrap it up.

After briefing yesterday, the president brought leaders of both parties together to discuss the nomination -- his next nomination of the Supreme Court. It's an incredibly productive conversation.

[13:05:06] As you can see from the president's tweet, he will announce that nomination next Thursday.

The president also spoke with prime minister Modi of India yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to give you a read-out during the briefing.

So, let me just let you know that during the call, the president emphasized that the United States continues to consider India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world. The two discussed opportunities to strengthen the partnership between the United States and India in a broad area, such as the economy and defense.

They also discuss security in the region of south and central Asia. President Trump and prime minister Modi resolved that the United States and India should stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism.

And President Trump looks forward to hosting prime minister Modi in the United States later this year.

Today, the president is focused on fulfilling one of his most significant campaign promises to the American people by making America safe again. By taking steps to secure our borders and improve immigration enforcement inside the United States.

The president intends to sign two executive orders after observing the swearing in of secretary of security -- secretary of Homeland Security Kelly.

The first order is the border security and immigration enforcement improvements. It addresses long overdue border security issues. And it's the first order of -- in that will be to build a large, physical barrier on the southern border.

Building this barrier is more than just a campaign promise. It's a commonsense first step to really securing our porous border. This will stem the flow of drugs, crime, illegal immigration into the United States.

And, yes, one way or another, as the president has said before, Mexico will pay for it. The executive order also provides the dedicated men and women of the Department of Homeland Security with the tools they need -- the tools and the resources they need to stop illegal immigration from the United -- entering the United States.

Under the Constitution, the American people get the final say who can and cannot enter our nation. And they have spoken loud and clearly through our laws.

We're going to create more detention space for illegal immigrants along the southern border to make it easier and cheaper to detain them and return them to their country of origin.

We're going to end the last administration's dangerous catch and release policy, which has led to the deaths of many Americans.

We're going to, once again, prioritize the prosecution and deportation of illegal immigrants who have also otherwise violated our laws.

And after these criminals spend time in prison for the crimes that they've committed, they're going to get back one-way tickets to the country of their origin, and their governments are going to take them back.

The second executive order, enhancing public safety in the interior of the United States, addresses the enforcement over immigration laws in the United States and returns the power and responsibility to the dedicated men and women of the Department of Homeland Security's immigration and custom enforcement to help them enforce the law.

These men and women want to enforce the law, and we're going to help them do that. Federal agencies are going to unapologetically enforce the law. No ifs, ands or buts.

We're going to restore the popular and successful secure communities' program which will help ICE agents target illegal immigrants for removal.

The State Department is going to withhold visas and use other tools to make sure countries accept and return the criminals that came from their country. We'll insure that these countries take those individuals back.

And we're going to strip federal grant money from the sanctuary states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants. The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws.

Reforming our immigration system has been at the top of President Trump's priority since he announced his candidacy. Now, in just the final first week -- excuse me, just in the first week, we're not there yet, of his presidency, the last administration will enforce the rule of law and restore value to the American citizenship, our greatest asset in the 21st century.

As to the rest of the day's schedule. This morning, the president started off his day in the Oval Office, carrying out some official duties. He -- this morning he had the honor to greet now ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, in his office after the vice president swore her in in his ceremonial office across the street.

As one of the most respected governors in the country, Ambassador Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together, regardless of their background or differences, to create opportunities for bettering her state and now our nation.

The president is pleased that Ambassador Haley, to the best of my knowledge, at least, is our nation's first Indian-American cabinet level officer. That's a big deal for Indian-Americans throughout this country. And now, she's able to get to work representing our nation as our nation's top diplomat.

In just a few minutes, the president will be departing the White House to visit the Department of Homeland Security where he'll -- as I mentioned, he'll attend the swearing in of Secretary Kelly.

[13:10:03] But then, be briefed by FEMA on the storm relief efforts in the southeast and conduct other related business with specific to keeping our nation safe.

Secretary Kelly has dedicated his life to protecting our country, enlisting in the marine corps in 1970, commanding at every level from platoon commander through the corps level and combat and command. He has a sincere commitment to fighting the threat of terrorism inside of our country and ending the dangerous flow of illegal immigrants through our borders.

