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White House ‘not aware’ of any staff taking part in Women’s Day protest

by Jordan Fabian - 03/08/17 2:08 PM ET

President Trump’s top spokesman said Wednesday he’s not aware of any White House employees who skipped work to attend the “Day Without a Woman” protests.

“I am not aware of any that are not here,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

Spicer, who was accompanied in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room by an all-female team of aides, defended Trump’s efforts to promote women’s hiring and entrepreneurship.

{mosads}Demonstrations and strikes are taking place in cities across the country Wednesday against Trump’s agenda.

The demonstrations were organized to coincide with International Women’s Day and have resulted in some closed schools and businesses. They are a follow-up to protests dubbed Women’s Marches that took place the day after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Protesters have taken issue with Trump’s crude comments about women and policy positions they say infringe on women’s rights.

One group marched on Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House earlier on Wednesday.

While Spicer plugged Trump’s agenda, he declined to criticize the demonstrators.

“It’s a free country,” he said. “People have a right to express themselves.”

Tags Sean Spicer White House