Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Dec. 11, 2025

Hello, everybody. Good afternoon. Hello. Some new faces in here today. As we approach the end of the year, it is a great time to reflect on how much progress our country has made under President Trump's bold leadership. Given the complete mess that President Trump inherited from Joe Biden and radical left Democrats in Congress, what this administration has accomplished since January 20th and has been nothing short of remarkable. While most politicians promise big on the campaign trail and break those promises once they get into office, President Trump promised big and has delivered even bigger on the economic front. After inheriting the worst inflation crisis in over four decades, President Trump's pro growth policies are making tremendous progress to make America affordable again. Under the painful Biden years, inflation reached a record high 9% and devoured Americans purchasing power in President Trump's term. Thus far, inflation has dropped to an average of just 2.7%, marking critical progress. The Trump administration is working hard every single day to bring down the cost of living through bigger paychecks and lower prices. Real wages are finally on the rise again and on pace to increase to roughly $1,200 for the average American worker this year. To put that into perspective, real wages declined by almost $3,000 under the Biden administration. That means Americans right now are on track already to make up one third of the 3,000 in lost wages under Joe Biden. There's much work to do, but this has already been significant progress. President Trump has also delivered resoundingly on his promise to end Joe Biden's insane war on American energy and make sure our country has reliable and affordable energy produced right here at home. As a result, the nationwide average for regular gas just fell to its lowest level in nearly five years. According to data from GasBuddy released on Monday, average gas prices have now dipped below $3 per gallon in 37 states, below 275 per gallon in 22 states and below $2.50 per gallon in five states. Just a few years ago, we saw record high priced gas of nearly $5 per gallon. American families faced constant pain at the pump, and those costs caused the price of everything else to go up as well. In fact, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas in the country was the most expensive price during a presidential term in U.S. history under Biden's disastrous leadership. Even with them recklessly draining our strategic reserves to try and artificially decrease prices and. But thanks to President Trump, those days are long behind us. In the months ahead, Americans can expect prices to fall even further. We know that when gas gets cheaper, everything else gets cheaper too. And that's what this president is focusing on. Americans can also expect another boost to their bank accounts in the months ahead as 2026 tax refund season is upon us after the holidays. And is projected to be the largest ever thanks to President Trump's passage of the one big beautiful bill. According to recent analysis from Piper Sandler, when Americans file their taxes early next year, their refunds could be about one third larger than usual, or roughly an extra $1,000 per filer. That is money straight into the pockets of the American people. It's only because of President Trump and Republicans leadership that that Americans will now pay no tax on tips overtime in Social Security. President Trump and Republicans believe hardworking Americans deserve to keep more of their hard earned money. But Democrats, on the other hand, every single one of them voted against these massive tax cuts. So remember that the next time Democrats try to talk about affordability. Democrats don't have a single clue about how to make America more affordable. They just spent the last four years creating the very affordability crisis that President Trump is fixing right now. And if given the chance of power ever again, the Democrats will implement those same policies and jack inflation right back up to where it was finally at the border. President Trump has restored America's sovereignty and made our country safe again. This is the single greatest and fastest national security victory in modern American history. And it's not even close. The latest preliminary numbers released from the month of November show we have the most secure border in our nation's history. This is a remarkable achievement. November encounters came in even lower than the previous historic low. In October, if you can believe it, There were only 30,367 total encounters nationwide. That's lower than the previous record set in October. And for the seventh consecutive month, U.S. border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the United States. Let me repeat, seven months of zero illegal aliens being released into our country. This is a historic achievement and it's one that every law abiding American citizen should be grateful for. At this point in 10 months under President Trump's unmatched leadership, we've seen less apprehensions overall than we saw in just one month under Joe Biden. Again, let me repeat, in 10 months under President Trump, we've seen less apprehensions at the southern border than we saw in one month under the previous president. Again, remarkable results. All in all, the economy is back on track and ready to boom over the next three years. Biden's inflation crisis is over. Prices are coming down, wages are rising, the border is fully secure and America's best days are to come. President Trump has kept his word and delivered for the American people over the past year. And he will not stop fighting, as you heard from him directly this week, until our country and every state in this country is better than ever before. So with that, I will take your questions today. I know there's a lot of news. We'll start with our new media seat. Mr. Bolling, it's great to see you here. He's of Real America's Voice. He's also the host of Edge, his interview and commentary podcast. Please, Eric, why don't you kick us off?

