On most weekdays at the White House, reporters gather midday for the daily press briefing, a question-and-answer session that’s gained new attention as President Donald Trump’s administration gets underway.
In the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room — named for the Ronald Reagan aide who was shot during an assassination attempt in 1981 — reporters take their seats around 1 p.m. ET, which is usually around when the briefing begins. Seats are allocated by the White House Correspondents Association, but any credentialed member of the media can attend. In the first weeks of the Trump administration, the daily briefing has been standing-room only with reporters who don’t have assigned seats.
The Press Secretary typically strides out a few minutes after the briefing’s schedule start time. He begins by running through the President’s schedule. Then the questions begin. In past White Houses, the first question has gone to a designated reporter or news organization — most recently, the Associated Press.
Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer, however, has called on a variety of outlets first, including the New York Post, One America News Network, and ABC News.
The question-and-answer session can last for up to 90 minutes, though the length of the daily briefing varies. In President Barack Obama’s administration, the reporter from the AP said “thank you” when he or she felt the Press Secretary had fulfilled his daily questioning requirement. Spicer has sometimes cut the questioning off sooner.