DHS chief: Trump used ‘tough language’ on immigration

WASHINGTON—Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday the president used tough language during last week’s disputed immigration meeting but would not say whether he used profanity. During a Senate Judiciary Commitee hearing, Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., asked Nielsen if President Donald Trump used an obscenity or any form of one to describe Haiti or other countries last week. “I did not hear that word,” Nielsen said. “The conversation was very impassioned, I don’t dispute that the president was using tough language, others in the room were also using tough language.” According to descriptions of the meeting first reported by The Washington Post, Trump used a vulgar word to describe Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries, questioning why the United States would want more immigrants from them. He reportedly went on to claim the United States should prioritize European immigrants from countries like Norway. “Being from Norway is not a skill,” Leahy said and asked Nielsen to explain what Trump meant. Nielsen said she does not recall the president specifically wanting more people from Norway but said Trump used Norway as an example of industrious and hard-working people. Nielsen noted more than a dozen people attended the meeting and she arrived late. She acknowledged the president could have said something she did not hear. Trump has denied saying anything disparaging about Haiti.