WHCA Reacts to New Press Conference ‘Rules’: We ‘Fully Expect’ Tradition of Follow-Up Questions to Continue

The White House Correspondents’ Association made clear in a statement tonight they were not involved in the rules the Trump administration crafted for future press briefings.

The WHCA welcomed the White House restoring Jim Acosta‘s hard pass after a week-plus of fighting back and forth, as well as weighing in on these new rules:

The White House did the right thing in restoring Jim Acosta’s hard pass. The White House Correspondents’ Association had no role in crafting any procedures for future press conferences. For as long as there have been White House press conferences, White House reporters have asked follow-up questions. We fully expect this tradition will continue. We will continue to make the case that a free and independent news media plays a vital role in the health of our republic.

The big three rules established by the White House include: journalists get to ask “a single question” and then yield the floor to colleagues, they may be allowed to ask follow-ups at the discretion of the President or White House official, and they must “physically surrender” the microphone when their turn is over.

If these rules are not followed, then a journalist’s hard pass can be revoked.

The White House initially threatened to go after Acosta again but now they’ve essentially let him off with a warning.

The WHCA’s statement came hours after the announcement that next year’s featured speaker at the White House Correspondents Dinner will not be, as is custom, a comedian, but writer and historian Ron Chernow. Chernow has written biographies on historical figures like George Washington, John D. Rockefeller, and Alexander Hamilton (the last of which inspired the Broadway smash hit Hamilton).

[photo via Getty Images]