The president is looking forward to working with Secretary Kelly to implement his plans to restore our borders and protect our country. For everyone keeping score at home, this brings us up to four total confirmations of our cabinet or cabinet-level appointees. And, as a reminder, the Obama administration had 12 done at the end of their first week. So, needless to say, we think Senate Democrats should continue to spend some quality time getting our nominations moved out of the Senate.

This afternoon, the president will have his final event -- public event, anyway, by speaking on the phone with Mississippi Governor Bryant. They're going so discuss storm relief and recovery efforts underway in Mississippi and any help that the governor needs from the federal government.

Today, the president also announced the appointment of an incredibly qualified team to serve under the guidance of White House counsel Don McGahn to address compliance and ethics' matters. This team consists of Stefan Passantino, Deputy Assistant to the president; and deputy general counsel to the president, Raton Deland (ph), Scott Gast (ph) and James Schultz, as special assistants to the president and associate counsel.

Together, these esteemed lawyers have decades of experience in political counsel serving senators, members of Congress, congressional committees, governors and federal agencies. The appointment of a team of this caliber, at such a high level, reflects the critical importance of ethics' compliance to President Trump and his administration.

Stephan has received the highest praise from party leaders of both sides from whom he has worked with. As former Gingrich said, no one understands the ethics' process better than Stephan.

And as you saw from his tweet this morning, the president is looking into various options to address voter fraud. On Thursday, he'll travel to Philadelphia for a retreat with congressional Republicans, where, in addition to discussing his legislative agenda, he'll also provide an update on the actions that he's going to be taking in the next few days.

And, finally, before you ask, because I know it's an issue that's near and dear to me. I was asked yesterday about the status of the invitation of the prime -- of Prime Minister Kenny from Ireland to visit the United States on St. Patrick's Day. And I'm pleased to announce that the president has extended that invitation. It happened actually during the transition period, and we look forward to the prime minister attending.

With that, I'd love to take some questions. Dave Boy at "Washington Times."

DAVE BOYER, REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON TIMES": Thank you, Sean. Can you shed any light on his draft memo that's going around about interrogation practices --

SPICER: Right.

BOYER: -- and (INAUDIBLE.)

SPICER: Yes, I can lend a lot.

BOYER: What agency did it originate in --

SPICER: I don't know. It is not a White House document. And I would just urge -- those people who have reported on it, this is now, I think, the second day that we've had a document that was not a White House document get reported on as a factual document. It is not a White House document. I have no idea where it came from. But it is not a White House document.

BOYER: Has the president directed it to be drafted in the first place?

SPICER: No. I mean, as I said, it is not a White House document, so I'm not sure where it came from or how it originated. But it is not a White House document. I don't know how much clearer I can say to that.

Laurie Montenegro from "Telemundo."

LAURIE MONTENEGRO, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "TELEMUNDO": Thank you, Sean. With regard to the executive order the president will be signing today, with regards to the wall. It's already been estimated that it will cost billions of dollars. Has the administration figured out how Mexico will pay for this? And do you have any guarantee from Republicans in Congress that they will provide all of the funding necessary --

SPICER: Yes.

MONTENEGRO: -- to see this project come to completion? Also, about two days ago, you were asked about DAKA.

SPICER: Yes.

MONTENEGRO: And some of the dreamers, as they are known, have lots of questions regarding what is their future.

SPICER: Right.

MONTENEGRO: I mean, do they continue to apply? Those that have identified for renewal, will their applications be processed? And with regards to stripping funding from the sanctuary cities, what fundings are we talking about with regards to that?

SPICER: That's a good -- thanks, Laurie. I think with on -- with respect to the last part of that first. What the executive order does is it directs the secretary to look at ways that the -- look at funding streams that are going to these cities of federal monies and figure out how we can defund those streams.

So, part of this is a directive to the secretary to look at those funding streams and then figure out how they can be cut off. So, that's what the actual order directs them to do. The first part, with respect to DAKA. I have talked about this a couple of days. The order today doesn't specifically deal with that. We will have further updates on the rest of the president immigration agenda further in the week.

But as I had mentioned before, I think the president will talk about it in an interview tonight. But his priority is first and foremost people who are in this country that seek to do us harm.

[13:15:08] And he's -- understands -- I mean, the president understands the magnitude of this problem.

