In-town pool report #1: Miller gaggle

Good morning from the White House, where deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller fielded questions from reporters for about 15 minutes after a CNN appearance. Video here: https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/stephen-miller-speaks-to-reporters-at-the-white-house/660630

Some highlights below.

Are you concerned about drug use by Elon Musk?

"The drugs that we're concerned about are the drugs running across the southern border."

On what China did wrong to violate the trade agreement:

"It's a great question and a very valid question. I'm going to let the USTR, the trade rep, Jamieson Greer, as well as Secretary of Commerce, Secretary Lutnick, provide more detail on that. I know that's not exactly the answer that you want, but I will speak at a high level to the fact that China has abrogated the agreement. The United States acted immediately and in good faith, as of course you all saw with the proclamation adjusting the tariff rate. China did not fulfill the obligations that it made and committed to with the United States.

"And so that opens up all manner of action for the United States to ensure future compliance. It remains the president's hope and desire that China will choose the path of cooperation, of common ground, and we can open up China to American business, just in the same way that America, of course, as we all know, has been open to Chinese business for a very long time."

On student visa restrictions:

"The State Department is putting that in place right now, so I don't want to get ahead of Secretary Rubio in how exactly that's going to be developed, so details to come. But as a general matter, the policy is going to be that we're not going to be awarding visas to individuals who have a risk of being engaged in any form of malign conduct in the United States, which of course, would include espionage, theft of trade secrets, theft of technology, or other actions that would degrade the security of our industrial base.

"At the same time, there's a deeper issue here, too. JD Vance has spoken about it as well, about we don't do enough in this country to reward and celebrate American genius...And we cannot have a policy in America where every citizen of this country, whether looking for a job, whether they're looking for housing, whether they're looking for a government benefit in a time of need, has to compete with all of planet Earth. Because then you're not a nation anymore. At that point, you're just a world economy."

Brett Samuels

White House reporter

XXX-XXX-XXXX