WHCA condemns removal of journalist from White House pool

White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) President Jacqui Heinrich on Wednesday condemned the White House’s decision to restrict a journalist’s access to cover President Trump after the president lashed out at him in the Oval Office earlier this week.

Andrew Feinberg, a correspondent for The Independent, was scheduled to serve as the print pool reporter on Thursday. The White House pulled him from this duty, which included traveling with the president, according to Feinberg .

“The White House Correspondents’ Association strongly objects to the decision to restrict a journalist’s coverage simply because the president didn’t care for their questioning,” Heinrich said in a statement .

“That is retaliation,” the Fox News correspondent continued. “The American public’s right to an independent press depends on reporters being able to do their jobs without fear that challenging the president will cut off their access.”

A White House spokesperson defended the move in a statement shared with The Hill on Wednesday evening.

“No person and no journalist has a constitutional right to access the President’s Oval Office, Air Force One, or other sensitive and private facilities,” the spokesperson said. “When publications lie, fabricate, and ignore the truth, proximity matters less and they can write their fiction from outside of these secure facilities.”

The White House’s decision followed the president’s clash with Feinberg in the Oval Office on Tuesday, in which Trump called the reporter a “sick person.”

Shortly after Feinberg began to ask the president a question about the golf courses he owned, Trump cut him off.

“Quiet. Quiet. What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person?” Trump replied.

“No, I think there’s actually something wrong with you,” he added later.

Feinberg wrote in an article detailing the situation that this exchange followed his earlier question to the president about the administration’s new fraud “tip line.”

Vice President Vance shared the interaction on social media , captioning the clip: “President Donald J. Trump eviscerates imbecile ‘journalist’ Andrew Feinberg for misbehaving in the Oval Office.”

“Mr. Vice President, if you’re going to insult me at least have the guts to tag my account,” Feinberg replied in a post .

Additionally, the White House’s official “Rapid Response 47” account reshared the clip and used a slur for people with developmental disabilities in the caption to describe Feinberg.

The WHCA has previously condemned the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict reporters over disagreements with media coverage.

The administration’s decision to bar three news organizations last month from the White House drew widespread condemnation and a boycott on covering the president’s daily activities.

Journalists for CNN, MS NOW and Politico were ultimately granted access back into the White House after a federal judge ordered their access be immediately restored.