As Senate Republicans continue to hammer out their own version of the American Health Care Act in secret, some reporters are claiming that a new rule on media access is unexpectedly restricting their ability to ask tough questions of legislators as they make decisions that will affect millions of people.
ALERT: Reporters at Capitol have been told they are not allow to film interviews with senators in hallways, contrary to years of precedent
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) June 13, 2017
CONDITIONS for any interview: Previously granted permission from senator AND Rules Committee of Senate
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) June 13, 2017
According to recent tweets by Kasie Hunt of NBC News, reporters were not allowed on Tuesday to film interviews with senators in the Capitol Building’s hallways. Similarly, they were only allowed to conduct interviews after receiving permission from both the senator in question and the Senate Rules Committee.
In response to complaints from reporters, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, issued a statement saying, “The Rules Committee has made no changes to the existing rules governing press coverage on the Senate side of the Capitol complex.”
He added, “The Committee has been working with the various galleries to ensure compliance with existing rules in an effort to help provide a safe environment for Members of Congress, the press corps, staff, and constituents as they travel from Senate offices to the Capitol. Once again, no additional restrictions have been put in place by the Rules Committee.”
That said, a reporter from BuzzFeed heard an initial answer from Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina that seemed like a terrible justification for treating reporters in a different way.
Incredible defense of cracking down on TV cameras from Senator Tim Scott: cameras could catch the PIN numbers of senators at ATM machines.
— Paul McLeod (@pdmcleod) June 13, 2017
Yet Frank Thorp of NBC tweeted that he was under the impression that reporters are indeed facing new parameters for doing their work and they seem to be impractical.
NEW: The Sen Rules Cmte now wants us to request approval from them for EVERY on-cam interview of a Senator in the hallway we want to conduct
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 13, 2017
In the Senate there are very few places that are so-called designated camera stakeout positions. Most are not high traffic areas.
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 13, 2017
So restricting the access of TV cameras in hallways and requiring approval for every single interview is suffocating.
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 13, 2017
I understand people care very little for the complaints of the media, but this is restricting access to your elected officials.
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 13, 2017
Christina Wilkie of the Huffington Post and Benjy Sarlin of NBC News both have noticed that the new practices coincided with the Senate Republicans’ tense deliberations about their new health care bill.
This is how Republicans govern when they don't want to be asked questions about their secret healthcare bill, or about the president. https://t.co/l4aw4TcE1k
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) June 13, 2017
Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., concurred with this observation.
This is Senate GOP trying to hide from their terrible health care bill. America – demand answers https://t.co/gh9NsTSxoI
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) June 13, 2017
One of Wyden’s Democratic colleagues, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, was nothing short of contemptuous in a tweet about the new practices.
Maybe not the right moment to lower the secrecy veil on Congress. To whoever is trying to protect Senators – we can fend for ourselves. https://t.co/YSbTuaIZKV
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 13, 2017
The apparent changes have caught some Republicans by surprise. Texas’ Sen. Ted Cruz said he was unaware of the updated practice until he learned about it from media reports. The same was true for Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat.
A spox for Ted Cruz, who is on the Senate Rules Committee tells me of rules change "We were not aware of it until we saw on Twitter"
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) June 13, 2017