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: As soon as he gets going over there, I'm going to wrap up. So we've got a little while together, but we'll try to make sure that in deference to his remarks when he gets there, we'll wrap it up.

After briefing yesterday, the president brought leaders of both parties together to discuss a nomination -- his next nomination to the Supreme Court.

[13:05:04]

It's an incredibly productive conversation, as you can see from the president's tweets. He will announce that nomination next Thursday.

The president also spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to give you a readout during the briefing, so let me just let you know that during the call, the president emphasized the United States continues to consider India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world. The two discussed opportunities to strengthen the partnership between the United States and India in broad areas, such as the economy and defense. They also discussed security in the region of South and Central Asia.

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi resolved that the United States and India should stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism. And President Trump looks forward to hosting Prime Minister Modi in the United States later this year.

Today, the president's focused on fulfilling one of his most significant campaign promises to the American people by making America safe again, by taking steps to secure our borders and improve immigration enforcement inside the United States. The president intends to sign two executive orders after observing the swearing in of Secretary of Homeland Security Kelly.

The first order is the border security and immigration enforcement improvements. It addresses long overdue border security issues and it's the first order of -- order in that will be to build a large physical barrier on the southern border. Building this barrier is more than just a campaign promise, it's a common sense first step to really securing our porous border. This will stem the flow of drugs, crime, illegal immigration into the United States. And yes, one way or another, as the president has said before, Mexico will pay for it.

The executive order also provides the dedicated men and women of the Department of Homeland Security with the tools they need -- the tools and the resources they need to stop illegal immigration from the -- entering the United States.

Under the Constitution, the America people get the final say who can and cannot enter our nation, and they've spoken loud and clearly through our laws. We're going to create more detention space for illegal immigrants along the southern border to make it easier and cheaper to detain them and return them to their country of origin. We're going to end the last administration's dangerous catch and release policy, which has led to the deaths of many Americans.

We're going to once again prioritize the prosecution and deportation of illegal immigrants who have also otherwise violated our laws. And after these criminals spend time in prison for the crimes they've committed, they're gonna get one-way tickets to the country of their origin and their governments are gonna take them back.

The second executive order, enhancing public safety in the interior of the United States, addresses the enforcement of our immigration laws in the United States and returns the power and responsibility to the dedicated men and women of the Department of Homeland Security's immigration and custom enforcement to help them enforce the law. These men and women want to enforce the law and we're gonna help them do that.

Federal agencies are going to unapologetically enforce the law, no if's, ands or buts. We're gonna restore the popular and successful secure communities program, which will help ICE agents target illegal immigrants for removal. The State Department is gonna withhold visas and use other tools to make sure countries accept in return (ph) the criminals that came from their country. We'll ensure that these countries take those individuals back and we're gonna strip federal grant money from the sanctuary states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants.

The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws. Reform of our immigration system has been at the top of President Trump's priorities since he announced his candidacy. Now, in just the final first week -- excuse me -- just in the first week -- we're not there yet -- of his presidency, the last administration will enforce the rule of law and restore value to the American citizenship, our greatest asset in the 21st century.

As to the rest of the day's schedule, the is morning, the president started off his day in the Oval Office carrying out some official duties. He -- this morning, he had the honor to greet now ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in his office after the vice president swore her in in his ceremonial office across the street. As one of the most respected governors in the country, Ambassador Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together, regardless of their background or differences, to great opportunities for bettering her state and now our nation. The president is pleased that Ambassador Haley, to the best of my knowledge at least, is our nation's first Indian-American Cabinet- level officer. That's a big deal for Indian-Americans throughout this country. And now, she is able to get to work representing our nation as our nation's top diplomat.

In just a few minutes, the president will be departing the White House to visit the Department of Homeland Security, where he'll -- as I mentioned, he'll attend the swearing in of Secretary Kelly, will (ph) then be briefed by FEMA on the storm relief efforts in the southeast and conduct other related business with specific to keeping our nation safe.

[13:10:10]

Secretary Kelly has dedicated his life to protecting our country. Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1970, commanding at every level from platoon commander through the corps level and commandant command. He has a sincere commitment to fighting the threat of terrorism inside of our country and ending the dangerous flow of illegal immigrants through our borders. The president's looking forward to working with Secretary Kelly to implement his plans to restore our borders and protect our country.

