Watch Replay: Sean Spicer Delivers March 7 Press Briefing

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer delivered a televised briefing along with Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price on Tuesday. Spicer had recently delivered a series of off-air briefings to gaggles of reporters and hadn't televised a meeting with the press in a week.

In that time, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from Trump campaign investigations, President Trump accused President Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower, a new executive order on immigration was signed and Republicans released an Obamacare replacement bill.

So there was a lot to discuss. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Price spoke first.

"This is the beginning of the process and look forward to working with them and others," Price said, responding to a question about opposition to the new health care bill by conservative groups.

Price said that the administration's goal is to create a plan that allows individuals to choose their own physicians and to bring down the cost of health care. He said that the administration supports the bill as a "work in progress."

Spicer, later, was more definitive about the president's commitment to the bill, saying, "This is the plan the president ran on."

On a table next to the lectern, Price pointed out a table with two stacks of papers on them. On stack, the much taller of the two, was the Affordable Care Act (called Obamacare); the other was the new GOP bill.

Asked how the bill could pay for its tax credits while reducing the taxes imposed under Obamacare, Price said that these types of questions will be addressed when the Congressional Budget Office evaluates the plan. He also emphasized that the new bill would be only a part of a multi-phase plan; however, the secondary steps would likely require Democratic cooperation, which may not be forthcoming.

Price was also asked about why the new bill provided a tax break to health care executives. He said, "I'm not aware of that," and said he'd look into it.

One reporter asked whether the bill would increase the deficit or the number of uninsured Americans. Price said the intention was not to increase the deficit; he said nothing about whether more people would be uninsured under the law.

When Spicer was asked whether the White House had any more information on Trump's accusation that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower — which the administration has asked Congress to investigate — Spicer declined to provide any new information. He refused to answer whether he personally believed Obama engaged in these activities.

He also said he'd have to ask the president about whether or not he intends to continue to tweet on this matter.

Hallie Jackson, a reporter for MSNBC, noting that Trump declaratively said he "found out" about the Obama-directed wiretapping, asked, "Why would the president want Congress to investigate for information he already has?"

Spicer indicated that it was "appropriate" for Congress to carry out the investigation. "There's a separation of powers aspect here," he said, though he didn't specify what he meant.

And while Spicer compared the short length of the new GOP bill to the Obamacare's near 1,000 pages of text, he also continued to emphasize that the new bill was only one phase of a multi-step process.

He also criticized Democrats for jamming Obamacare through, but then said that the Trump administration was essentially reverse-engineering the Affordable Care Act's approval process.

In a Skype question, a reporter asked if the administration should be more focused on policy work, rather than getting distracted by tweets about Obama being a nasty person or about ratings of The Apprentice. Spicer said he thinks the White House has been focused and that voters chose a president with an eccentric communication style.

Spicer also corrected a tweet Trump sent out today, when he claimed that 122 Guantanamo Bay prisoners who were released "returned to the battlefield." Most of these prisoners were released under Prisoner George W. Bush.

Asked about whether or not Trump would release his tax returns, Spicer said he believes the president is still under audit, but that he would follow up on the question.

Watch a replay of the briefing here.

Like the White House Patch Facebook Page.

Follow us on Twitter.

Sign up to comment on the site.

Photo credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images News/Getty Images