White House press secretary Sarah Sanders held the first White House press briefing of 2019, and the first since Dec. 18, 2018. (TVNewser)
“Missed you guys,” Sanders said as she reached the podium at the James A. Brady briefing room. Trump tweeted last week that he directed Sanders to stop giving briefings because of what he called rude and inaccurate coverage of his administration. (The Hill)
Fox News and Fox Business Channel carried the briefing live. But both CNN and MSNBC went with other programming, even after Sanders took the stage. (Mediaite)
At the briefing, Sanders fired back at conservatives who criticized President Trump for ending the government shutdown without any money for his border wall. “Negotiations are still ongoing,” Sanders said. “And I would argue that conservatives that actually have influence have supported the president throughout this process.” (Politico)