For everyone keeping score at home, this brings us up to four total confirmations of our Cabinet or Cabinet level appointees. And as a reminder, the Obama administration had 12 done at the end of their first week. So needless to say, we think Senate Democrats should continue to spend some quality time getting our nominations moved out of the Senate.

This afternoon, the president will have his final event, public event anyway, by speaking on the phone with Mississippi Governor Bryant. They're going to discuss storm relief and recovery efforts underway in Mississippi and any help that the governor needs from the federal government.

Today, the president also announced the appointment of an incredibly qualified team to serve under the guidance of White House Counsel Don McGahn to address compliance and ethics matters. This team consists of Stefan Passantino, deputy assistant to the president and deputy general counsel to the president; Rudan Dillon (ph), Scott Gast (ph) and James Schultz as special assistants to the president and associate counsel.

Together, these esteemed lawyers have decades of experience in political council, serving senators, members of Congress, congressional committees, governors and federal agencies. The appointment of a team of this caliber at such a high level reflects the critical importance of ethics compliance to President Trump and his administration. Stefan has received the highest praise from party leaders of both sides from whom he has worked with. As former Gingrich said, "No one understands the ethics process better than Stefan." And as you saw from his tweet this morning, the president is looking into various options to address voter fraud. On Thursday, he'll travel to Philadelphia for a retreat with congressional Republicans, where in addition to discussing his legislative agenda, he'll also provide an update on the action that he's going to be taking in the next few days.

And finally, before you ask, because I know it's -- it's an issue that's near and dear to me, I was asked yesterday about the status of the invitation of Prime Minister Kenny from Ireland to visit the United States on Saint Patrick's Day. And I'm pleased to announce that the president has extended that invitation. It happened actually during the transition period and we look forward to the prime minister attending.

With that, I'd love to take some questions. Dave Boyer, Washington Times.

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean. Can you shed any light on this draft memo that's going around about interrogation practices and...

SPICER: Right, yes, I can lend a lot.

QUESTION: What agency did it originate in?

SPICER: I don't know. It is not a White House document. And I would just urge those people who have reported on it, this is now I think the second day that we've had a document that was not a White House document get reported on as a factual document. It is not a White House document. I have no idea where it came from, but it is not a White House document.

QUESTION: (inaudible) directed that it be drafted in the first place?

SPICER: No. I mean, as I said, it's not a White House document, so I'm not sure where it came from where from or how it originated, but it is not a White House document. I don't know how much clear I can say that.

Lori Montenegro from Telemundo.

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean.

With regards to the executive order the president will be signing today with regard to the wall, it's already been estimated that it will cost billions of dollars. Has the administration figured out how Mexico will pay for this? And do you have any guarantee from Republicans in Congress that they will provide all of the funding that (inaudible) this project come to completion?

Also, about two days ago, you were asked about Dhaka.

SPICER: Yeah.

QUESTION: And some of the DREAMers, as they are known, have lots of questions regarding what is their future. I mean, do they continue to apply? Those who have applied for renewal, will their applications be processed? And with regard to stripping funding from your sanctuary cities, what funding are we talking about with regards to that?

SPICER: That's a great -- thanks, Lori.

I think with respect to the last part of that first, what the executive order does is it directs the secretary to look at ways that the -- look at funding streams that are going to these cities of federal monies and figure out how we can defund those streams. So part of this is a directive to the secretary to look at those funding streams and figure out how they can be cut off. So that's what the actual order directs them to do.

The first part with respect Dhaka, I've talked about this a couple days. The order today doesn't specifically deal with that. We will have further updates on the rest of the president immigration agenda further in the week. But as I've mentioned before, I think the president will talk about it an interview tonight, but his priority is first and foremost people who are in this country that seek to do us harm.

[13:15:09]

And he understands -- I mean, the president understands the magnitude of this problem. He's a family man, he understands, he has a huge heart and he understands the significance of this problem.

But he's gonna work through it with his team in a very humane way to make sure that he -- that he respects the situation that many of these children are in that were brought here. But his priority with respect to immigration is first and foremost making sure that people who are in this country that are seeking to do us harm or have committed a crime are at the forefront of that.

Francesca Chambers?

QUESTION: (inaudible) the wall and (inaudible) administration figured out...

SPICER: Oh, I'm sorry.

