Karoline Leavitt makes debut as White House press secretary

WASHINGTON - Karoline Leavitt made her debut meeting with the press at the White House on Tuesday and kicked off her tenure as the youngest White House press secretary in history.

Leavitt took the time to answer questions and issue clarifications about the 90-day federal freeze of grants and loans which rendered services such as Medicaid inaccessible via their online portals.

“This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration,” said Leavitt, addressing a flurry of inquiries from the press corps.

“Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits ... will not be impacted by this pause.”

A day later, the directive was blocked by US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan and has since been rescinded. Despite the public communication on the matter, there was clearly still some confusion going on behind the scenes.

Another notable segment of Leavitt’s first day came in her welcoming of “new media voices”, those being Axios and Breitbart, who were awarded two new seats near the northeast corner of the press room.

“Millions of Americans, especially young people, have turned from traditional television outlets and newspapers to consume their news from blogs, social media and other independent outlets," said Leavitt."

“It is essential to our team that we share President Trump's message everywhere and adapt this White House to the new media landscape."

This change reflects and builds on Trump’s acceptance of alternative media sources, many of which he sees played a pivotal role in winning re-election.

The regularity of press briefings going forward is still up in the air, although for now, they should be expected at a more recurring rate than Trump’s first term.

Trip Tagle is a second-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact them, please email tnt5403@psu.edu.