Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin dismissed CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s question as “ridiculous” during a press briefing with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The two Cabinet members held the press conference in the press briefing room, where they were forced to answer questions about former national security adviser John Bolton, who had been fired from his role earlier in the day.
While taking questions from reporters, Acosta asked if the National Security Council was “a mess.”
“Absolutely not,” Mnuchin responded. “That’s the most ridiculous question I’ve ever heard of. Let me just say, the national security team, which is what you asked, consists of the national security adviser, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, myself, the chief of staff, and many others.”
Much of the press conference included reporters shouting over one another to get Mnuchin and Pompeo to respond to questions about Bolton’s departure.
At another point, Pompeo was asked if he was expecting Bolton’s resignation, and he answered, “I’m never surprised — and I don’t mean just on this issue.”