QUESTION: ... how Mexico will pay it and...

SPICER: No, I think the president's working with Congress and other folks to figure out opportunities for that to happen. There are a lot of funding mechanisms that can be used.

At this point, his goal was to get the project started as quickly as possible using existing funds and resources that the department currently has and then to move forward and work with Congress on an appropriation schedule. But you know, again, we're here at day three. It's an issue that he has brought up several times with Congress in terms of making sure that we understand -- that they understand the need to make sure that that's included in the appropriations process.

Francesca?

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean. Could you give you us a little bit more of a readout of yesterday's meeting with senators about the Supreme Court justice nominees? How was that list received specifically by Democrats? And has the president whittled it down to three names or one name, as we're hearing? SPICER: The president has not whittled it down, at least not to the extent that he's will to share with us. Maybe in his mind he's got that going, but it's -- it's -- he's going through the process. He had very constructive and productive conversation with Senate leaders yesterday about the advice and consent role that they have, getting their ideas, the principles that they expect and he was sharing with them his -- the qualities and values that he expects in a judge to serve on the Supreme Court.

I'm not gonna go further than that, but I would just say it was a very productive and constructive meeting.

Eli Stokols?

QUESTION: Last night, a national park posted tweets that were (inaudible) facts about climate change and then those tweets disappeared shortly after. So I'm wondering if this White House had anything to do with that and if there's a broader, as it's been reported by some organizations, if there is broader mandate going out to federal agencies about, you know, stopping, halting speech coming from those agencies?

SPICER: No, no. There's nothing that's come from the White House, absolutely not.

I think some in cases, I know in the park service for example, over the weekend somebody who -- an unauthorized user had an old password in the San Francisco office, went in and started retweeting inappropriate things that were in violation of their policy. And they -- so again, remember, you know, I know this happened in the EPA is another example of I think some social media contact (ph).

The EPA actually violated the Antideficiency Act and the anti- lobbying bands, I think it was a year ago, during the Obama administration and inappropriately marketing some policies of President Obama and I think -- there's a couple of these agencies that have had problems adhering to their own policies. And I would refer you back to them as to why -- why those things are happening, but I know that they are taking steps in both of those two case to address inappropriate use of social media.

Yeah?

QUESTION: Thanks, Sean. Has the president reached out to Mayor Emanuel or any Chicago law enforcement authorities to discuss the concerns that he expressed in his tweet last night?

SPICER: Well, I mean, he met with Mayor Emanuel during the -- during the transition, expressed to him his support for the city, the need to -- to deal with the crime and the killings that are occurring in Chicago.

I think when President Obama was speaking his farewell address the other day, two people were killed, the same day that the president was at his -- was in his home city. And I think the president-elect at the time extended his support to Mayor Emanuel to say that the resources of the federal government are here for you. To the best of my knowledge, that return call for help has not occurred.

John? John Roberts.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

SPICER: Lynn (ph), I will get to you, but I -- but that was very -- very enthusiastic and I appreciate it. You're getting an award today.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: For the record, I very much appreciate and respect Lynn (ph). You mentioned this morning, and the president's brought this up in the news again, that he wants to launch an investigation (inaudible) in the 2016 election.

SPICER: Right. Not just -- just to be clear, not just in 2016. I think in terms of registration, where you've got folks on -- on (inaudible) that have been deceased or moved or registered in two counties. This isn't just about the 26 (sic) election, this is about the integrity of our voting system.

[13:20:01]

QUESTION: And there are studies that back up what he tweeted out this morning that suggest that people are registered in multiple states...

SPICER: Right.

QUESTION: ... and that people who are dead are still on the rolls. But attorneys who were representing the president-elect during the recounts in several states emphatically stated, quote, "All available evidence suggests the 2016 election was not tainted by fraud or mistake." So how do you square those two things?

SPICER: Well, I think there's a lot of states that we didn't compete in where that's not necessarily the case. You look at California and New York, I'm not sure that those statements were -- we didn't look at those two states in particular.

I mean, as the president has noted before, he campaigned to win the electoral college, not the popular vote. He campaigned in places like Iowa, he campaigned extensively to win Maine, too. And I think if you were campaigning to win the popular vote, you don't spend -- with all due respect to my brethren in New England, you don't spend a ton of time in Maine too to get that one electoral vote. You would have campaigned more in California, which he didn't. You would have campaigned more in New York, which he didn't.

