Senate Republicans on Tuesday quickly withdrew the proposal to restrict media access in the Capitol after an angry backlash from reporters and an emergency meeting between the Senate Rules Committee and the media gallery directors, The Hill reports.
Senate Rules Committee Chairman Richard Shelby clarified that there would not be a rules change, only a discussion about how to ensure safety as the Capitol hallways have become more hectic because of growing crowds of journalists.
Shelby announced in a statement that the committee had made “no changes to the existing rules governing press coverage on the Senate side of the Capitol complex.”
Earlier in the day, the Senate Sergeant at Arms staff informed the press galleries of tough new restrictions. The Democrats seized on the news, linking the new restriction to the Republican’s work on healthcare legislation that is being drafted behind closed doors, The Hill comments.
The Senate Sergeant at Arms staff told the directors of the media galleries who represent journalists interests that reporters would not be allowed to film interviews with senators in the Capitol or the Senate office building without first receiving special permission.
Television reporters had been told they could not conduct on-camera interviews in hallways, outside personal offices or outside committee rooms without permission from the Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Sergeant at Arms or the Senate Radio and TV Gallery, depending on location, according to another Senate official involved in the matter.
The gallery directors were also told that all reporters seeking to speak to senators in the basement of the Capitol, where it is easiest to catch lawmakers on the way to votes and lunches, would have to stand in a special press pen. The directive appeared to be in effect only briefly on Tuesday.
Later during the day Shelby said that his committee staff had acted without his knowledge after receiving complaints from other senators who sometimes feel stalked by reporters, and he instructed them to back off and drop efforts to limit reporters activities.
“I know some of the staff talked to the people in the gallery and I think the Rules Committee talked to the Sergeant at Arms, not me. When I found out about it, I said stand down. We’re not going to change any rules, not unless we hold committee hearings”, Shelby added.
He said that he hopes no additional restrictions will be placed on reporters, noting that “we all benefit from you, as long as you act civil.”
Members of the media had responded with outrage to the restrictions.
“Senate Rules Committee and @SenateSAA trying to SHUT DOWN press access in halls. No more staking out hearings without permission. Not OK”, Manu Raju, CNN’s senior congressional reporter tweeted.
Public interest in Congress and media coverage of lawmakers has increased rapidly since Donald Trump’s inauguration and crowds of reporters in the Capitol hallways have hit record sizes. Since the beginning of the year, media outlets such as CNN, NBC and Fox News have regularly staked out senators outside of their offices and hearing rooms to ask questions about healthcare reform and the investigations into collusion between the Trump administration and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Be the first to comment