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Three senior officials on Donald Trump's transition team hinted that a plan to evict the press corps from the White House is under "serious consideration" by the president-elect’s incoming administration, Esquire magazine reported.
If the plan is adopted, one official told Esquire, the media will be removed from the White House press room, where it has been located since Richard Nixon was president. They would be relocated either to the White House Conference Center or to a space in the Old Executive Office building, located next door to the White House.
Sean Spicer, Trump's press secretary, said no decision has been made about such a plan, but acknowledged that "there has been some discussion about how to do it."
Reporters have had some sort of workspace at the White House since Theodore Roosevelt's time, but it became more pronounced during the Nixon era. The room contains work stations and broadcast booths, as well as a briefing area.
Spicer told Esquire that the move was purely one of logistics, noting that the press room may be too small to handle a growing national media. However, Esquire quoted another senior official saying the move was a reaction to coverage that Trump believes has been hostile toward him.
"They are the opposition party," the official told Esquire. "I want 'em out of the building. We are taking back the press room."
Cox Media Group
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