Donald Trump Gives Republicans an Order Over Press Freedom Bill

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a directive to congressional Republicans, telling them to tank a bipartisan bill that would protect journalists from being spied on by the government.

"REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. Accompanying his post was a recent segment from PBS News about the bill's purpose and where it currently stands in Congress.

The Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support earlier this year. The bill's sponsors, Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin and Republican Representative Kevin Kiley, celebrated its passage in January, with Raskin saying that the vote moved the U.S. "closer to establishing our first federal press shield law ever."

"This awesome bipartisan vote at a time of party polarization underscores the binding power and universal appeal of freedom of the press as a leading constitutional principle," Raskin added.

Kiley echoed his colleague from across the aisle, saying that presidential administrations from both parties "have unjustly targeted journalists and used compulsory process to obtain information from them about their sources. Most states have protected journalists from such interference, and it is past time for Congress to do so as well."

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