PRESS RELEASE
White House Press Secretary Says Trump Position on Glass-Steagall Is Consistent
Feb. 1, 2017 (EIRNS)—White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked by EIR’s Bill Jones about the President’s support for Glass-Steagall, for the first time since the elections, at today’s press briefing. Jones noted President Trump’s unequivocal support for Glass-Steagall during the campaign and the demand for Glass-Steagall in the Republican Party platform. But, Jones said, Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin, when queried about it by Senator Maria Cantwell, the author of the Senate Glass-Steagall bill, gave an ambiguous answer. “Where does the President stand?” Jones asked.
Spicer went into a lengthy comment about the need for the President’s nominees, including Mnuchin, to be voted on by the Senate before President Trump can proceed on his agenda, and then tried to proceed to another question. Jones again asked him, “Then the President still supports Glass-Steagall?” To which Spicer responded: “The President’s position is consistent.”
While much of today’s briefing was the usual mulling over the “issues of the day” by the in-house media, the White House Briefing Room now has two large flat-screens displaying their taking four questions on Skype from journalists from across the country. One reporter, from Cleveland, asked about President Trump’s campaign promise to make Cleveland a great city again. Another question was posed by a journalist in Appalachia, who asked about Trump’s promise to revive the coal economy. While the White House press corps is not terribly happy about this “intrusion” into their personal “comfort zone,” it tends to add a dose of reality to much of the interminable discussion about the current “gotcha” issues.
