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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was elevated to that position after President Trump’s first pick for the job quit in July. Even before then, thanks to her stints filling in for Sean Spicer, she’d <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/06/21/the-55-things-the-white-house-has-promised-to-get-back-to-us-on/?utm_term=.c003bb7eca70">earned a reputation</a> for putting off reporters’ questions by saying she’d have to get back to them. It often hasn’t mattered how simple the subject might be; Sanders is regularly loath to offer an answer.

On Friday, the last day before the Labor Day holiday, Sanders had even less to offer than normal. Granted, news briefings are always jousting matches in which press secretaries try to deflect unwelcome questions and reporters try to push the boundaries of what can be learned. But even by that standard, Friday seemed exceptional. Notice, for example, the broad range of questions about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — and the uniformity of the responses.

Below, every answer she provided to questions, with those that we feel offered actual information in bold. Answers are in chronological order; all questions are paraphrased.

On a budget request to aid the response to Hurricane Harvey:

“Right now, those details are being finalized, and we’ll have more information shortly, most likely by the end of today.”

On tying it to the debt ceiling:

“Again, those details are being finalized as we speak, and we should have something for you by the end of today.”

When will the president have an answer on DACA, what’s he weighing and does he think it’s legal?

“I just spoke with the president, and we’re in the process of finalizing that decision and those details.  And we’re actually going to make that announcement on Tuesday of next week.  And the president’s priorities on immigration are to create a system that encourages legal immigration and benefits our economy and American workers. The president has been very clear:  He loves people, and he wants to make sure that this decision is done correctly.  And so that’s what he’s doing now, is finalizing that part.”

Whether he considers those affected as American or foreign:

“Look, I’m not going to get into the back-and-forth while we’re in the process of finalizing the details on this, but we’re going to be working on that throughout the weekend and make that announcement on Tuesday.”

Does he think a solution to the issue comes down to Congress?

“Again, we’re in the process of finalizing the decision on this front.  And once we make that, we’ll walk through next steps of what any action that would be needed at that time.”

Does the White House agree with the House speaker’s comments that there should be a legislative solution?

“Again, I’ll say it for a third or fourth time, and I’m sure I’ll get another five or six more questions on this and I’ll get to say it another five or six more times:  We’re in the process of finalizing that decision and those details, and we’ll announce that on Tuesday.”

Trump has said he “loves” those affected. Might he deport them anyway?

“I knew I’d get another chance to say this.  We’re finalizing those details, and we’re finalizing this decision.  It is part of the answer — is that we’re finalizing this decision and that would certainly be part of the details of the announcement on Tuesday.”

Is Trump backing down from a threat to shut down the government to force funding for the wall on the Mexican border?

“No, the president’s still very much committed to building the wall.”

“I think the president’s been pretty clear what his position is. I would take that as the president’s position over a report on what it is.”

On whether a South Korean media report on Trump’s call with the president of that country was accurate:

“Again, we’ll have a readout out shortly, and we’ll certainly make sure all of you guys receive that.”

“Those negotiations are still ongoing, and no decision has been made at this time.”

On Trump’s pledge to donate $1 million to Hurricane Harvey relief:

“He has not finalized where all of that will go, and I was actually going to use that as a perfect segue to remind everybody, if you have suggestions, he is very open to hearing those. We’ve gotten a couple, but please send more if you have them.”

Will it come from him personally or his foundation?

“I haven’t had a chance to do that, but I will.”

What role might former Milwaukee Sheriff Dave Clarke play in the administration?

“I’m not aware of any specific jobs that he’s being considered for, but, as always, we’ll certainly make sure when we have a personnel announcement, we’ll let you know.”

