President Trump has reportedly floated tearing out the White House briefing room and putting a swimming pool in its place.
Quick Take
- The New York Times reports Trump has repeatedly discussed replacing the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with an indoor pool.
- The space sits on the site of a pool Franklin D. Roosevelt used for polio therapy, before Richard Nixon paved it over for press use in 1970.
- Trump reportedly raised the idea directly with then-press secretary Karoline Leavitt, calling it her possible “last legacy.”
- The White House has not denied the plan, saying only that “all options remain on the table.”
A Pool Idea Resurfaces After Five Decades Underground
The New York Times reported on October 20, 2026, that Trump has talked more than once about ripping out the briefing room and installing an indoor swimming pool. The account, attributed to people familiar with the discussions, describes a recurring conversation rather than a one-time joke. The Washington Examiner independently confirmed the substance of that report the next day.
The idea is not as random as it sounds. Franklin D. Roosevelt built an indoor pool on that exact spot in the 1930s to help treat his legs after polio. Richard Nixon later covered it over to build a press facility as television news coverage grew. Reporters have worked from that room since 1970.
Leavitt Reportedly Told the Move Could Be Her Legacy
Reporting says Trump raised the idea directly with Karoline Leavitt during an August 2026 Oval Office meeting, describing the press room’s removal as something she could be remembered for. That detail gives the story a named participant tied to a specific moment, even though Leavitt has not publicly confirmed the exchange herself.
Trump appears to have pushed the concept into public view himself. On September 27, 2026, he posted an image on Truth Social placing the current briefing room next to a rendering of a renovated pool, labeling one “Fake News” and the other “FDR Pool.” Reporting also describes a foam-board mock-up of the proposed pool conversion made by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, giving the idea a physical, if informal, planning artifact.
White House Leaves the Door Wide Open
Asked about the plan, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung did not deny it. He said, “All options remain on the table, and we will make an announcement when appropriate”. That is not a confirmation, but it is not a denial either, and it leaves the administration free to move forward or drop the idea without having locked itself into a public position.
Reporting also ties the pool proposal to a separate idea: moving the press corps out of the West Wing entirely and into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door. No published relocation plan, floor assignment, or security review has surfaced describing how that move would actually work.
This Fight Over Press Real Estate Has a Long History
Presidents clashing with reporters over physical space at the White House is nothing new. Harry Truman moved press conferences to the Indian Treaty Room in the 1940s after Congress refused to fund a bigger briefing facility. During the 2016 transition, Trump aide Stephen Bannon reportedly pushed to move the press corps out of the West Wing, an idea that went nowhere once Trump took office.
George W. Bush’s team relocated the press corps temporarily during a 2006-2007 renovation of the same briefing room, moving reporters to a nearby conference center while utility work was completed. That history suggests displacement talk, even serious displacement talk, does not always end in a permanent change. It is a pattern of proposals and pushback, not a one-way march toward eviction.
What Happens Next Remains the White House’s Call
Nothing published so far points to a signed construction order, an approved budget, or an official start date for any renovation. What is documented is a president who has raised the idea repeatedly, a communications office unwilling to rule it out, and a symbolic image he chose to share with the public himself. Whether Washington ends up with a pool where reporters once stood is now simply a matter of what the administration decides to announce.
Swimming With the Sharks? Trump Reportedly Wants to Repurpose WH Briefing Room https://t.co/mnpYuiJrrh
— Rachel Morse (@rm36863307) October 21, 2026
For conservatives who have long argued the White House press corps enjoys an outsized perch inside the people’s house, the idea of renegotiating that real estate will strike many as fair game for a president to consider. Whether it becomes a pool or stays a briefing room, the bigger point stands: presidents, not reporters, ultimately decide who gets a desk in the West Wing.
Sources:
redstate.com, nytimes.com, washingtonexaminer.com, yahoo.com, bloomberg.com