There are big states, very populous states and urban areas where you would have spent more time campaigning but he played the game according to the rules of the game, which is an electoral strategy.

That being said, I think when you look at where a lot of potential of -- a lot of these issues could have occurred in bigger states, that's where I think we're going to look. But I think there'll be more on that as the week goes on and we'll be able to examine that further. QUESTION: And before (inaudible).

SPICER: I'm sorry. You're right.

QUESTION: May I ask one question (inaudible).

SPICER: He's earned it.

QUESTION: ... about the EPA and other departments that have been told to cease and desist in terms of social media... SPICER: No, no, no. Just to be clear, they have not -- I'm not saying that...

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: No, no, no. I -- hold on. No. Zero.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) question.

SPICER: No, no. OK, but I think I need to make sure that we're clear on this, John. They haven't been directed by us to do anything. I think what they -- from what I understand is that they've been told within their agencies to adhere to their own policies. But that directive did not come from here.

QUESTION: But the question is does this president believe that these agencies and some of the federal workforce has become politicized?

SPICER: I honestly don't know that we spend a ton of time thinking of that. We've been fairly busy on other things.

It's a good question. I don't -- I've not asked him that question. I think our focus has pretty much been getting the job done, as you've seen through the meetings that he's had, the work that he's had with members of Congress, union workers, the auto heads, the other business leaders. I mean, his focus has been much more focused on getting the job done than various tweets that are getting deleted and undeleted (ph).

Hold on. Sorry. Lynn Sweet. Not that I want to encourage anyone else to (inaudible).

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

SPICER: I'm sure.

QUESTION: And president Trump has talked a lot about Chicago. So my question is he said if Chicago doesn't fix the horrible carnage, I will send in the Feds.

Could you perhaps share with me a little bit about what is the nature of the federal help that the president has in mind? Agents? Law enforcement agents or National Guard? And what factors will determine if he acts (inaudible)? People told us that after the meeting in Trump Tower on December 7th, he did tell them things that would help Chicago that he could do such as some (ph) jobs, more prosecutions and gun laws. SPICER: I think what the president is upset about is turning on the television and seeing Americans get killed by shootings, seeing people be -- walking down the street and getting shot down, the president of the United States giving his farewell address and two people being killed that day.

And when you look at a city like that, he's had conversations with police officers in Chicago and asked them what is preventing you from solving this. And I think in many cases, there are some issues that can be resolved that will help them do their job better to keep the people of Chicago safer.

And what he wants to do is provide the resources of federal government -- and it can span a bunch of things. There's no one thing. It can be -- there can be aid, there can be -- if it was requested up through the governor, through the proper channels, that the federal government can provide on a law enforcement basis. But there's other aid that can be extended as well, either through the U.S. Attorney's Office or other means that will ensure that the people of Chicago have the resources to feel safe.

That's what he means, Lynn. And part of it is that no American, whether or not you live in Chicago or Nebraska, shouldn't feel like you can walk down the streets of a city -- of a -- streets of a city in this country and fear for your life. And I think too often, that's happening in Chicago.

QUESTION: What will happen next, just so we know the time table?

SPICER: I think next is we'll get -- hopefully get a dialogue started with Mayor Emanuel, try to figure out what a path forward can be so that we get -- we come up with a plan that can keep the people of Chicago safe and help stop -- help ease the problem there.

Yes.

QUESTION: Did Mexico's government have any knowledge that this new executive order would be signed today? And do you feel President Trump and President Pena Nieto will be on the same page after they meet next week in terms of who is paying for the wall?

SPICER: I hope so. I think that they're definitely going to stress not only NAFTA, but the wall. There's a lot of stuff that's going to come up. We have a lot of trade that goes between the two countries. There's some security, obviously Homeland Security issues.

[13:25:05]

But there's no question, I think NAFTA's going to be big on that list and trade overall.

But -- and with respect to your first question, I don't think we generally telegraph to people who are coming to visit what executive orders we're going to send.

(CROSSTALK) SPICER: Kristin?

QUESTION: Thank you -- a couple of questions.

SPICER: Yes?

QUESTION: I want to go back to that executive order that would undo some of the restrictions for handling detainees. Has the president seen that draft E.O.?

