The White House Brady Briefing Room has been quiet in recent months, with few official press briefings held by Secretary Sarah Sanders.
On Tuesday, President Trump tweeted an explanation for why briefings are sparse.
The reason Sarah Sanders does not go to the “podium” much anymore is that the press covers her so rudely & inaccurately, in particular certain members of the press. I told her not to bother, the word gets out anyway! Most will never cover us fairly & hence, the term, Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2019
The White House Correspondents Association is condemning the administration and calling the move bad precedent.
“This retreat from transparency and accountability sets a terrible precedent. Being able to question the press secretary or other senior government officials publicly helps the news media tell Americans what their most powerful representatives are doing in their name. While other avenues exist to obtain information, the robust, public back-and-forth we’ve come to expect in the James A. Brady briefing room helps highlight that no one in a healthy republic is above being questioned,” WHCA President Olivier Knox released in a statement.
Regular press briefings came to a halt after CNN's Jim Acosta wrestled away a microphone from young, female White House staffer late last year.
In the meantime, Chief Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow addressed reporters about the government shutdown on Tuesday afternoon and some federal workers continuing without pay.
"No one likes the hardship that people are having to shoulder, including myself. I have young people on my staff who are concerned [about not getting paid], so I get that. I don't want to dance away from that. But I will also say, we are predominantly not a government run economy. We're a free market economy. So when the government reopens – and I'm not here to negotiate – I’m not going to make a prediction, that's up to the President -- you will see an immediate snapback," Kudlow said, according to the pool report. "The president made a very strong statement Saturday and we're waiting for Democrats to come to the table and shoulder their share of the negotiation."
Editor's note: Kudlow's quote has been updated.