Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Holds Her First Briefing, Jan. 28, 2025

January 28, 2025 · The White House · 0:46:55

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held her first briefing at the White House on Jan. 28, 2025, carried on the White House channel. She opened by noting the Senate had confirmed five of the President’s cabinet nominees - Rubio, Hegseth, Ratcliffe, Noem, and Bessent, as she listed them - and urged the Senate to confirm the remainder quickly. She recounted the first week as the administration counts it: more than 300 executive actions, nearly $1 trillion in U.S. investments secured, and the border emergency declared on day one, as she stated the figures.

She described the weekend confrontation with Colombia, in which, she said, the Colombian government agreed within hours to all of the President’s demands after sanctions and tariffs were directed over a refused deportation flight - proof, in her words, that America is once again respected on the world stage. In questions, asked whether she viewed her role as advocating for the President or providing the unvarnished truth, she answered: “I commit to telling the truth from this podium every single day,” while calling on the press to hold itself to the same standard, as she stated it. The briefing closed on egg prices, which she attributed to the prior administration’s inflationary policies and the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens under its Agriculture Department, as she stated the causes.

Why it matters

Leavitt’s debut briefing sets the podium’s terms for the term: the first-week record as the administration states it, the Colombia episode as its proof of restored respect, and a truth pledge made in answer to the room - the standard this chronicle’s briefing-by-briefing record measures the podium against.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: the first-week figures as stated on Jan. 28, 2025 (more than 300 executive actions; nearly $1 trillion in investments) - recorded here as stated at the podium.

Sources: The White House, “Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Jan. 28, 2025” (YouTube, 2025-01-28) - official description and broadcast transcript as aired.