Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The White House outlined its new rules for press conferences in a Monday letter to CNN’s Jim Acosta, according to The Washington Post. The letter, which told Acosta his temporarily restored White House “hard pass” access could be taken away again in two weeks (a hollow threat, it turns out), also described four new rules “governing future press conferences.”
The rules stipulate that journalists must “yield the floor to other journalists” after asking their single question when called upon, and may only ask follow-up questions “at the discretion of the President or other White House official taking questions[.]” Another rule is that “yielding the floor” includes “physically surrendering the microphone to White House staff,” which seemingly references Acosta’s refusal to hand over the microphone to a White House intern at a press conference last week.
Finally, the rules state that any member of the press who violates the rules may face “suspension or revocation of [their] hard pass.” CNN confirmed later Monday the White House had “fully restored” Acosta’s hard pass, and the network said their lawsuit against Trump was “no longer necessary.” In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the rules were created “with a degree of regret” and said that a more “elaborate and comprehensive set of rules might need to be devised.”