The White House is preparing to shake up the James S. Brady press briefing room in its latest move to upend the power of the press corps, an official confirmed to the Daily Caller.
The White House is planning to change the seating arrangement of its briefing room, which has long been dictated by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), to include new media, podcasters and social media influencers, Axios first reported. The seating arrangement is currently restricted to certain outlets approved by the WHCA, but the White House is hoping to restructure the room “based on metrics more reflective of how media is consumed today.”
“The goal isn’t merely favorable coverage,” a White House official, who was granted anonymity to discuss plans that haven’t been announced, told Axios. “It’s truly an honest look at consumption [of the outlets’ coverage]. Influencers are important but it’s tough because they aren’t [equipped to provide] consistent coverage. So the ability to cover the White House is part of the metrics.”
The new setup would aim to still include TV, print and digital outlets while also working in online influencers and newer organizations like Axios, NOTUS and Punchbowl, Axios reported.
The 2021 White House press briefing room seating chart, created by the WHCA. [Photo Credit: Obtained by the Daily Caller]
‘The White House should abandon this wrong-headed effort and show the American people they’re not afraid to explain their policies and field questions from an independent media free from government control,” the WHCA board wrote in an email to its members on Monday.
“But if the White House pushes forward, it will become even more clear that the administration is seeking to cynically seize control of the system through which the independent press organizes itself, so that it is easier to exact punishment on outlets over their coverage,” the email continues.
(From L) NBC News Kelly O’Donnell, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Politico’s Eugene Daniels attends the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, April 29, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The Trump White House also took over responsibilities typically dictated by the WHCA after taking office. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in February that the White House would be taking over the press pool, a small group of rotating journalists assigned to cover the president’s smaller, daily events. Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades are still included in the press pool but new media outlets are being added at the White House press office’s discretion.
The WHCA announced on Saturday that it was cancelling its headliner, anti-Trump comedian Amber Ruffin, of its annual dinner. Daniels named Ruffin the entertainer in February, writing to WHCA members that “Amber’s unique talents are the ideal fit for this current political and cultural climate.”
Ruffin previously described Trump as a “toddler with his pants pulled down” and then recently deemed the administration as “murderers” who want to “feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not.”
Leavitt previously called Ruffin an “interesting choice” in response to the Daily Caller’s question on the choice.<
🚨WATCH🚨@PressSec smirks as she tells @reaganreese_ that anti-Trump comedian @ambermruffin is “definitely an interesting choice” to headline the WHCA’s annual dinner. pic.twitter.com/6xMMetXAfe
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 5, 2025
Shortly after Leavitt’s comments, Ruffin took to CNN to say she didn’t want Trump in attendance and planned to be partisan at the dinner. (RELATED: White House Press Selects Queer, Anti-Racist ‘Comedian’ To Host Trump’s Correspondents’ Dinner)
Tapper asked Ruffin if any of the past hosts of the dinner had given her any advice for how to handle the night.
“They also said that you have to make fun of everybody. You can’t just make fun of the people you disagree with, you have to spread it out evenly. And I am not going to do that,” Ruffin said as she laughed. “Maybe I will do it a little bit, probably not.”
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