Joe Pompeo: “The apparent apathy about who gets the job seems to stem from the all-too-obvious notion that this is no normal administration. Gone are the daily press briefings, where correspondents could attempt to elicit answers—or, perhaps, non-answers—on the hot-button topics of the day. Gone are the days of big, gift-wrapped scoops and policy rollouts to favored reporters from the most prestigious publications. Rare is the broadcast interview to an outlet other than Fox News. (The occasional Lester Holt or George Stephanopoulos sit-down are the exceptions that prove the rule.)”
“In previous administrations, press secretaries have been gatekeepers. But Sanders, for all of her visibility and confrontational bluster, arguably didn’t have the same kind of power or stature as her predecessors had, in terms of what the role has traditionally meant and entailed. Under the current, unprecedented circumstances of White House reporting, does it really matter whether it’s Sean Spicer or Sarah Sanders or anyone else who doesn’t go out into the briefing room every day?”
