Kash Patel and Karoline Leavitt Announce Historic China Deal to Choke Off Fentanyl Pipeline in White House Briefing - November 12, 2025

On November 12, 2025, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hosted a pivotal joint briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, joined by FBI Director Kash Patel for a major announcement on combating the fentanyl crisis. Patel revealed a groundbreaking U.S.-China agreement, forged during his unprecedented trip to Beijing—the first by an FBI director in over a decade—where China committed to banning all 13 key fentanyl precursors and seven related chemical subsidiaries, effectively "shutting off the pipeline" that enables Mexican cartels to manufacture the deadly synthetic opioid. Crediting President Trump's direct diplomacy with Xi Jinping, Patel highlighted the FBI's seizure of 1,900 kg of fentanyl this year—enough to kill 127 million Americans—and emphasized the deal's potential to save tens of thousands of lives annually. Leavitt pivoted to the administration's shutdown victory, touting restored federal operations and SNAP funding, while brushing off Democratic leaks of Epstein emails as a "fake narrative" to smear Trump, and confirming a transparency meeting with Rep. Lauren Boebert on the files. The 45-minute session, marked by Patel's fiery rhetoric on rooting out agency corruption and Leavitt's jabs at the BBC as "leftist propaganda," drew sharp questions on Epstein fallout and judicial overreach, underscoring the Trump team's aggressive push against drugs, scandals, and bureaucratic inertia.
Guests
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary
Kash Patel, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation