Trump pushes to evict the press from the White House

President Trump has talked about replacing the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with an indoor swimming pool

Posted Wednesday, October 21, 2026 9:50 am

Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan | The New York Times

In late August, during one of Karoline Leavitt’s final meetings with President Trump in the Oval Office, he pitched her on an idea in front of several senior aides. He told her to move reporters out of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, which would effectively remove news organizations from the White House. It would be, he told her, her “last legacy.”

But the proposal never moved forward while she was there. The president had put the request to her several times over months, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly. Ms. Leavitt officially stepped down as White House press secretary on Aug. 27.

Mr. Trump has told aides he would prefer to bring back the indoor pool President Franklin D. Roosevelt added in 1933 as therapy for his polio-afflicted legs; President Richard Nixon later covered it over to make room for the news media.

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Trump pushes to evict the press from the White House

President Trump has talked about replacing the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with an indoor swimming pool

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