President Donald Trump will attend the soon-to-be-held dignified transfer of six American service members killed so far by Iran in Operation Epic Fury.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement during her Wednesday press briefing.
“These heroes represent the very best among us. They laid down their lives in defense of our country, and we will never forget their legacy or their sacrifice,” she said. “As the president said, we grieve for these American patriots and their families as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.”
Leavitt noted that the Pentagon is still working on the timing of the transfer, which will occur at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Later in the briefing, Leavitt quarreled with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for asking a question about Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments earlier in the day, criticizing media outlets for covering the deaths of the service members.
“When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news,” he told reporters at the Pentagon. “I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality.”
Leavitt was asked if Hegseth’s comments were the administration’s official position, which she denied.
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“The position of this administration is that the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room,” she said. “The Secretary of Defense cares deeply about our war fighters and our men in uniform. He travels all across the country to meet with them, to connect with them, and your network has hardly ever probably reported on that.”
You can watch Wednesday’s briefing in full below.