Thank you very much for this inviting me to the new media seat. As you point out affordability crisis, it strikes me energy prices have been coming down aggressively since President Trump's second term, approaching $55 a barrel for oil, gasoline, as you point out, under $3 a barrel nationally, first time in five years. By the way, that $55 barrel oil is about half of the peak under the last four years in the last administration, half price wholesale prices come down. Yet affordability cris, the folks in this room, a lot of legacy media, some people in the front row seem to want to call this an affordability crisis right now, forgetting the fact that over the last four years prior we hit 9% inflation. Wages, as you point out, were stagnant at best, sometimes had dipped. That's a real affordability crisis there. But they weren't really calling it that. Then you point out how President Trump is changing the affordability in America, but how will he ensure that the legacy media doesn't flip the SC and change it so that they're using affordability as their word, their idea versus what the American people who know much better.

Yeah, well, it's a great question, Eric, and it's a point of frustration for the president and for myself. I will say that's part of the reason I just kicked off this briefing today, setting the record straight with facts about the economic mess that the president inherited from his predecessor, Joe Biden. And he's focused on digging our country and our economy out of that hole every day. Things are getting better and they will continue to. And President Trump understands better than any politician in this city the pain that the American consumer has been feeling for years now because of the last administration's policies. You heard him in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this past week, campaigning and talking to these voters saying, I was elected to fix this problem and I am fixing it. Don't forget who created it. And that's the Democrats. And I think when you hear the president talk about affordability, he's saying the Democrats are the greatest con artists in history because they are now trying to claim ownership of an issue that they created. And every data point and every economic metric does in fact show that the economy is improving. And so I do wish more people would report on those facts. I do wish that more people would remind the American public how we got here and why. It does not mean this president is discarding the feelings of the American people. He gets it better than anyone, which is why his entire administration has been focused on the issue of the economy and energy prices since day one.

If I may follow up, it's reported that around 10,000 commercial driver's license operators have been pulled by your Transportation Secretary Department. Will the president apply that same metric for the reason was they don't. The operators weren't speaking or reading English to a level that was safely people thought they would safely be able to operate trucks on our roadways. It's estimated In California around 40% of Uber drivers Uber and Lyft drivers don't speak English proficiently, and the number is 45% in Minnesota. Will this same rule or metric apply to the gig economy like Uber and Lyft?

So I don't have any announcements on further regulations, if you will, from the Department of Transportation with respect to this issue. However, I will just reiterate, the Trump administration's position is that truck drivers, particularly those driving big rigs on our nation's road and highways, who have a great responsibility to keep the American public and their fellow citizens safe, should be speaking English and should have an ability to read English proficiently. I think that's a very common sense policy to have. And we've unfortunately seen and the Department of Transportation has uncovered and is actively working to fix these state sponsored commercial trucking driver licenses, which were going to people who are not qualified to be driving these massive trucks on American roads, and they're endangering the lives of our fellow citizens. We've unfortunately seen many vehicle accidents across the country where people have lost their lives because of drivers that were just simply unqualified to be driving these trucks. So I know this is something DOT and Secretary Duffy take very seriously. Peter.

Thank you, Caroline. Based on the way that things stand right now, is Operation Southern Sphere about drugs or is it about oil?

Miss What I will tell you, Peter, is that the Trump administration is focused on doing many things in the Western Hemisphere. The president has taken a new approach that has not been taken by any administration for quite some time. To actually focus on what's going on in our own backyard. And there are two things that are very important to this administration. Number one, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the United States of America, which we know has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. The president promised on the campaign trail that he would demolish the foreign terrorist organizations and drug cartels around the world, especially right here in our own hemisphere. And you have seen that he is delivering on that promise with respect to the oil and what happened yesterday. The Department of Justice requested and was approved for a warrant to seize a vessel because it's a sanctioned shadow vessel known for carrying black market sanctioned oil to the irgc, which you know is a sanctioned entity. So the president is committed to stopping the illegal flow of drugs into our country. He's also fully committed to effectuating this administration's sanction policy. And that's what you saw and the world saw take place yesterday.

