Scott Bessent has joined the effort to uncover funders of Antifa violence, Karoline Leavitt says
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt gave an encouraging update on the Trump administration’s efforts to uncover those who may be funding Antifa attacks in the U.S.
President Donald Trump previously ordered his officials to use the power of the government to root out who might be funding Antifa.
'We will continue to get to the bottom of who is funding these organizations in this organized anarchy against our country and our government.'
Leavitt said Monday during the White House media briefing that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent had joined the effort and explained how he would be able to help the cause.
"The financial backing of these groups, particularly Antifa, is certainly something the administration is looking into aggressively," she said.
"The federal government has never really been mobilized or tasked with doing that. So we're kind of kick-starting that into gear," she added. "The FBI is working on it alongside the White House's Homeland Security Task Force. We have our intelligence community looking into this as well. And even the secretary of treasury is involved with these matters since they are financial in nature."
On Friday Leavitt said that the administration was looking into the possibility of cutting off all federal funding to Portland after violence continued to increase at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
"We will continue to get to the bottom of who is funding these organizations in this organized anarchy against our country and our government," she continued in her statement Monday. "It's a question the American people have been begging the answer for, for many years, and we're committed to uncovering it."
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Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas issued a statement of support for the development.
"Good," wrote Roy on social media. "Congress can, and should, back up the Trump administration's efforts by forming its own select committee to investigate who is funding these groups. Enough is enough."
Liberal critics claim that Trump is misusing the powers of the government to punish and persecute his political opponents.
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Karoline Leavitt suggests cutting funds to Portland after arrest of conservative journalist during anti-ICE riot
The Trump administration confirmed a Justice Department investigation into the arrest of a conservative journalist at an anti-ICE riot in Portland and suggested the city might face a steep price.
Left-wing protesters have been rioting outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland for months, but the issue came to a head on Thursday when conservative journalist Nick Sortor was arrested during the protest.
'We will not fund states that allow anarchy. ... Law and order will prevail, and President Trump will make sure of it.'
"President Trump will end the radical left's reign of terror in Portland once and for all," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a media briefing Friday. "The president has directed Secretary [of War Pete] Hegseth to provide all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland and any ICE facilities under siege from attack by Antifa and other left-wing domestic terrorists."
She said that Antifa militants have been attacking the ICE field office in south Portland since mid-June.
"This is not peaceful protesting. This is left-wing anarchy that has been destroying this great American city for years, leaving police officers battered, citizens terrorized, and business properties damaged," Leavitt said.
"These radical left-wing lunatics have violently breached the ICE facility by using a stop sign as a battering ram," she added, "hurled explosives and other projectiles at law enforcement, repeatedly assault and doxx officers, berate their law-abiding neighbors, and have even rolled out a guillotine in front of the ICE facility."
She went on to cite the circumstances surrounding Sortor's arrest as evidence of the failure of local officials to combat the leftist violence.
"Instead of arresting these violent mob members night after night after night after night who are ravaging this community, the police arrested a journalist who was there trying to document the chaos, and everyone in this room should be extremely concerned about that," she added.
Leavitt said the Justice Department spoke with Sortor and was launching "a full investigation into his arrest."
PRESS SEC: "President Trump will END the Radical Left's Reign of Terror in Portland once and for all." pic.twitter.com/jdcp68aNXY
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) October 3, 2025
"This incident is part of a troubling trend in Portland where left-wing mobs believe they get to decide who can visit and live in their city. It is not their city. It is the American people's city, and President Trump is going to restore that," Leavitt continued.
Leavitt said the president was being advised on what potential federal funds could be cut from Portland over the lawlessness allowed on the city's streets.
"We will not fund states that allow anarchy," she said.
"Law and order will prevail, and President Trump will make sure of it," she added.
She added that additional ICE and enhanced resources from Customs and Border Protection were going to be rerouted to Portland.