On a Fox News poll showing that Americans think Trump’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/08/31/most-americans-think-trump-is-ripping-the-country-apart-his-response-to-charlottesville-shows-how-it-happens/">tearing the country apart</a>:

“I think that a lot of these polls are a lot of the same polls that predicted that Donald Trump would never be the president, and he’s sitting in the Oval Office as I stand here. So I don’t have a lot of faith in a lot of these polls. I think if you look at what he’s been doing this week, particularly in terms of focusing on unifying the nation on Hurricane Harvey recovery, talking about tax reform — an issue that’s got very wide bipartisan support — the numbers, frankly, that we are focused on and that this administration cares about aren’t polls numbers. But we care about 94 percent of Americans who get assistance to file their taxes, that the majority of Americans thinks the tax code is unfair, and that 70 percent of individuals in 10 key states support broad-based tax reform. The numbers that we’re focused on have to do with actual problems that Americans are facing. The numbers that we’re focused on are the ones that actually impact day-to-day life for all Americans. That’s what we’re focused on; certainly not silly polls that, frankly, weren’t much use to us in the election, and, certainly, I don’t think are now.”

Where will Trump pick up the votes he needs to pass tax reform in the Senate?

“I would love to see all of them come on board. I can’t imagine why anybody wouldn’t want to support helping more Americans keep more of their hard-earned money. We want to simplify the tax-filing process for individuals, encourage job creation, encourage job growth, provide tax relief for middle-class America, and encourage companies to bring back money to the United States and invest it. I don’t know why any member of the Senate or the House wouldn’t want to support those things, and hopefully they’ll all come on board.”

Can you name other red states with Democratic senators to which Trump will travel to make that case, as he did in Missouri?

“Not specifically. Again, I’m hoping that the senators from all 50 states get on board to help Americans and do what, frankly, Americans are demanding. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find somebody that doesn’t support tax reform in this country, and those are the people that are the bosses of those individuals. Those are the people that elected those members to go there and help do the things that they are asking for, and tax reform is at the top of their list.”

On <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mueller-examining-trumps-draft-letter-firing-fbi-director-comey/2017/09/01/52c6cd8e-8f17-11e7-8df5-c2e5cf46c1e2_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_comeyletter-240pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory">reports</a> of a draft letter on the James B. Comey firing obtained by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III:

“I’m not going to get into any of that. I think we covered a lot of those things very extensively during that time. As Ty Cobb said earlier today, ‘To the extent the special prosecutor is interested in these matters, we will be fully transparent with his investigation.’ And, frankly, I don’t have anything to add beyond that.”

“Again, we’re going to work with the special prosecutor, as Ty said, and we’ll work through that process.”

Is Trump willing to negotiate to resolve the situation with North Korea?

“I think I was clear on this yesterday. The president is looking for an integrated process, and we’re continuing to move forward on that. We take North Korea extremely seriously, and all options are on the table. That hasn’t changed.”

On Mexico’s threat to pull out of NAFTA and whether escalating rhetoric will hurt negotiations:

“No, we’re continuing to move forward in these negotiations. And as the president says, we’ll see what happens.”

On how Trump defines the “big heart” that will help guide his DACA decision:

“Again, I’m not going to get into the back-and-forth on this until there’s a finalized decision, which we’re in the process of doing. And we’ll make that announcement on Tuesday.”

Will there be a targeted effort to lower unemployment rates for black and Hispanic Americans?

“I think you make a great point for why we need tax reform. It’s one of the primary reasons that that’s a top priority for this administration is to do a massive overhaul of the system so that we have a better environment, we’re creating more jobs, higher paying jobs, and I think that’s a perfect example. There were 150,000 new jobs created over this time period, and since the president came into office, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/09/01/trumps-job-numbers-trail-obamas-in-2016-and-for-that-he-can-blame-himself/">1.2 million new jobs</a>. We are incredibly focused on this. This is not just something we have been talking about, but something that the president has been very active in since day one. He has gotten rid of over 800 regulations that have created a better environment for job creation. We’re continuing to focus on that, primarily through tax reform. And, that’s why it’s such a big deal for us in the fall.”

Is Trump meeting with congressional leaders on Tuesday to discuss tax reform?

“He is meeting with congressional leaders next week and … I believe it’s Tuesday. Yeah, I believe that’s right. And I believe there’s a second meeting on Wednesday, as well.”

“That means that we’re pushing forward. We’re going to continue — again, focused on those four principles, using that as the guide and the focal point moving forward — and sit down with a lot of members of Congress to make sure we get this deal done.”

Will information provided by DACA participants be used to find and deport them?

“Well, I’ll answer it the same way I have answered it 18 other times today. Those decisions are being finalized and once they are, we will announce them on Tuesday.”

