WHCA says lack of media access to President-elect Trump is 'unacceptable'

The White House Correspondents' Association released a statement urging President-elect Donald Trump's transition team to immediately set up a press pool, so that reporters can follow President-elect Trump as he prepares to assume the office of the Presidency. The statement follows the news that President-elect Trump dined with friends and family at the 21 Club restaurant in Manhattan, after reporters that cover him were told that he would be staying in Trump Tower for the rest of the night. President-elect Trump's transition team has said that a formal pool plan is in the works but not yet ready.

"On Tuesday President-elect Trump went out for dinner in New York without a pool of journalists in his motorcade and after reporters were advised that he was in for the night. One week after the election, it is unacceptable for the next president of the United States to travel without a regular pool to record his movements and inform the public about his whereabouts," said WHCA president and Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason. "The White House Correspondents' Association is pleased to hear reassurances by the Trump transition team that it will respect long-held traditions of press access at the White House and support a pool structure. But the time to act on that promise is now. Pool reporters are in place in New York to cover the president-elect as he assembles his new administration. It is critical that they be allowed to do their jobs."