White House Roundup

Thursday January 8, 2026

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt opened the Press Briefing with comments on the deadly event in Minneapolis, Minnesota which involved an ICE Officer and a civilian on January 7, 2026.

Leavitt submitted that the brave men and women of Federal Law Enforcement were under organized attack. She also added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers were facing a 1200 percent increase in assaults, a 3200 percent increase in vehicle ramming, and 8,000 percent increase in death threats. And stressed that ICE Agents were faithfully enforcing Federal Laws to protect the safety of the American people by removing criminal illegal aliens from our country which was what President Trump and Vice President Vance were elected to do.

The Administration, she posited, will always uphold law and order. And insisted that radicals were furious over this and they did not want the border secure or criminal illegal aliens removed.

Leavitt lamented the fact that Democrats were calling to abolish ICE and to defund the Police. Therefore, she affirmed that these policies will not happen under President Trump and VP Vance.

Vice President JD Vance:

The Vice President followed up in the Press Briefing with a major announcement.

He announced the Federal position of an Associate Attorney General (AAG), with nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud. The nominee will be announced in a few days, he indicated.

This position will have all the benefits, all the resources and all the authority of a Special Counsel except there are two crucial differences:

This position will be approved by Congress, and the Office will be in the White House. The AAG will work closely with the President and Vice President. Swift confirmation has been promised by the GOP Senate leadership. VP Vance also argued that it will be constitutionally legitimate.

The Mandate of the AAG:

·       To prosecute the bad guys, as swiftly as possible

·       Will start in Minnesota and then continue on to Ohio and California.

Inter-Agency Partnership

Fraud investigation will be done vis-à-vis an inter-agency task force, namely the Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture. The DOJ has issued over 1500 subpoenas and at least 100 indictments, most of the individuals were from the Somali immigrant community.

The Death of a Female Civilian in Minneapolis

Following the death of Ms Good, the VP reiterated over and over again that media reports of the matter have been an absolute disgrace. He contended that she died when she tried to use her vehicle to ram a Federal Officer who shot her when he feared his life was in danger. This very officer was dragged by a car six months ago and suffered injuries and received over 30 stitches.

VP Vance challenged the media to report the truth of what happened on January 7th! He described it as an attack. He further argued that the incident was:

·       An attack on law enforcement

·       An attack on law and order, and

·       An attack on the American people.

And he observed that she was there to interfere with a legitimate law enforcement operation.

Meanwhile, there continues to be protest against the Feds and opposition to them working in the state. Opposition is coming from elected officials and the people in Minnesota.

Other areas addressed by Vice President Vance stemming from questions from the Press included the following:

·       Venezuela following the removal of Maduro by the US

·       Greenland diplomacy

·       Child Care Programs

·       An Inter Agency Task Force

·       SNAP Benefits

·       Fraud Ring

·       Somali Immigrants

·       Iranian protesters.

In conclusion, VP Vance stressed that the President stands with ICE, and that he himself stands with ICE and with all law enforcement officers. He maintained that it was really irresponsible for the media to go out there and tell the American people that an officer who defended himself from being rammed was guilty of murder. Additionally, the VP contended that in order to tone down the temperature it was necessary to have the media tell the truth.

Written and Photos also by Cherub Nicholls. Photos are from Thursday January 8th.