Trump cites 1933 pool in push to move 100-plus White House reporters

President Donald Trump proposed moving the White House press corps to a new location on Friday.

In a post on Truth Social, the president described the potential new site as a less obnoxious location. He clarified that he was not planning to eliminate the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room itself. Instead, he indicated that the reporters covering the executive office might be relocated elsewhere.

Trump rejected earlier reports that he intended to remove the briefing room to restore a historic swimming pool beneath it. He labeled those accounts Fake News and wrote that he never thought to do such a stupid thing. The pool was built in 1933 for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used it to manage symptoms of polio. Richard Nixon constructed a floor over the pool in the 1970s to create the current briefing space.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump discussed moving journalists with Karoline Leavitt, his former press secretary. Leavitt left her role on August 27. She told HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday that Trump was flirting with restoring the pool. She noted that he might want to bring it back to all of its glory, though she remained uncertain if he would follow through.

The proposal emerges amid ongoing friction between the administration and the media. In September, Trump barred reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from the White House. A federal judge ruled the ban likely unconstitutional, forcing the White House to restore access while the administration continues to challenge the ruling. Trump also clashed with Andrew Feinberg of The Independent during a Tuesday Oval Office event, asking if the correspondent was a sick person.

Any structural changes to the West Wing would join a series of modifications to the White House property since Trump returned to power. The administration has demolished the East Wing for a new ballroom, paved the central Rose Garden lawn, and installed a helipad on the South Lawn.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the relocation plans.