The White House on Monday dismissed a call from a French politician to return the Statue of Liberty, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responding strongly.
“Not, and my advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it is only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now. They should be very grateful to our great country,” Leavitt said.
Meanwhile, addressing the ongoing legal dispute between the White House and the US judiciary over the deportation of Venezuelan gang members from Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, Leavitt expressed confidence in the administration’s legal standing.
“We are wholly confident that we are going to win this case in court. This Administration acted within the confines of the law, again within the president’s constitutional authority and under the authority granted to him under the Alien Enemies Act,” she said.
On Sunday, the US deported hundreds of Venezuelan gang members after Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants the government emergency war powers. However, US District Judge James Boasberg verbally ordered a temporary halt on deportations for 14 days, questioning the government’s authority to use the act.
Despite this, flights carrying deportees continued to El Salvador, with the White House arguing that they had already left US territory before the judge’s written order was issued.
“All of the planes subject to the written order of this judge departed U.S. soil, US territory before the judge’s written order,” Leavitt said.
She further added, “There are questions over whether a verbal order carries the same weight…as a written order, and our lawyers are determined to ask and answer those questions in court.”
According to The Hill, Judge Boasberg has scheduled a hearing for Monday evening (local time) to determine whether the administration defied his order. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has appealed Boasberg’s ruling, and the case could be on a fast track to the Supreme Court.