SPICER: I'm sorry -- the one that he's signing?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: No, no -- the draft executive order that would undo the restrictions on how to handle detainees.

SPICER: I guess -- I'm having a hard time -- you're asking me if a document that's not a White House document he's seen. I don't believe to the best of my knowledge, and so I would ask -- there's a -- a -- this is the second day in a row we're getting asked about documents that are floating around, and people saying -- and frankly, reports being published attributing documents to the White House that are not White House documents.

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: No, no, I'm not saying you. I'm -- I...

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: I -- to the best of my knowledge, he hasn't seen it. I think he's got a lot of other things. (CROSSTALK)

SPICER: Hold on. OK. You get one...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: If it is floating around...

SPICER: OK.

QUESTION: ... is he considering...

SPICER: Kristin, don't -- this is...

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: I'm not going to start answering hypotheticals about documents that are floating around. That's a -- you're basically...

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: OK, Kristin -- we're going to end this right now.

Hunter? Hunter? Hunter? (CROSSTALK)

SPICER: No. Hunter Walker? Thank you. Hunter? Thank you.

QUESTION: The president is reportedly going to limit access to the country for visa holders and refugees from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Will he be taking any steps that will affect people from those countries who are already here, including perhaps registering them or beginning deportations?

SPICER: I think we're going to have something -- I mean, look, the president has talked extensively about extreme vetting. Today, and you'll see more action this week on keeping America safe. This has been something he talked about in the inaugural address. He talked about it in the campaign.

As we get into that implementation of that executive order, we'll have further details. But I think the guiding principle for the president is keeping this country safe. And allowing people who are from a country that has a propensity to do us harm, to make sure that we take the necessary steps, to ensure that the people who come to this country, especially areas that have a predisposition, if you will, or a higher degree of concern, that we take the appropriate steps to make sure that they're coming to this country for all the right reasons.

And I think we'll have further information on that fact later this week.

(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: (inaudible) investigation. What's the ultimate goal here? And essentially, isn't the president questioning the legitimacy of his own election?

SPICER: No, I think that the question -- look, voting is the most sacred right that we have as Americans. This is what -- it's the hallmark and the foundation of our democracy. And to ensure that we know that every person's vote counts equally as the next citizen is probably one of the greatest things that we can do.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (inaudible) in place.

SPICER: I -- part of the reason we need to do a study is to make sure. Look, there's -- I don't want to start throwing out numbers -- but there's a lot of people that are dead that are on rolls. There are people that are voting in two places -- or that are on the rolls in two different states, sometimes in three different states.

I think taking the necessary steps to study and to track what we can do to both understand the scope of the problem, and then secondly how to stop the problem going forward is something that's definitely clearly in the best interests.

John Gizzi (ph)?

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean. Two brief questions. First, Congressman Todd Rokita of the vice president's home state of Indiana, himself a former secretary of state, is the father of that state's voter ID law, which went to the Supreme Court. He has long advocated other states following the Indiana example, all states adopting voter ID.

SPICER: Right.

QUESTION: Is that something the president would get behind to achieve...

SPICER: Yeah, look, I think the president's number one goal is to make sure that we -- I mean, Georgia is another great example of a state that implemented a very successful voter ID program. I think that's what the president is -- you know, one of several things.

But let's -- the first step is for him to get this, you know -- I don't want to call it a task force yet because it's not there yet -- but this effort underway that can look at the scope of the problem. And then, John, maybe make some recommendations. And maybe it is voter ID in states. But right now, we've got 50 states and the territories that all have various different IDs. And I know that there are some compliance issues to make sure.

But -- but part of that is to figure out the extent of the problem. In some states, what it takes to get a driver's license might be an issue. And I'm just -- but -- but I think we have to understand where the problem exists; how deep it goes; and then suggest some remedies to it. But right now, to sort of pre-judge the process would sort of get in front of the whole need to have it (inaudible).

QUESTION: I have a second question. Next week is the National Prayer Breakfast, Sean.

SPICER: It is.

QUESTION: And presidents from Eisenhower to President Obama spoke about their faith.

[13:30:00]

SPICER: Right.

QUESTION: Will the president attend?

SPICER: I'm going to have to get back to you. I'd be glad to check on that. I just don't have the president's schedule for next week.