And because he said, the president is trying to do a lot of things at once, he talks a lot about how he thinks the way to bring down prices for everything would be to bring down the cost of energy. Would he use this seized Venezuelan oil to try to help Americans with affordability here in the United States?

Well, what I can tell you right now, the vessel has been seized, as you know, and the Department of Justice did that in conjunction with the Coast Guard and the Department of War. The vessel is currently undergoing a forfeiter process right now. The United States currently has a full investigative team on the ground on the vessel and individuals on board the vessel are being interviewed and any relevant evidence is being seized. With respect to the oil, that's a different issue. As you know, Peter, the vessel will go to a US Port and the United States does intend to seize the oil. However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed.

And just my last one on this, if President Trump launches a bigger military campaign in the Caribbean, is he jeopardizing a possible Nobel Peace Prize?

Ms. Look, the President has proven over the past year that he is more than worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. I think he's been nominated for it nearly 100 times this past year, which is definitely a record. He's solved, I think nine conflicts around the world we are up to now. He's actively working on the Russia, Ukraine war, which is the big one as we speak, and has been over the past year with respect to any additional action in Venezuela. I'm definitely not going to get ahead of the president or the United states military Mary, it now seems all but certain that the Obamacare subsidies will expire at the end of the year. It means More than 20 million Americans are now bracing for their health care costs to soar. Is the president prepared to let this happen or is he going to step in? Ms. The President is prepared to take action on health care and he wants Republicans on the Hill to do the same. As you have seen, Senate Republicans put forth their own legislation earlier this week. As for the subsidies that are set to expire, I would like to remind you and everybody at home why this is on the brink of happening. Democrats wrote Obamacare, they passed it without a single Republican vote and then they ballooned it with these expensive Covid subsidies that completely distorted the health insurance market. And then they doubled down, extending those subsidies and setting their own expiration date right now in 2025, which the administration is obviously well aware of. And we are working the president is is working with his health care policy team here at the White House as well as Republicans on Capitol Hill to find a solution. You said he's working to find a solution. Ms. He wants to see a solution to lower health care costs. Ms. He does, but these subsidies are expiring at the end of the year. So what is the plan and what is he going to do to put this in place in the next Two, three weeks? Ms. Well, you'll hear more from the president and from the White House on that very soon. As for wanting a solution to lower health care costs, I'm glad you said it because the president is doing just that. He has made unprecedented progress towards lowering health care costs in this country and drug prices. He secured numerous most favored nation drug price deals with many more to come. As you know, the one big beautiful bill, the working family tax cut, significantly expanded access to health savings accounts for those on Obamacare. Again, a Democrat written program and approved program which has led to to higher health care costs in this country. So it goes back to the issue of affordability. Democrats are now pretending they want a solution to this issue, but they created the problem. The president and Republicans are currently coming up with creative solutions and ideas to lower healthcare costs for the American people. And you'll continue to hear more from them on that. I'll do that before these subsidies expire. Ms. I just said you're going to continue to hear more from the president and Republicans on this issue. I'm sure. Sure. Bloomberg, go ahead. Thanks, Caroline. The President said he was going to be holding a call with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia. Have those calls taken place? Is there a readout you can share? Ms. The president has not yet engaged in those calls, and when he does, I'm sure you will hear from him directly, as you always do, after foreign leader calls or from somebody here at the White House. I do know with respect to the conflict in the peace deal in Thailand and Cambodia and some of the conflicts you've seen arise, reports of that in the press over the past couple of days. The president addressed it in Pennsylvania. The administration is obviously tracking this at the highest levels and is very much engaged. I spoke with Secretary Ruby about it this morning. And will senior US Officials be meeting Saturday with European and Ukrainian officials to discuss the peace plan? Ms. Look, we the United States and the Trump administration continues to be very much engaged in trying to bring the Russia, Ukraine war to an end. The president had a call with Europeans yesterday. His special envoy, Witkoff and his team continue to talk with both sides literally as we speak. If there is a real chance of signing a peace agreement, if we feel like those meetings are worthy of someone on the United States time this weekend, then we will send a representative. It's still up in the air whether we believe real peace can be accomplished and we can truly move the ball forward. The president is extremely frustrated with both sides of this war, and he is sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting. He doesn't want any more talk. He wants action. He wants this war to come to an end. And the administration has spent more than 30 hours just in the past couple of weeks meeting with the Russians and the Ukrainians and the Europeans and speaking with them as well. So we'll see about the meetings this weekend. And stay tuned. President Zelensky's latest proposal that was sent over yesterday. Ms. He's aware of it, yes. Ed.

