Leavitt: “Ridiculous — Trump Has Actually Lost Money Being President”; FLOTUS Secures $25M for Foster Youth; 4-Part ATC Modernization Plan

Press Secretary Leavitt addressed multiple topics in a May 2025 briefing. She defended Trump’s integrity against reporter questions about foreign business: “It’s frankly ridiculous that anyone would suggest Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. This is a president who has actually lost money for being President. I don’t remember these same questions being asked of my predecessor about a career politician clearly profiting off his office.” She announced FLOTUS Melania had “secured a $25 million investment in Trump’s budget to provide housing and support for youth transitioning out of foster care.” She also outlined Transportation Secretary Duffy’s four-part air traffic control modernization plan: new fiber, 600 radar replacements, six new ATC centers (the first since the 1960s), and modern hardware at all towers.

”Actually Lost Money”

Reporters pressed Leavitt on whether Trump was meeting with family business associates during his Middle East trip.

“Do you know if the president has any plans to meet with any of the folks involved with any of the family businesses over there?” a reporter asked.

“Not to my knowledge,” Leavitt said. “And let me just get to the premise of your question.”

She delivered the defense: “I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.”

She described his sacrifice: “He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service. Not just once, but twice.”

She invoked the mandate: “The American public re-elected him back to this White House because they trust he acts in the best interest of our country and putting the American public first.”

She delivered the devastating line: “This is a president who has actually lost money for being president of the United States.”

She drew the contrast: “I don’t remember these same types of questions being asked of my predecessor about a career politician who was clearly profiting off of this office.”

She stated the standard: “That is not what President Trump does. And this White House holds ourselves to the highest of ethical standards.”

The “lost money” argument was empirically defensible. Trump’s net worth had generally decreased during his time in public life, as he had divested from businesses, faced legal costs from politically motivated prosecutions, and redirected attention from his real estate empire to political responsibilities. Meanwhile, many career politicians who arrived in Washington with modest means had left with substantial wealth accumulated through unclear means.

The Biden comparison was implicit but unmistakable. Biden had arrived in the Senate in 1973 and remained in government for most of the next fifty years. His personal wealth had grown significantly, and the Biden family’s business activities — particularly Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings — had been the subject of extensive investigation and controversy. For reporters who had rarely asked Biden tough questions about financial propriety to suddenly demand accountability from Trump was the kind of double standard Leavitt was identifying.

$25 Million for Foster Youth

Leavitt announced a significant expansion of Melania’s Be Best initiative.

“It was announced this morning that First Lady Melania Trump secured a $25 million investment in President Trump’s budget to provide housing and support for youth transitioning out of foster care,” Leavitt said.

She described the occasion: “In recognition of the seventh anniversary of Mrs. Trump’s Be Best initiative, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated funds toward the Agency Foster Youth to Independence program.”

She praised the recent event: “Yesterday Mrs. Trump hosted a special celebration of military mothers with the president, bringing together 150 military moms from around the country to recognize their service, not just in their home, but for our country.”

The foster care initiative addressed one of the most vulnerable populations in American society. Youth aging out of foster care — typically at 18 or 21 depending on state law — faced a cliff of support. They often lost housing, healthcare coverage, and adult supervision simultaneously, contributing to high rates of homelessness, incarceration, and poverty among former foster youth.

The $25 million investment through HUD’s Foster Youth to Independence program provided housing vouchers and support services that could bridge the transition to adulthood. For a population of approximately 20,000 youth aging out of foster care each year, even partial coverage through the program would represent meaningful help for a group that had previously received minimal support.

Four-Part ATC Plan

Leavitt outlined Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s comprehensive air traffic control modernization plan.

“I’m glad you asked about the FAA,” Leavitt said. “There was a glitch in the system this morning, especially at Newark Airport.”

She described the immediate response: “I spoke to the Department of Transportation. That glitch was caused by the same telecoms and software issues that were raised last week. Everything went back online after a brief outage, and there was no operational impact.”

She outlined the fix: “DOT and the FAA are working to address this technical issue tonight to prevent further outages, as well as install new fiber from Newark Airport to Philadelphia. The goal is to have the totality of this work done by the end of the summer.”

She explained the broader context: “This outage at Newark Airport speaks to why the Secretary of Transportation yesterday made a massive announcement investing in our aviation safety.”

She described the four-part infrastructure plan:

First: “Replace the antiquated telecom systems with new fiber, wireless, and satellite technologies.”

Second: “Replace more than 600 radars which have gone way past their life cycle and address runway safety.”

Third: “Build six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s, and replace towers as well.”

Fourth: “Implement new modern hardware and software for all traffic facilities to create a common platform system throughout the towers.”

She delivered the assessment: “These are much-needed changes. This is a very bold plan by the Department of Transportation. It’s unfortunate that the previous administration sat on their hands and did nothing. We are grateful that we have a Department of Transportation and a Secretary and a president willing to take bold action.”

The four-part plan was the most comprehensive air traffic control modernization initiative in American history. The scale — 600 radar replacements, six new ATC centers, complete telecom overhaul — reflected the depth of the system’s decline during decades of underinvestment. The six new ATC centers, in particular, would be the first built since the 1960s — an acknowledgment that the air traffic control infrastructure was literally still operating on technology from the Kennedy-Johnson era.

The Newark Context

The ongoing Newark Airport outages had created the political momentum for the modernization plan. Every time another outage occurred, the case for urgent investment became stronger. Leavitt’s connection of the Newark problems to the broader plan — “this speaks to why the Secretary made a massive announcement” — positioned the disruptions as evidence for reform rather than as administration failures.

The new fiber from Newark to Philadelphia was a specific fix for a specific problem. But it was also emblematic of what the broader modernization would accomplish: replacing fragile legacy infrastructure with modern, redundant, resilient systems that wouldn’t fail every few weeks.

Key Takeaways

• Leavitt: “It’s ridiculous to suggest Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He has actually lost money being president.”
• Implicit Biden contrast: “I don’t remember these questions being asked of my predecessor, a career politician clearly profiting off his office.”
• FLOTUS Melania secured $25 million for foster youth transition housing — 7th anniversary of Be Best initiative.
• Four-part ATC plan: new fiber/wireless/satellite, 600 radar replacements, six new ATC centers (first since 1960s), modern hardware at all towers.
• Newark fix: new fiber to Philadelphia, “totality of work done by end of summer.”