White House Media: Trump Floats Relocation of Press Corps

President Donald Trump stated on Friday that he may relocate the White House press corps, which consists of more than 100 journalists, to a new site. In a post on Truth Social, the President described the potential new site as a less obnoxious location. He made the remarks after dismissing recent media accounts regarding the future of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

Trump rejected reports that he planned to eliminate the briefing room to uncover a historic swimming pool located beneath the floor. He called such accounts Fake News and wrote that he never considered doing such a stupid thing. The comments followed a report by The New York Times published on Tuesday. That report indicated that Trump had proposed moving journalists out of the current room to his former press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt served as press secretary until August 27. In a Friday interview on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, she said Trump was flirting with the idea of restoring the pool. She noted that he may want to restore it to all of its glory, though she added that she did not know if he would actually do it. The pool was built in 1933 for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used it to ease soreness from polio. President Richard Nixon built a floor over the pool in the 1970s to create the current briefing room.

The potential move comes amid ongoing friction between the administration and media outlets. Last month, Trump barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from entering the White House. A federal judge ruled that order likely violated the First Amendment, forcing the White House to restore access. The administration is currently challenging that ruling. Trump also criticized The Independent's White House correspondent, Andrew Feinberg, during an Oval Office event on Tuesday. He asked Feinberg if he was a sick person, a moment the White House shared on social media.

Any modification to the briefing room would join a series of structural changes to the White House property since Trump returned to power last year. The administration has demolished the East Wing to build a ballroom, covered the center of the Rose Garden with concrete pavers, and constructed a helipad on the South Lawn. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the President's new remarks.