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Schumer shutdown holds funding hostage — but Trump seizes opportunity to trim bureaucratic fat
Republican lawmakers have referred to the government closure as the “Schumer shutdown,” blaming Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for directing his fellow Democrats to oppose the clean continuing resolution that would have temporarily extended funding.
'He’s afraid of his own party.'
Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) shared his comments about the shutdown on Thursday, arguing Democrats had taken the CR hostage.
“I don’t know that there’s a lot to negotiate,” Thune told NBC News.
“I don’t think you can keep this hostage. As soon as they release the hostage, then we can talk about those other issues.”
When asked whether Democrat lawmakers were “forcing Senator Schumer’s hand,” Thune responded, “Sure they are.”
“He’s under a tremendous amount of pressure. The far-left activist base in his party is what’s driving this, and they want to fight with the president,” Thune continued.
“They picked this hostage. I don’t think it’s a smart one, and I think it undermines what they’re trying to accomplish in the long run.”
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During a Thursday episode of “Blaze News: The Mandate,” Blaze Media senior politics editor and Washington, D.C., correspondent Christopher Bedford speculated that Schumer is afraid of a primary from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
“He’s afraid of his own party,” Bedford said. “And it’s people like her that threaten him.”
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He emphasized the importance of understanding government.
“It’s fine to be AOC and a rock-thrower on the outside. It’s fine to be some of the back-benchers in the GOP, who just want to throw rocks and don’t want to get along with people and don’t understand why they can’t get their way. But at the end of the day, it’s the people who really understand how to wield power and how to use power, which is what’s differentiated this Republican administration from previous ones,” Bedford said.
He explained that those in this Trump administration “actually know how the mechanisms of the bureaucracy work.”
RELATED: Russell Vought’s quiet war on big government
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought is “working diligently” to slash government bureaucracy amid the shutdown.
“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent. I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” President Donald Trump wrote on social media Thursday morning.
Trump called on Republicans to use the shutdown as an opportunity to “clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud.”
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Vance makes Jeffries a hilarious promise if Democrats end the shutdown
Vice President JD Vance made House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) a hilarious offer on Wednesday with the hopes of incentivizing Democrats to reopen the government.
Vance made a surprise appearance alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt during Wednesday's briefing on the first day of the government shutdown. Because Democrats refused to pass the Republicans' clean, nonpartisan funding bill, the federal government officially shut down at midnight on October 1 for the first time in six years.
'You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun.'
The shutdown has left reporters with many questions and millions of Americans with uncertainty. In an effort to facilitate a good-faith negotiation with Democrats, Vance made a humorous offer to Jeffries to encourage Democrats to reopen the government.
"I'll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now — I make this solemn promise to you, that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop," Vance quipped during the briefing.
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NEW: Vance vows to end the infamous Sombrero memes if Hakeem Jeffries helps reopen the government.@theblaze pic.twitter.com/HuSHaMeMxu
— Rebeka Zeljko (@rebekazeljko) October 1, 2025
The briefing room erupted with laughter at Vance's reference to a series of memes posted by President Donald Trump mocking Jeffries. The memes feature Jeffries with a photoshopped sombrero and an exaggerated mustache accompanied by mariachi music in the background.
Although most view these posts as the humorous memes that they are, Jeffries immediately claimed that Trump's intent was malicious.
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"It's a disgusting video, and we're going to continue to make clear: Bigotry will get you nowhere," Jeffries said in response to the first meme.
Notably, Trump then posted the clip of Jeffries' response, once again photoshopped with the same sombrero, mustache, and mariachi music. As an added bonus, Trump included edited graphics of himself as the mariachi band accompanying Jeffries.
"I think it's funny, the president is joking, and we're having a good time," Vance said during the briefing. "You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun."
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The White House Should Go Back To Its Crackdown On Sanctuary Officials
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment on whether the Trump administration will seek to prosecute public officials for enforcing sanctuary city policies.
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