(JNS.org) White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that “no decision” has been made on the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“We’re at the very early stages of that decision-making process,” Spicer told reporters after being asked how the move—a campaign promise by President Donald Trump—would serve U.S. strategic issues.
Spicer said that while Trump would move the embassy by executive order, the issue is not on his immediate agenda.
“It’s very early in this process,” Spicer said. “His team is going to continue to consult with [the] State [Department].”
Spicer’s latest comments come after he had said Sunday that the U.S. was in the “very beginning stages” of discussing the embassy move. At the same time, in an interview with Israel Hayom last week before taking office, Trump said he “did not forget” about his promise to move the embassy, adding that “you know that I am not a person who breaks promises.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, announced that he intends to live in Jerusalem rather than the American ambassador’s traditional residence in Herzliya.