Thanks, Caroline. So the Fed chairman, the president says that he's interviewing candidates. So I just want to be clear, so the pick has not been locked in, and could we get an announcement before Christmas?

I know every business outlet in the world is just chomping at the bit for a scoop or something on this Fed chair announcement. I'm not going to get ahead of the president. I know there's been a lot of reports about potential meetings this week with potential candidates. Look, as always, this is a decision the president himself is going to make, and I know there's a lot of reporting out there from anonymous sources who claim to know something. I would wait and see what the president himself does and announces, and I certainly won't be the one to get ahead of him on that, on the economy.

Can I speak about it?

Michael, go ahead.

On the next Fed chair, does the president have an expectation that his pick will lower interest rates next year to his liking?

Ms. I think the president has been quite clear about what he believes the Fed should be doing, which is lowering interest rates. I know there was a quarter point reduction this past week, and the president was pleased to see that, but he thinks more should be done.

Phillip thank you, Caroline. On these advanced Nvidia H200 chips, why is the president willing to allow China to have access to one of America's Chief technological advantages?

Ms. Look, I will tell you just a couple of things. The president put out his own statement on this, which I do think highlights his exact thinking. What you see from the president on Truth Social is most of the time what you hear from the president behind closed doors. Privately, he told President Xi that we will Nvidia will only be shipping H200 products to approved customers in China under conditions that will allow for continued strong national security. The administration continues to maintain a strict export control regime, and we are ensuring that the Blackwell chip and other advanced technologies stay right here in America, and these H200 chips will only be sent to China after undergoing a security inspection here in the United States. Elizabeth thank you, Caroline. New York City Mayor Alejandro Mandani put out a video recently telling immigrants in New York City they have the right to stand up to ice. Are you concerned this will inspire New York City residents to resist ICE operations? And what will the Trump administration do if this happens? The Trump administration is definitely concerned about the rise in violence and attacks and physical threats that we have seen against our brave men and women who wear the ICE uniform. Again, these are agents who are just simply doing their jobs. They are enforcing our nation's immigration laws, and we've seen more than a 1000% increase in violent attacks on them and their families. They've been doxed, they've been harassed. Many of them have been physically assaulted and attacked. So we condemn that wholeheartedly. I know the administration has done a lot to protect our ICE agents, and the president stands firmly behind them in conducting these enforcement operations. And there's a lot of talk from Democrat politicians in New York, but the Trump administration will continue to do our jobs in every state, and that's to remove illegal aliens and public safety threats from American communities. Secretary Levitt? Secretary Levitt sure.

Thank you.

I'll go to the gentleman who's very eager, and then to you. Thank you so much. Obviously, Jasmine Crockett who the president has openly criticized just entered Texas Senate race. I asked Mike Johnson, who said that Texas largely supports the president. Crockett, on the other hand, says that Trump is an example of extremism. She says that her support is a referendum on Trump. I'm curious to get your thoughts on this. Has Trump made any statements since she's been since she's announced her candidacy? Ms. Not to my knowledge. As you know from the White House podium, as a government employee, I'm not privy to comment on future elections. But I do think the president has made his thoughts on Ms. Crockett quite clear, and I do believe he thinks she is wholly unqualified for the office that she is seeking. Joey?

