Thread by @jacobsoboroff

NEW: Trump White House killed deal to pay for mental health care for traumatized migrant children and parents it separated at border. @NBCNews exclusive, with @JuliaEAinsley and @GeoffRBennett. nbcnews.com/politics/immig…

Sources said the White House counsel's office said no after checking with Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

“Ultimately, it was Stephen who prevailed. He squashed it.”

A White House official denied Miller had a role. nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1…

"DOJ strongly, and unanimously, supported the settlement, but not all agencies involved were on the same page," an administration official said. "Ultimately, the settlement was declined at the direction of the White House counsel's office." nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1…

After WH killed the settlement, in November 2019 the judge in the case ordered Trump admin to provide screenings and counseling to migrant families. After months of delays, in March 2020 the nonprofit @SenecaFOA was awarded a $14M contract for the work. nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1…

.@cheryl_aguilar, founder and lead therapist of @Hope_Center_ in Washington, D.C., said the group is treating children separated from their parents as part of the case. "There were delays in getting kids services, and that delays the healing," she said. nbcnews.com/politics/immig…

Please read more about the extraordinary work @SenecaFOA and its partners are finally now doing in this powerful report from @brittny_mejia. latimes.com/california/sto…

I’m coming up on @Morning_Joe with more details from our story this hour, and throughout the day on @MSNBC. Hope you’ll tune in.

White House wouldn’t say why they rejected the settlement to provide mental health screening and treatment to separated families. Lawyers and medical professionals say the delay compounds trauma they suffered. Here’s my report for @Morning_Joe. #MorningJoe