• by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, January 16, 2017

More alarming news about Trump’s press operation is making the rounds among White House reporters. An Esquire article suggests the Trump administration may kick the White House press corps out of the West Wing.

"They are the opposition party," Esquire reported a senior Trump adviser as saying. "I want 'em out of the building. We are taking back the press room."

As it stands, reporters covering the White House have office space in the West Wing, allowing them to work in close quarters with White House personnel and senior advisers.

Both the incoming Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus have pushed back against the claims, saying they are simply exploring moving the location of the press-briefing room to a larger venue.

“The current briefing room only has 49 seats, so we have looked at rooms within the White House to conduct briefings that have additional capacity,” stated Spicer. Members of the press corps are outwardly anxious about the prospects, and rightly so, considering how Trump treated the press during his campaign and in light of the uninformative and unconventional press conference he held last week.

Over 100 members of the White House Correspondents’ Association joined an ordinary meeting last week, a potent expression of how perturbed reporters are with Trump’s press operation.

The head of the Association, Jeff Mason of Reuters, had a meeting with Spicer on Sunday. He expressed serious concern about any attempts by the White House to restrict press access. A sentiment reiterated in an email from Mason reported on by The New York Times:

“We object strenuously to any move that would shield the president and his advisers from the scrutiny of an on-site White House press corps.”

The only assurance Spicer could give was that he would discuss any changes with Mason before implementing them. Those inside the beltway will feel the chill. Their clout is waning, replaced by dubious news sites that often traffic in conspiracy theories or fake news claims.

In fact, the concern is that Spicer wants to populate the room with bloggers and organizations that promote Trump, rather than scrutinize his administration.

Trump, like any head of state looking to manipulate the news, benefits from demonizing the press, as well as shielding himself and his staff from them, thereby avoiding accountability for his policies.

His supporters may be content with his tweets. But they are one-sided missives; they are not informed press briefings. And the importance of press briefings — and key follow-up questions — cannot be overstated.

Restricting access to softball questions or organizations that cheerlead for the president is anathema to American values of a free press, founded as a watchdog to power. As Thomas Jefferson eloquently noted: "Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it."

If the Trump administration removes the press corps from the West Wing, it will be the first time since the presidency of William McKinley (1897-1901) that reporters will not have direct access to White House staff — and by extension the President of the United States.