White House spokesman Spicer draws heat off camera

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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks to the media in the briefing room at the White House, on May 30, 2017 in Washington, DC.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer drew the ire of some reporters on Monday for banning cameras from daily press briefings as part of what Spicer called an effort to vary the routine.

“Why are the cameras off, Sean? Why did you turn them off?” shouted CNN correspondent Jim Acosta. Other reporters chimed in.

“You are a taxpayer-funded spokesman for the United States government – can you at least give us an explanation for why the cameras are off?” Acosta asked.

Spicer answered questions for audio only about President Donald Trump’s health care overhaul bill, a Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s travel ban, and Trump’s tweets about investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Still cameras were allowed in but TV cameras were not, a practice Spicer started a few weeks ago. On Friday, CNN sent a courtroom sketch artist to capture the scene and make a point.

White House briefings have been open to live television broadcasts since the presidency of Bill Clinton in the 1990s when then-press secretary Mike McCurry decided to make them available to general viewership.