Yeah. Thanks, Caroline. A federal judge today ordered the immediate release of Kilmore Abrego Garcia from ICE Detention. Does the White House have a response to that and does the administration plan to appeal that decision?

Ms. Absolutely. The White House, the administration opposed this activism from a judge who is really acting as a judicial activist, which we've unfortunately seen in many cases across the country. Abrego Garcia is present in our country illegally. He is a proven human trafficker. He is a proven gang member. The administration has evidence of that. And as you saw from the Department of Homeland Security, they issued a statement saying they'll continue to fight this legal battle in court. Caitlin, two questions. I have one on Venezuela to follow up, but first on affordability. Since we were talking about the economy at the beginning, if the economy is as strong as the president has said it is, then why is he telling parents two weeks before Christmas that they should only buy two or three dolls for their children? Ms. Look, what the president is saying is that if we want products made right here in America, if we want them to be made from American small businesses, which is a large part of the reason the president has effectively implemented tariffs, then we're going to have better quality products right here in the United States. Maybe you'll pay a dollar or two more, but you will get better quality and you'll be supporting your fellow Americans by buying American. And that's what the president was saying. Again, with respect to affordability, every economic metric, Caitlin, and I wish you would report more on it, does, in fact, show that the economy is getting better and brighter than where it was under the previous administration. I will repeat, inflation, as measured by the overall CPI has slowed to an average 2.5% pace. Real wages are increasing roughly $1,200 for the average worker. Gas prices are down in almost every single state across the country again. In 22 states, it's below 275. You look at the tax cuts, those are going to go into effect next year. So the best is yet to come. The president is digging our country out of the economic hole that the previous administration put us in, and that's what he's talking about a year ago, as you know, and grocery prices have been up, so we've covered the economy, but there's mixed signals in terms of what that looks like. But inflation is down from where it was as measured by the overall CPI. It has slowed to an average 2.5% pace. This is down from what the president inherited. The president inherited 2.9% in January. Today it's at about 2.5%. So we're trending in the right direction with more to come. And I would remind you, when President Trump left office in his first term, inflation was 1.7% and the previous administration jacked it up to a record high 9%. So again, in 10 months, the president has clawed us out of this hole. He's kept it low at 2.5%, and we believe that number is going to continue to decline, especially as energy and oil prices continue to decline as well. It wasn't high under Biden. They're just saying it's not. Well, nobody reported on it being high under Biden when my predecessor was standing at this podium. But now you want to ask me a lot of questions about it, which I'm happy to answer. But I will just add, there's a lot more scrutiny on this issue from this press corps than there was. Well, and the previous administration said that, too. My predecessor stood up at this podium and she said inflation doesn't exist. She said the border was secure. And people like you just took her at her word. And those were two utter lies. Everything I'm telling you is the truth, backed by real, factual data, and you just don't want to report on it because you want to push untrue narratives about the president. Go ahead. I'm not going to take your fault. Go ahead. Does the White House have is the.

White House optimist about the upcoming redistricting vote in Indiana and what happens if it fails?

Ms. We'll see how the vote plays out. That's a political matter and frankly, a legal one, and I won't comment on it here. Brian.

Thank you, Caroline. I'm going to go back to the Fed. I have two topics I just want to address with you. The first one on the Fed, the president did say yesterday that he was meeting with Kevin Warsh.

This is your favorite story in the world, Brian.

It is. It is. It is our favorite story. The president said yesterday he was meeting with Kevin Warsh to talk about the interview for a Fed chair role. Can you just say how that interview went with him?

Ms. I won't comment on private meetings without the president's approval to do so. Okay.

And the second thing is on the Netflix Warner Brothers deal, the president did address this also yesterday. He said that he believes that the sale of CNN should be attached to that deal with Netflix or with Paramount if anything happens down there with them. Can you just explain what the president is planning to do going forward to continue to make that case similar to what he made yesterday?