Has Harvey inspired a new push on infrastructure?

“Infrastructure is certainly something that’s very important to the president, a priority for the administration. The timing of that hasn’t been set forth yet, but it’s certainly something we’re actively working on and looking at every day. As we like to say here, we can walk and chew gum at the same time, and we’ll continue to push forward on how to best improve the infrastructure.”

On how Trump’s visit to Texas on Saturday will differ from the trip Tuesday:

“Sure. He’ll be able to go into Houston, which he was not able to do on Tuesday. That will be the first stop of the day. He’ll have the chance to meet extensively with quite a few storm survivors, as well as talk with some of the volunteers that are helping administer a lot of the support that these individuals have needed over the last week. And then from there, he’ll go to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he’ll do a stop there as well, meeting with a lot of the volunteers and other storm survivors.”

Any other guidance on his plans for the weekend?

“We’ll keep you posted on further guidance for the weekend.”

Why does Trump need three more days on DACA?

“Look, I think that this is a pretty complicated process, as you all know, and we want to work through every bit of that. And that’s what he’s doing. He’s making sure he takes the diligent time and effort and attention that this very important issue deserves.”

Does Trump have a message to a DACA participant who’s working on Harvey recovery efforts?

“I think it’s the same message that he’s said many times before. This president is a president that loves people, and we are working on the best decision possible. And we’ll announce it on Tuesday.”

On reports that antifa was being watched as domestic terrorists and whether Trump knew:

“I’m not sure. I’d have to ask, and I haven’t had the conversation.”

Is he tracking violence from antifa?

“I think we’re certainly constantly monitoring all violence across the country as best we can, and something certainly that the Department of Homeland Security and the administration takes very seriously and is constantly looking for ways to end all violence in all forms. So certainly that would qualify.”

Does the DACA population in Texas affect Trump’s decision-making, given Harvey?

“Again, I think that this isn’t a decision that the president takes lightly, and he’s taking time and diligent effort to make sure that he goes through every bit of the process. And he’ll continue to do that and make that announcement on Tuesday.”

“I think the decision itself is weighing on him, certainly.”

Does Trump have a message for Congress after bashing them over the summer?

“Let me answer the first question so we don’t get lost in that. I think that the message that the president would have for the members of Congress would be: Let’s get to work. You’ve had a nice long break here, and we’ve got a lot of things to do. We’ve got some big commitments to the American people that we need to fulfill, and we need to do some really big and bold things throughout the fall. And hopefully, they’ll get on board and be part of that process.”

Trump blamed the Comey firing on his handling of the Clinton investigation, but then apparently <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mueller-examining-trumps-draft-letter-firing-fbi-director-comey/2017/09/01/52c6cd8e-8f17-11e7-8df5-c2e5cf46c1e2_story.html?tid=ss_tw-amp&amp;utm_term=.e4b7687b4ac0">blamed the Russia investigation</a> in that letter. Which is it?

“I’m not sure I’m following fully your question. But as I said earlier in reference to the letter and the Comey firing, we have discussed that extensively. In fact, I’ve done that many times from this podium. And I’ll refer you back to Ty Cobb’s statement that I read earlier. There’s nothing more to add on that.”

What is Trump actually looking at in regards to DACA to make his decision?

“Again, I hate to sound like a broken record, but since you guys are, then I guess I have no choice to be. But we’re continuing to work through this decision process, and I’m not going to go any further than that. The president has made a lot of statements on this, and he’s going through all of the details of this very thoroughly. And once a final decision is made and those details are ironed out, we’ll let you guys know on Tuesday.”

So, to summarize, here’s what we learned.

Trump will announce his DACA decision Tuesday.

That day, he’s meeting with congressional leaders on tax reform and will the following day, as well.

On Saturday, he’ll go to Houston, meet with storm victims and then go to Lake Charles, La.

He doesn’t know where his Harvey donation will go.

The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America

Ohio State University

Philip Bump is a Post columnist based in New York. He writes the newsletter <a href="https://wapo.st/3m3QTiy">How To Read This Chart</a> and is the author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/696653/the-aftermath-by-philip-bump/">The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America</a>.

Philip Bump

The Washington Post

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