Watch: White House says Trump administration plans to ‘seize’ oil from tanker that took off off the coast of Venezuela

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Thursday that the US government “intends to seize oil” from the tanker that US forces seized on Wednesday off the coast of Venezuela.

Watch Carolyn Leavitt’s briefing in the video player above.

Speaking at the White House press conference on Thursday, Leavitt said the Justice Department had been ordered to seize the tanker because it is a sanctioned vessel used to transport “black market” oil.

She said that the United States has an investigation team into the tanker. The team interviews people on board and collects any relevant evidence.

Read more: Noem says the seizure of the oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast is linked to U.S. anti-drug efforts

Levitt said that the US government will follow the required legal procedures to seize available oil and will not rule out seizing tankers in the future.

Asked whether Wednesday’s incident was a one-off or if the United States might take similar actions in the future, Levitt said she would not broadcast future military plans.

But she added: “We will not stand idly by and watch sanctioned ships sail the seas laden with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel the drug terrorism practiced by rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.”

Read more: All US military strikes against alleged drug boats

Levitt added that the Trump administration is “implementing the president’s sanctions policies” and defending US sanctions policies.

The press secretary also told reporters that the administration will appeal a federal judge’s order to release Kelmar Abrego Garcia from an immigration detention center while he fights to remain in the United States.

The decision marks a major victory for Abrego Garcia, whose illegal deportation to El Salvador has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s anti-immigration campaign.

Leavitt told reporters that the White House opposes the judge’s “activism” and “will continue to fight this legal battle in court.”

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen married with an American child, has lived in Maryland for years but entered the United States illegally as a teenager.

An immigration judge ruled in 2019 that he could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family.

When he was mistakenly sent there in March, his case became a rallying point for those who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.

Trump ‘ready to take action on health care costs’

Leavitt was asked about the looming expiration of Affordable Care Act benefits after the Senate rejected legislation that would have extended the tax credits.

The briefing came after the House rejected a Democratic bill to extend benefits for three years and a Republican alternative that would have created new health savings accounts.

Leavitt also placed blame on Democrats for the Obama-era health care bill, which she noted passed “without a single Republican vote,” and said Democrats “inflated” the program “with expensive coronavirus subsidies that completely distorted the health insurance market.”

Trump is “very frustrated” with the lack of progress in the peace process in Ukraine

Levitt said that discussions are continuing and the United States could send a representative to those discussions as soon as this weekend “if there is a real opportunity to sign a peace agreement.”

But she added, “It remains unclear whether real peace can be achieved.”

Trump took office in January, suggesting he could quickly resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine, but spent months complaining bitterly about the lack of progress. Leavitt said the president “feels very frustrated with both sides of this war.”

“He was tired of meetings just for the sake of meeting,” Leavitt said. “He doesn’t want to talk anymore. He wants to work.”

Customs duties mean baby dolls may cost ‘an extra dollar or two’

Levitt said the president was trying to defend his tariffs when he said at a rally Tuesday that Americans should buy fewer dolls and pencils for their children.

Levitt said Trump was saying his tariffs were bringing back factory jobs and that domestically made products might cost more.

Read more: Trump said the proceeds from the tariffs could allow Americans to stop paying income taxes. The math doesn’t add up

“You’ll probably pay a dollar or two more, but you’ll get better quality and you’ll support your fellow Americans by buying American products,” Levitt said. “And that’s what the president was saying.”

The answer reflects some of the challenges the administration faces over Trump’s import taxes, which most economists say have increased inflationary pressures.

The White House had previously confirmed that foreign countries would pay taxes and that there would be no significant domestic inflation.