White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday declined to comment on reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen nearly quit after President Donald Trump badgered her for not adequately securing the nation's borders in a Cabinet meeting.
"If the president no longer as confidence in a Cabinet member, he'll let you go," she said at the daily briefing. "I'm not going to get into a back-and-forth with you guys on an internal meeting."
The New York Times reported Thursday that Nielsen had drafted a resignation letter after the Wednesday session but did not submit it.
Nielsen, however, said later in a statement: "The president is rightly frustrated that existing loopholes have prevented this administration from securing the border and protecting the American people.
"I share his frustration."
Sanders told reporters Friday that both Trump and Nielsen were troubled by congressional inaction on immigration.
"The president and the secretary share the frustration that Congress is simply not showing up to work and getting their job done.
"Democrats have got to stop playing games," she said. "They've got to stop doing this just because it is a mid-term year.
"They still have to do their job and we would like to see them fix our immigration system.
"Not only is the administration frustrated, but Americans are, too," Sanders said.
"Not only does the president have a right to be frustrated, he has a right to be angry — and he is.
"He's going to express that.
He's done it both publicly and privately," Sanders added, "and he's going to continue to do that until we can actually fix this problem."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.