Ms. Well, I think the president's comments yesterday about the sale of CNN and new leadership is evidenced by my exchange with the CNN reporter in this room. Their viewership has gone down, their ratings has declined, and I think the president rightfully believes that network would benefit from new ownership with respect to this deal. He has great respect for both companies who are bidding against one another. And I won't weigh in any further than that in the back. Go ahead.

Thank you.

I wasn't calling on either of you, but I'll take both your questions and then to you. Go ahead. I have two questions. One is South Korea, one on Japan. First question, the recent US South Korea trade fact sheet made no mention of agricultural products. Does the United States want to completely open its rice and beef market to the South Korea? And second, tension on Japan. China is using its military power to surround Okinawa, Japan. Is the United States concerned about the military conflict between China and Japan and what action will the United States take? Okay. To your first question on South Korean beef export to South Korea, I will check with our trade team and we will get you an answer on that. To your second question, with respect to Japan and China, the president has a phenomenal relationship with the new prime minister of Japan. As you know, he was pleased to meet her when we went to Asia a couple of months ago, and they have spoken a few times since. They continue to be engaged with one another and Japan is a great ally of the United States, as evidenced by by their personal relationship and our continued trade relations with Japan. With respect to China, the president also has a good working relationship with President Xi, which he believes is a good thing for our country, and he believes that the United States should be in a position to have a good working relationship with China while maintaining our very strong alliance with Japan. Go ahead.

Yesterday, President Trump, while speaking about drug production in Colombia. He said that the president of Colombia better wise up or he's going to be next. What was he meaning exactly? And the other thing is that President Gustavo Petro of Colombia responded to that statement by issuing a formal invitation to President Trump to go to Colombia and to see firsthand how the authorities in Colombia are fighting against drugs. Do you think that President Trump would consider that?

Ms. Well, that's very interesting. I hadn't heard the news about that invitation. I will let the president president speak directly to it on whether or not that's something he would entertain. But as for his comments yesterday towards President Petro, he has been saying some very alarming and frankly insulting things towards the United States of America, and the president doesn't like it. Yes, in the blue, Caroline yes, go ahead. Thank you. The president has been spotted out and about a number of times with bandages on his hands. Could you please explain what that is about? Secondly, he noted on true social media other day that he had aced three cognitive tests. Could you please clarify when those tests took place?

Ms.

I can do that at a later date. I obviously don't have that in front of me. The president has spoken about that quite extensively throughout the years. As for the bandages on the hand, we've also given you an explanation for that. In the past, the president is literally constantly shaking hands. The Oval Office is like Grand Central Terminal. He is meeting with more people than any of you even know about on a daily basis. He's also on a daily aspirin regimen, which is something his physical examinations has said in the past as well, which can contribute to that bruising that you see.

Thank you, Caroline. Back to the oil tanker. Just wanted to know, was this a one off or is it safe to say the administration is taking a more active look at the oil industry in Venezuela, whether targeting other oil ships or perhaps Venezuelan oil production facilities in invec.

Well, I won't broadcast any future actions from the administration, but I will just reiterate that the Trump administration is executing on the president's sanction policies and the sanction policies of the United States, and we're not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.

Andrew, two for you. First, when the president announced the Farm Relief Program the other day, Secretary Rollins afterwards, right out there, told us that the program would be paid for by the Commodity Credit Corporation, an existing program. The president keeps saying that it's being paid for by tariff revenue. Why does he keep saying that if the secretary who's running the program says that's not the case? And also about his dial comments from the other night, the president's a billionaire. He's probably the wealthiest person to ever serve as president. Is it a good look for him to be telling parents, oh, you should only buy, you know, two or three dollars for your kids when he's one of the wealthiest people in the country running the dollar?

Do you think the people in that room in Pennsylvania who the president was speaking to don't know the president's a billionaire? I think that's a very well established fact. And actually, I think it's one of the many reasons they reelected him back to this office because he's a businessman who understands the economy and knows how to fix it, and he's doing it right now just like he did in his first term. Sure. Go ahead. To the gentleman behind you, Andrew. Yes, go ahead.

