Watch Replay: Sean Spicer Speaks About Michael Flynn Investigation, Tax Cuts

WASHINGTON, DC — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer delivered a televised briefing for reporters at Thursday afternoon.

The White House is currently facing questions about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and his ties to Russia. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, announced Thursday morning that the Defense Department Inspector General is launching a probe into Flynn's payments by foreign actors, which may have violated the constitution. Cummings also took aim at Spicer specifically, saying the White House has denied the committee's requests for more documentation on Flynn's vetting. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

At the same time, the administration is immersed in heated debates over a tax reform, a health care overhaul and preventing a government shutdown — so there was a lot to discuss.

Asked his reaction to the new revelations about Flynn, Spicer noted that the former general had his security clearance reissued under President Obama, and he was happy the Department of Defense was looking into the matter.

Spicer said the president is happy that the House of Representatives appears to be making progress on the health care bill but won't insist on a vote this week.

"He wants a vote when they have 216 votes," he said. "We feel very good about the progress being made to get to that number." Trump would, however, like a vote "as soon as possible."

One reporter asked whether or not it was a fair question how the administration's tax plan would affect President Trump in particular. Spicer tried to dodge the question at first saying that most people were more worried about how the plan would affect them. He eventually added that it wasn't up to him to judge if that was a fair question.

Spicer ended by saying that the tax plan would leave middle class people with more money in their pockets; when pressed, however, he seemed to back off a bit, saying only that that was the "goal."

Watch the briefing below:

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty News Images/Getty Images