Thank you, Caroline. On Gaza, we heard the president say yesterday that the Board of Peace members are going to be announced early next year. What is the administration doing to move the parties in the region closer toward phase two of his peace plan for Gaza?

Ms. Sure. Well, first of all, I would be remiss if I didn't highlight what a success it is that 10 months into the president's administration, you're asking me about a peace plan in Gaza because that's a legitimate reality on the ground right now in the region. And it's only because of this president's leadership that that was able to take place, that all the living hostages were returned. All but one body of the deceased hostages has been returned, and we're still, of course, working on the last one. As for this next phase of the peace process, there is a lot of quiet planning that's going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal. And when the United States is ready to make those announcements public on the board of Peace, the ISF and the Palestinian technocratic government, we will be making those announcements at the appropriate time. But the reason that, you know, the negotiators and the teams on the ground have been rather quiet about this is because I spoke with them this morning. They are trying to be deliberate and thoughtful about this. Peace in Gaza in the Palestinian Strip is something the Gaza Strip rather, is something that people have been trying to accomplish for 70 years. So, you know, this is a complex problem in this administration wants to be very thoughtful about it, and we want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace. And when those announcements are ready, they will be made sure.

Thank you. There have been reports that Vladimir Putin called Maduro today to reaffirm his support. I wanted to ask if it is concerning to the president that Putin has given such a warm embrace to Maduro.

Ms. I don't think that would be concerning to the president at all. No. I'll let him speak on it.

Further, talking to Putin about that.

He has not spoken to President Putin today, and I understand that call takes place this morning. So the answer is no. I have a question about the aca, but just first, very quickly clarifying Kaitlyn's question. You acknowledged that CPI in January when you took office was 3%, and in September, the last month for which we have data, was also 3%.

So inflation.

Ms. No, it's 2.5%. Ms. Not in September it was 3%. 2.5%. The average CPI right now. I have it in front of me. In President Trump's first eight months in office, inflation as measured by the overall consumer price index has slowed to a 2.5 average pace. This is down from the 2.9% inherited in January. January is one month. Kelly, in the back. Okay. Can I ask you about the ACA really quickly? There are a number of plans that are floating around on the Hill right now having to do with these premium subsidies that are about to expire. Which plan does The White House Ms. Again, I have told you now a few times that the president and Republicans will continue to unveil creative ideas and solutions to the health care crisis that was created by Democrats. And I know Chuck Schumer is putting up a vote today. This is a political show vote. Chuck Schumer is not sincerely interested in lowering health care costs for the American people. He's putting this vote on the floor knowing that it will fail so he can have another talking point that he can throw around without any real plan or action. If Chuck Schumer actually wanted to lower health care costs, I'm sure the president would welcome him and his entire Democrat caucus to a legitimate coordination on the president's policies of bringing down drug prices. These most favored nation deals, why hasn't Chuck Schumer ever come out in support of those? Those are going to legitimately. They already are. Lower drug prices for the American people and not a word from Chuck Schumer on it. So I think that just proves this is completely political. Two quick buttons on Venezuela. Does the president consider the seizure of the oil tanker an escalation or a step towards war with Venezuela? Ms. I think the President considers the seizure of the oil tanker as effectuating the administration's sanction policies, which I've already discussed before previously. Governor Garrett, potential invasion or potential land strikes in Venezuela aligned with the President's supporters, the MAGA base. Does it risk the potential for a prolonged war and U.S. troops involved in that? Miss, prolonged war is definitely not something this President is interested in. He's been very clear about that. He wants peace. He also wants to see the end of illegal drugs being trafficked into the the United States and taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans across our country. And he's thinking about that every day here at the White House. With every drug boat that is taken out by this administration, we are saving thousands of lives by deterring those drugs and stopping those drugs from flowing into our country. You will all excuse me. You'll all hear excuse me. You will all see the President tonight. He'll be making remarks at the Congressional Christmas Ball, which we'll be taking place here at the White House. And later this afternoon, he will be signing some Congressional bills and executive orders that we, as always, will keep you apprised of. Thanks, guys.